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Media relations: Do your homework, review journalists’ tweets

August 21, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

Yes, you need to be careful what you tweet. Especially if you hold a key position within an organization, are high profile or a celebrity. It is becoming routine for journalists to look at tweets on Twitter to source quotes. If you don’t want to see your words in print or on air, think before you hit ‘send’.

But there’s an oddity with this whole grabbing quotes from Twitter craze among journalists. Who’s grabbing tweets made by journalists? Sadly, I do see regular examples of some journalists who cross the line with their comments on Twitter. If it’s clearly your Twitter account for company use (ie. @BillatTHISNEWSPAPER), you should be careful. It’s not the place to go spewing verbal darts that raise serious questions about your ability to be impartial when doing your job of reporting.

Thanks for the free pants (+ more ridiculous items in media kits)

August 17, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

I’ve received hundreds upon hundreds of items in media kits over the years. Everything from food to baseball caps. And pants. Yup. Pants.

Now, don’t ask me to recall what ’cause’ or organization the pants were all about. I can’t remember. All I remember is the khaki wrinkle-free pants. It certainly wasn’t a memorable media kit, unless you needed a pair of pants. I didn’t (wrong waist size and leg length). So I gave them to a co-worker. I gave away dozens of T-shirts over the years too. Today, I use some as dust cloths.

Podcast: Pros and cons of media press kits

July 26, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan 1 Comment

A media press kit that avoids ‘information’ bloat can be a very useful addition to your media relations toolbox. In this podcast, I’ll share some insights into dos and donts.

Podcast: Download

Filed Under: Media training Tagged With: Brantford Expositor advertising, how to build a better media relations kit, media relations in brantford on, media relations in norfolk on, press kit dos and donts, Simcoe Reformer advertising

Social media allows you to bypass the middleman that is traditional media

July 5, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

Social media gives you and your organization a huge advantage for marketing and advertising today. Gone are those days when you relied on one medium to connect with audiences. Traditional media (radio and newspapers) is no longer your ONLY option.

Social media like Twitter and Facebook allows you to cut out the middleman, or at least, reduce your dependence on it. Radio stations and newspapers have traditionally played the sole middleman role for years. They have built their sales pitch as being your only conduit to reach the masses. Social media changes that. And it does it in a big way. Now, you can be in control.

What is the best time of day to reach a reporter?

June 28, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

When is the best time to reach a reporter? Many ‘experts’ will suggest that you can reach a reporter at any time during a day, simply because they carry smartphones or Blackberries and are always reachable. Others will suggest social media presents an instant connection tool. (BTW, before you think the latter method may work, you’d better check the journalist’s Twitter account to see if they ever bother engaging with anyone.)

Here’s the scoop on most theories suggested by ‘experts’: they’re bunk. At best, they’re crapshoot methods. Most journalists are knee-deep in assignments or have deadlines looming throughout the heart of the day. Your email will get a passing glance, if you’re lucky. There are simply too many other priorities.

The best way to pitch a story idea to a CBS News reporter

April 28, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

How to pitch a story to a reporter is something many organizations and businesses struggle with. Rebecca Jarvis, business and economics correspondent for CBS News, discusses the best methods PR pros can use to successfully pitch her. This video is by Ragan Communications.

Filed Under: Communications, Media training Tagged With: CBS News, how to get newspaper coverage Norfolk Brantford Niagara Hamilton Niagara St Catharines Ontario Canada, how to pitch a story, public relations Norfolk Brantford Hamilton Niagara Ontario

3 effective communications tactics used by Harper during TV election debate

April 13, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan 1 Comment

The nationally televised leaders’ debate was fascinating from a communications standpoint. Very early into the debate it became clear who had received the best media and communications training. It was Stephen Harper.

Now, these are not necessarily tricks to be employed by anyone in any setting. These tricks were perfectly suited to the hostile nature of an election debate and served Harper well in distancing himself from rivals.

Here are three things he did well:
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Coaching, Communications, Media training Tagged With: bridging techniques in interviews, election debate, Harper vs Ignatieff, how to win an election debate ontario canada, media training for politicians in Ontario Canada, Stephen Harper communications plan

Elections and all-candidates nights: the failure to have a communications plan

April 6, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

It happens after almost every all-candidates night whenever individuals are battling it out to become an area’s MP or MPP in Canada. The combatants look at media coverage and start measuring how much print space or air time they received.

It’s guaranteed that at least one candidate will be crying foul. “Candidate A got more space than me!” one will argue to an editor. “It’s not fair!”
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Filed Under: Coaching, Communications, Media training Tagged With: all-candidates night norfolk county brantford hamilton niagara st. catharines ontario, communications planning for politicians in ontario canada

3 common mistakes made by journalists

March 6, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan

Journalists make mistakes. Most will admit this. If humans were perfect you would never see a single typo in any newspaper, or on any TV telecast or radio website. Fact is, when the media deals with tens of thousands of words in a single day, screwups will happen.

The rush to put out a product with depleted staff means you have to assert more effort to be the fact checker. I know, that sounds backwards. But it’s reality today. Fact checking by media ain’t what it used to be.
[Read more...]

Filed Under: Communications, Media training Tagged With: Brantford Ontario Canada, fact checking, journalism mistakes, media interview tips Canada, media training in Niagara, most common journalism mistakes, most common media mistakes, newspaper corrections, newspaper corrections in Ontario Canada, Norfolk, oxford, regret the error, when journalists make mistakes

The secret to great writing and storytelling: Think in Movie Mode

February 28, 2011 By Gregg McLachlan Leave a Comment

Playwrights do it. Screenwriters do it. Novelists do it. You should be doing it. We’ve been so programmed to write and think like an English grammar instructor that often we’re reluctant to try a new approach. Yes, narrative writing requires more time and a willingness to invest in characters and scene-building, but the end result is worth it for your readers.