Want to Play Hardball with the News Media?

Written by Rusty Cawley


Continued from page 1

You must haverepparttar cash to pay for excellent PR counsel as well as for excellent legal counsel. You must be prepared to supportrepparttar 121015 tactics that will lead to victory. This often includes such expensive items as advertising and lawsuits.

Each year’s company budget should include a PR defense fund large enough to fend off any attack, larger or small.

Third, you must see a recognizable gain.

Never go to war withrepparttar 121016 media if there is nothing for you to gain by it.

In short, never fight out of spite.

Let’s say a columnist in a free alternative tabloid makes a snotty comment about your company that is obviously unfair and untrue. Forget about going to war with that reporter.

It’s not worthrepparttar 121017 effort. The odds are low that anyone among your key stakeholders saw they item. If they did, they likely put no credence inrepparttar 121018 item.

Simply write a careful, polite letter torepparttar 121019 editor that refutesrepparttar 121020 comment and presentsrepparttar 121021 facts. Askrepparttar 121022 tabloid to publishrepparttar 121023 letter. If it refuses, buy ad space.

You do this only to get it onrepparttar 121024 record thatrepparttar 121025 comment is unfair and untrue, just in case a reporter at a mainstream paper decides to pick up onrepparttar 121026 story.

That’s it. Leave it alone.

Keep your powder dry and save your resources for battles that count.

In addition, there must a low risk of revealing other bad news. The last thing you need is to fend off a media attack on an unfair and untrue story, only to haverepparttar 121027 media uncover a fair, true and devastating story.

If you have skeletons in your closet, stay away from a media battle.

Copyright 2003 by W.O. Cawley Jr.

Rusty Cawley is a 20-year veteran journalist who now coaches executives, professionals and entrepreneurs on the use of news strategy to enhance and protect their companies. For a free copy of the hot new ebook “Hardball PR: How to Get Tough with Investigative Reporters,” please visit http://www.prrainmaker.com/gethardball.html


You Too Can Create Newsworthy Research

Written by Marcia Yudkin


Continued from page 1

As for how many people you need to query for your study, it might be less than you think. One hundred, give or take a few, may be perceived as plenty, especially ifrepparttar population you are asking is a relatively exclusive one. When Internet stocks were booming, a newsletter publisher got featured on CNN and CNBC with his findings about how little stockbrokers knew aboutrepparttar 121014 Net. He interviewed 103 brokers for his study. Usability guru Jakob Nielsen got wide coverage for a study of 20 journalists' inability to find company information at corporate Web sites.

When you have your questionnaire or interview results, spend repparttar 121015 effort necessary to make your data sound catchy. The newsletter publisher headlined his press release, "Want Advice on Which Internet Stocks to Invest In? 'You're Better Off Asking Your Teenager Than Your Broker,' says MBA Professor's Survey." Jakob Nielsen announced his findings equally effectively withrepparttar 121016 attention-getting headline, "Corporate Websites Get a 'D' in PR."

Marcia Yudkin is the author of the classic guide to comprehensive PR, "6 Steps to Free Publicity," now for sale in an updated edition at Amazon.com and in bookstores everywhere. She also spills the secrets on advanced tactics for today's publicity seekers in "Powerful, Painless Online Publicity," available from www.yudkin.com/powerpr.htm .


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