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Marketing to the Dailies
(March 2002 PCC Monthly Luncheon)
Article by Sue Masaracchia
Public Information Officer
Deerfield Park District |
Photos by Jonathan
Lehrer |
Moderator
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Mort Kaplan
Columbia College
Panelists:
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Left to right: Don Hayner,
Susan Keaton, Sarah Hollar |
The March member meeting of the
Publicity Club of Chicago featured Columbia College
professor of marketing and communications/director of
public relations studies Morton Kaplan, as moderator,
Daily Herald assistant editor Sarah Hollar, Chicago
Tribune Chicago bureau chief Susan Keaton, and Chicago
Sun-Times metro editor Don Hayner.
Mort Kaplan began the session by
asking panelists to take the audience through a typical
day on the job so PR professionals could gain an
understanding of the scope of each editor’s
responsibilities. Yes, each besieged with mounds of
daily faxes and hundreds of daily phone calls.
Along those lines, Keaton explained
that her title is a fancy way of saying she begins her
days at 7 a.m. The early start allows her to meet with
the overnight editors who can brief her on significant
news that may have occurred on their shift. The she can
begin assigning daily events coverage to get a jump on
the day’s news. She also begins monitoring breaking news
to assign reporters. She also coordinates with the
graphics departments as well as the Internet staff. Then
it’s a quick scan of the assortment of releases and
faxes that have come in, highlighting those she deems
important. As far as press releases, hundreds arrive
daily. Throughout all this, her phone rings constantly.
At 3 p.m., she hands off her work to the next person.
A beat structure exists at the
Tribune, although a significant number of general
assignment writers are also on staff. “I’ll get you to
the person on that beat,” said Keaton, adding, “They’ll
understand what you are talking about more quickly than
I will.” However, her pet peeve is people who have no
clue who to call and those who make repeated phone calls
to check in.
Keaton advises, “If you produce an
idea that you think you would like to offer exclusively
to one paper to leverage the exclusivity of the story,
think twice about it. Exclusives rarely give a story
leverage and usually results in alienating competitive
papers. Give it to everyone. This is a competitive town.
An exclusive given to one paper can ruin your
relationship with the other papers.”
As with any publication, she advises
the PR person know the market, the audience and
demographics the publication covers. Keaton is receptive
to stories that play off issues in the news. Provide her
with ideas that can be pegged onto a news story. “Teach
people something,” she encouraged, giving the example of
how a community celebrated Pulaski Day. This is a fairly
regional holiday with a limited number of people who
understand what it’s all about. She received a story
idea that provided a vehicle for educating readers while
relating it to the news.
General faxes to the Tribune rarely
get reviewed. However, faxes that are addressed to a
specific person at the Tribune usually get routed to
that person.
As far as photos, the paper seldom
accepts nonprofessional photos unless the photo is of
something they could not get any other way. On weekends,
it is more difficult to provide photographers; if you
request one, it is best to check.
“There is a small chance of having
submitted photos published,” said Keaton. “We are snobby
about that. We don’t like staged photos but will take
mug shots and family photos of those in the news.”
To obtain the good graces of
reporters and editors, help them obtain what they need
for stories people, information, help smooth the waters.
“I’ll call you next time,” said Keaton, if provided this
help.
Keaton prefers to be contacted via
faxes or snail mail since she needs to sort story
suggestions out visually before assigning them. When a
story comes in via the Internet she has to print it out,
adding an unwelcome step to an already busy day. It is
best to deal with reporters directly, especially when
research is required. Event press releases should
contain the day and time of the event up front, and
include day and evening contact information.
The Daily Herald covers 10 Du Page,
Lake and Cook county suburbs and includes special
sections, Neighbor sections, elections, educational
sections.
“I work with reporters on how to
approach the stories along with coordinating photos and
graphics to pull the stories together,” said Hollar, who
prefers to be contacted by e-mail ( finds e-mail more
manageable, as it is already in an electronic form.
“This coordination depends on the
skills of the reporter,” said Hollar. “The more
knowledgeable ones are more independent. Getting to know
the reporters is the best way to get your foot in the
door, although reporters at the Daily Herald frequently
change beats.”
Most important for the Herald is
making sure there is a suburban connection with a story
pitched. With more limited resources than the other
papers, aside from pitching stories outside their
demographics, Hollar’s greatest pet peeve is requests to
send clips of stories that have appeared.
“If you want coverage, make sure
there is a person from the suburbs [we cover] involved
with the event,” added Hollar.
Hayner’s day at work begins around
10 a.m., when he assumes the supervision of the
Sun-Times city desk from the night person who comes in
at 4 p.m..His work is not completed until around 8 p.m.
His focus is getting the best story
on the front page, making sure to direct breaking
stories to the proper reporters and developing stories
for that day. Meetings engage him around 10 a.m. and 3
p.m. the worst time for him to receive phone calls. He
especially likes to hear about breaking stories.
“It’s always appropriate to call
with a great story!” Hayner said, however it is always
best to call the specialty reporters whenever possible.
“Relationships with reporters are important. You need to
sell visions, concepts of stories and explaining why
things are good or bad. Reporters pitch us so learn to
pitch reporters,” he added.
Unless it is an urgent story Hayner
prefers information to be mailed, explaining “It’s
easier to work with and hand off.”
Hayner explained that the culture of
the reporting world is inclined toward breaking news.
“As busy as PR people are, reporters are busy also,” he
explained. Reporters weed through releases and know what
they are looking for. However, “Don’t call the city desk
to find out if a release has been received, or complain
to an editor that your story wasn’t used because “ the
reporter was not smart enough to know why the story was
good.”
He explained that journalists need
to be assured that stories they work on will be viable
that they will, in fact, run. Hayner added, “Reporters
come to editors to see how high in paper their stories
will appear, not whether or not they will be run.
Stories must be good for reporters to spend time on
them. There is a tacit agreement that these reporters
won’t be wasting their time.”
An exclusive is a perfect problem
for the Sun-Times. Exclusives on stories depend on the
story and whose idea it is. If a story is given to the
competition as an exclusive, it will not reflect well on
the person submitting it.
“There is a rhythm to how the week
goes,” said Hayner. “The pace seems to build during the
week. I feel this an ADD (attention deficit disorder)
society. They have a burning desire for news. I love
good people stories, so keep us in mind for those.”
Kaplan concluded that, “it is
unanimous. There is no unanimity about how to send
material, however it is clear we need to respect the
time and sensitivities of reporters and editors,
invoking the wise comment, “leave nothing to chance.”
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