Orlando Business Journal reporter Anjali Fluker is next up in our “5 Questions With” series, where we ask journalists to shed some light on pitching, reporting and journalism. An award-winning journalist, Anjali covers real estate, retail and minority business for the OBJ. Prior to coming to Orlando, Anjali covered economic development for Crain’s Detroit Business. She’s also worked as a community reporter for the Detroit News and as a sportswriter for the Times Herald in Port Huron, MI.

Without further adieu …

1. If you could give PR people one piece of advice, what would it be?
Research your client as well as the publication/news source you’re pitching to before you make a call. If you don’t know or understand what your client does, you look like an idiot. And if you don’t know what the publication is about, the reporter gets insulted.

2. What do you think non-journalists would be surprised to learn about journalists?

We love food!

3. What do you think about the integration of social media and journalism? Good, bad, indifferent?

I think social media has both its ups and downs in journalism. On the upside, it sometimes makes it easier during our newsgathering phase, if we can find better sourcing and tips through Tweets & Facebook. But there’s also the downside that some news organizations are starting to believe that the real “news” is what’s being discussed on social networking sites. That means they’re spending oodles of time on one subject and not getting enough information on other stories of value. Additionally, it could get people in trouble if they use social networking sites as a source and don’t back it up. There’s a lot of drama & hating going on in those places.

4. How do you prefer to be pitched?

I prefer e-mails with information that relates directly to what I cover and our publication.

5. What’s the worst pitch you’ve ever received from a PR person?

There are way too many to name! Too often, I get e-mailed press releases that are full of company slogans and jargon, and then a follow-up call from an account exec who has no idea what his/her client’s real news is when I ask more questions. Just ask a few questions and maybe you’ll find a story that’s real “news.”

By making the media more accessible than ever before, Twitter is changing how public relations professionals engage with journalists. Offering insight into the day-to-day (and sometimes personal) lives of reporters, Twitter puts a “face to the name” – and provides other, non-traditional ways to “connect.” PR pros would be wise to use this to their advantage. Creating any sort of relationship – even a virtual one – is better than simply making a blind pitch.

More accessible

Pitching via Twitter works especially well when the reporter is actively searching for story leads. Follow journalists in your area – or nationally if you have appropriate clients – and pay attention to their tweets! By reading one tweet from a TV anchor, my coworkers and I were able to land six different TV news stories for multiple clients.

Twitter can also work when the reporters aren’t actively seeking story ideas or resources. Pay attention to the stories they link to – and the comments they make. Do you have a client who would be an appropriate follow-up to a story they’ve linked to? If so, pitch them.

Where to find them. . .
Twitter has spawned many different web sites purely dedicated to listing media personnel who tweet. Two of my favorites are Muck Rack and Media on Twitter. Muck Rack contains real-time updates from tweeting reporters – an excellent resource for national leads. Media on Twitter allows you to search for particular publications (like your local daily paper). In addition to those online resources, many publications list employees with Twitter accounts. (Check out the Orlando Sentinel’s tweeps.)

So how should PR pros contact reporters?

I’ve encountered varying opinions on this topic – and everyone has a different preference for being pitched. To alleviate any future issues, I think a quick direct message or @reply to the reporter to ask about their contact preference should suffice – and answer your question. If they don’t respond, there’s a good chance they don’t want to be pitched through Twitter. However, if the reporter is asking for leads or a story idea on Twitter, then by all means respond via direct message or e-mail.

I’d like your take on this: Do you think there are certain rules that need to be followed when using Twitter to pitch media? Have you had success using this channel?

For a long time, many of us in PR buried our heads in the sand when it came to learning HTML. Why would we need to know that? Isn’t it a programming language meant to be used by programmers? Well, yes and no. PR people don’t need to know all the intricacies of this complex coding language; however, we do need to understand the very basics. In fact, forward-thinking public-relations people believe that HTML coding is the number one new skill that all PR pros should learn.

You may not use HTML every day (at least not yet), but the more comfortable you become with it, the more you’ll use it in Facebook notes, social media releases, blog comments and minor web site edits.(Think of how convenient — and quick! — it would be to make minor changes to a web site without having to call in the programmers!)

PR HTML Starter Kit

Tip #1: Brackets

Let’s start by understanding the format for HTML codes. You’ll see these less than (<) and greater than (>) brackets surrounding HTML tags. That’s coding language. You don’t really need to understand why they’re used … just remember that whenever you use a code, you need to include the brackets.

Tip #2: Simple Codes

These codes should be inserted before the word or section you’re editing:

• Bold <b> or <strong>
• Italics <em> or <i>
• Strike <strike>
• New paragraph <p>
• Line break <br>
• Unordered list <ul>
• Bullets <li>
• Embedding links <a href=”insert URL here”>
• Blockquote <blockquote cite=”text here”>

Tip #3: Closing Brackets

After you insert your code, don’t forget to close the bracket with a backward slash followed by the code — again in the brackets. For example if you want to bold a word, you’d type this:

<b>Bold example</b>

To embed a link, follow this format:

<a href=”www.costadevault.com”>Costa DeVault web site</a>

Tip #4:You Tell Us

We realize this isn’t a comprehensive list. In fact, it doesn’t even qualify as HTML 101 — you’d need a programmer for that! But, that’s ok. Focus on grasping the basics first and go from there.

There are thousands of tags that we could be using. Which ones would you add to this starter list?

Photo credit: Coxar

As a J-school graduate and PR professional, I love newspapers. And by newspapers, I mean the printed kind – not online (I don’t mind the ink). We encourage our team to read through several national newspapers everyday and flag issues and topics that relate to clients – helping them to focus on opportunities and potential placements. Through the years I have come to notice some important changes in what the national newspapers cover.

Up until late last year the “A” sections of the major national newspapers were basically the same with regards to the stories they covered. The front page of the USA Today, New York Times and the Wall Street Journal were quite similar and I found myself reading whichever “A” section I got to first and skimming through the rest. Big news being big news, it made sense, and probably wasn’t something that mattered to anyone who didn’t make a habit out of reading through all of them.

But as the circulation at newspapers all over the world began to drop, I started to notice a shift. The national papers began to lead with more diverse stories, with less and less overlap. Yesterday and today, for example, there was not one shared story on the covers of USA Today, Wall Street Journal and the New York Times. And with the exception of the “big stories,” this trend has been consistent for months.

We have debated the reason why with a number of colleagues and believe that the tail may finally be wagging the dog. Because all of their content is online and easily comparable, newspapers have had to become more creative with the stories they choose to run. Consumers want different kinds of content, so the pressure is on to keep it interesting. And perhaps their online presence is now driving what ends up in print.

If this is true, this may be very good news for those in the PR profession who are creative and understand the new demands.

You’ll often hear PR people — especially those who have been burned in the past — remind clients that there’s no such thing as off the record. This post isn’t about whether that statement is true or not; instead, it’s about the fact that what’s considered “on the record” just expanded. And PR people, brands and individuals engaging in social media need to take notice.

This morning, Jason Falls tweeted that he was quoted in article about social media in the Tennessean. Actually, a statement he wrote on his blog was attributed to him as a quote in the article. Understandably, Jason wasn’t sure how to feel about that. The article didn’t include a link back to the original post — nor did the writer (who at first glance appears to be new to social media) disclose the fact that the statement was taken from a blog post.

A couple weeks ago, GlobeSt.com posted an article about incorporating social media to market apartments. The article featured Urbane Apartments as one example of a company embracing social media and included information taken from Eric Brown’s blog. The difference between this situation and the Tennessean is that the GlobeSt.com reporter embedded links to numerous Urbane social media sites. And, instead of reporting that Eric said the quote, the journalist said Eric wrote it. From the article:

“Urbane Apartments and Urbane employees twitter regularly,” he writes. “To further integrate we started the Urbane Lobby, where residents can meet and greet, trade pictures and videos and socialize on line. And we manage and power a blog aimed at our residents, all designed around our target demographic local brand recognition.”

Is this a new trend in journalism? Is it a result of overworked reporters who simply need to find information quickly and don’t have time to conduct traditional interviews with every source? A study released this morning by PR Newswire found that journalists who don’t participate in social media are in the minority. That means the trend of quoting statements made on socialized media isn’t likely to go away any time soon.

So, how should people who participate in social media respond? Well, the answer isn’t to stop talking. Instead, consider these two important pieces of advice:

• Nothing is private. As Peter Shankman likes to point out, “privacy died 30 years ago.” With cameras on cell phones, video recorders and microphones embedded in laptops and the open nature of social networks, anything you say or do is fair game — like it or not. So, control what you can. Understand that what you tweet, blog or comment may very well end up in a newspaper. And, if you’re not comfortable with it being in a newspaper, don’t say it.
• Be a good social media neighbor. Give “link love” — and hopefully, you’ll get it back in return. As this becomes a “best practice” in social media, journalists will understand that if they lift a quote from a blog or other social space, they should have the common courtesy to provide a link back to the original source (just as GlobeSt.com did).

I tweeted with a few people about this issue this morning. As John Sternal pointed out: “If it’s picked up from a blog, then yes that should be cited or stated. It’s on the record but it still should be cited.” BJ Fischer said, “On the record is on the record.”

The general consensus seems to be that reporters should disclose if they’ve taken a statement from a blog, but that bloggers need to understand that what they write may end up in the paper. (I also reached out to the Tennessean writer, David Bohan, via Twitter; however he hasn’t tweeted anything since March 17. If I receive a response, I’ll update this post.)

What do you think about this new trend? Is it a positive advancement or a step backwards for journalism? How would you feel if a reporter quoted something you wrote on your blog?

If you’re a PR person working for a sales-driven organization (and aren’t most organizations nowadays tied to sales?), have you ever stopped to think about how your work fits into the sales cycle?

At its core, selling is reliant on personal and non-personal communication to convince prospects to take a specific action. The sales team will rely on personal phone calls, visits and emails – as well as direct mail, newsletters, e-marketing … and many other marketing tools.

But, where does PR come into play? Certainly, it’s part of the prospect education process — which takes place during the earliest stages of the sales cycle. However, PR’s role doesn’t just end there. Here are three overlooked ways to align PR with the sales efforts:

1. In-sync messaging. As a PR person, you need to be in constant contact with the sales team so you understand what they’re hearing “on the ground.” What messages are resonating with prospects? Then, align your story pitches appropriately. It goes without saying that the economy is the hot issue right now. How does your product or service save money, increase efficiencies or maximize resources?
2. Smart community relations. The sales team has identified the next hot prospect … but is struggling to get a meeting with the right person. If you’re taking a strategic approach to your company’s community relations, you might be able to help. Research the prospect’s involvement in causes, organizations, events, boards and committees. Is there an opportunity for your company to also be involved or supportive? That might just be enough to get on the prospect’s radar.
3. Professional online networking. By now, you’ve hopefully bought into the importance of networking online. However, unless your sales team is full of early adapters or tech-savvy folks, they may not understand the value of LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or other professional networking tools As a PR person, you should help them figure out how to navigate social media and leverage online networks to boost sales. For starters, are they actively participating in LinkedIn discussions? Have they asessed connections available through their network?

As PR people, we become that much more valuable to a company if we can demonstrate how our efforts are tied to the bottom line. What do you think — how else can we enhance (and accelerate) the sales cycle?

“Social media isn’t for our company. People might leave negative comments!”

How often have you heard some variation of that line of thinking? Unfortunately, the truth is that if someone has something negative to say about your company — they’re going to find a way. If not on your blog, than on some other social media outlet. That’s why companies need to incorporate “listening” into their communication strategy. People are talking — whether you’re participating or not. (For more on professional listening, see Chris Brogan’s post on growing bigger ears.)

The importance of listening was perfectly illustrated on Jeremiah Owyang’s blog. He wrote a post about the role corporate culture plays in a company’s ability/willingness to participate in social media. The post included an embedded presentation about IBM’s company-wide incorporation of social computing. But, the lesson about listening actually took place in the post’s comments. Jimmy, an ex-IBM employee commented on the post and used the forum to express his deep-rooted frustration with the way the company reacted when he needed time off to deal with a family crisis. His comments painted a very ugly picture.

And that’s why it’s important to listen. Adam Christensen — who, according to his blog, does “social media communication” for IBM — read the original post and the ensuing comments. Adam responded with his own comment to address the accusations:

By inserting itself into the dialogue, IBM diffused a potentially negative situation. Additional comments discussed corporate culture; however, IBM wasn’t the target of further criticism. We can only guess how the thread would have developed if IBM hadn’t jumped in. Maybe readers would have posted more attacks on IBM … or maybe not. We’ll never know — but is that a risk your company wants to take? If not, it’s time to start listening.

Photo Credit: David Plotzki.