Untitled Document

Eye On PR

MAYO enters year 2002 with a popular feature on its website:
"Eye On PR" Everything from tricks of the trade to getting
on the radar of industry analysts to making your company newsworthy.

Nationally recognized and award-winning writer George McQuade
reports on the PR industry. We also featured guest writers.

If you'd like to share your media experience please lets us know, or
feel free to comment about ours.

WIRE EDITORS, REPORTERS GIVE PITCH TIPS

Dec. 3, 2002
by George S. McQuade III

Wire services are on constant deadline, so keep pitches short and get used to hearing "no," said writers and editors for five wire services at a PR Newswire sponsored workshop in Universal City, Calif.

Anthony Breznican, an Associated Press entertainment writer; Lori Streifler, city editor, City News Service; Rob Tourtellotte, West Coast correspondent, Reuters; Cathie Lou Parker, Entertainment News Service; Hollywood News Calendar managing editor Susan Fox-Davis and Pat Nason, editor, United Press International gave their dos and don'ts to about 75 PR pros attending the event.

Breznican, who is based on the West Coast and covers film, TV, home video and DVD, music and pop culture, said the question he hears most is, "Where will this story run?" to which he cannot answer because AP stories can run in three or 3,000 papers.

AP Entertainment Writer
Anthony Breznican

He said all wire services need to write embargoed stories one day before they are given to newspapers. Breznican gave his personal litmus test for news: "You need to ask yourself is this something you would want to read if it were published in a town where it was not happening." He said an entertainment angle is usually effective because "people in Iowa, Florida and places abroad like to read about celebrities, their contract disputes and their divorces and whatever else they may be doing besides their work."

Breznican writes one to two large features or profiles per week and several shorter stories each day for the AP's "Entertainment Report." Recent articles he penned include an obituary and biography on actor James Coburn, a feature on the "Jackass" movie and TV show, and a look at how comedians make the transition to "serious dramas."

He said most PR pros respond well to AP inquiries, noting that the news service is not out to embarrass celebrities, but that when Michael Jackson dangles his baby over a ledge, it is news.

Breznican said he prefers pitches by e-mail (abreznican@ap.org) but that he doesn't mind a call (212/626-1200). He apologized in advance for being rude, stressing that wire services are on a constant deadline.

Rob Tourtellotte of Reuters

Reuters staffs 11 people (eight are reporters) in its Los Angeles bureau. Tourtellotte said that relatively small staff forces Reuters to rely we rely a lot on joint ventures. "I help traffic media stories around to other reporters in North America," he said, calling himself "a bit of a conduit."

Tourtellotte said if a PR pro has a story breaking in Los Angeles and needs a reporter in New York or maybe Chicago, he doesn't mind being contacted.

The West Coast correspondent said PR pros should put the "why" of the pitch up front. "When you pitch us don just say ‘I have a great person to interview,' but rather why that person is newsworthy," he said. "I get a lot of calls offering this or that celebrity or neat and cool product and we ask what sort of angle or news trend does it fit?"

Tourtellotte said personal relationships always work, adding he can always be called to try to track down the right person. "But if you have a relationship with one of the reporters, it is the best way to get in," he added. Tourtellotte said Reuters looks at e-mail (bob.tourtellotte@reuters.com), "because it's faster than faxes."

UPI is down, not out

Pat Nason, UPI's Hollywood reporter, called the service the "formerly nearly defunct UPI." "We're still here, honest to goodness, and I'm not going to get into a match with AP or Reuters," Nason jabbed at the event. He admitted the service "can't do what we used to do" – UPI used to have 2,000 editors around the world – but said it covers some breaking news a features, mainly focusing on government, politics and national defense.

UPI Hollywood reporter Pat Nason

"We are completely top heavy in Washington, D.C. but also have a bureau in Chicago with a couple of staffers, and a couple of staffers around the country who work out of home offices in Boston, Dallas, Miami and greater Miami." Nason said his stories are "somewhere between covering everything you (publicists) could possibly suggest and covering only what's the most compelling stuff."

"I'm open, and I'll always listen to a pitch, but our relationship is going to be like the relationship between a casting director and an actor," he said. "Actor's have to understand that most of the time when they ask for something, they're going to be told ‘no,' because there's just too many little mouths to feed and not enough food to go around." Nason said his biggest pet peeve is PR pros who place restrictions on questions he can ask in an interview, adding he doesn't fax questions ahead of an interview.

He said UPI has a general assignment editor in Playa del Rey, Calif., who works out of his home office, and a science writer in San Francisco. Nason prefers email (pnason@upi.com) and doesn't like faxes, telephone calls or "snail mail."

CNS' ‘Budget' is key placement

Streifler said City News Service functions like a regional version of the AP. CNS publishes a City News Service Budget, which is a listing of events – everything from court cases to news conferences and governement meetings – for the general news media, which goes out 365 days a year. "It's a big job and a big part of what we do," she added.

Lori Streifler, City News Service

Most of the assignment editors for the 70-year-old news service rely heavily on the CNS budget, she said, and, like the other wires, its newsrooms are constantly under deadline.

CNS also has a couple of products which target the PR industry. One is CNS online, a news product under which CNS e-mails any stories or budget items written containing a keyword provided by the user. The charge is about $8.00 per inquiry.

CNS will also go out and shoot video of events and take it to TV stationsm, providing clients with all of the master copies to use in the future.

Streifler prefers getting information by fax (310.201.9124) but e-mail is okay."Don't bombard us with the same fax or the same email, over and over again," she told PR pros at the event. "That's not going to make me want to cover your event, let alone list it on the budget. Don't call to see if we received your faxes and trust technology."

ENS ‘wide open' to celeb stories

Parker, of Entertainment News Service, said she's wide open to any celebrity stories. ENS, a Tribune Co. property, is a package of stories that goes out every Wednesday to subscribers. In addition to celebrity stories, the 50-year-old syndicate handles political commentary, food styles, lifestyles, health and fitness, and the environment.

Cathie Lou Parker, Entertainment
News Service copy chief editor

Parker said ENS has an international focus and tends to emphasize movies, TV, music, veteran entertainers as well as classical and up and coming international artists. Parker prefers email and movie pitches one week before openings.

She took a survey from some of ENS' writers which found that one of their biggest dislikes is a performer or actor not calling at the right time. "Many times, as freelance writers it is there bread and butter, so they‘re ready to talk to a celebrity at a certain time of the day, and then the publicists will say he or she is not available. It causes all kinds of frustrations and a delay like that can delay the release of a story on the opening of a movie," she said. "We try to work with you as much as possible, but sometimes PR Pros don't even call, and these poor publicists way around five hours when they had other things to do."

HNC works five days ahead

Hollywood News Calendar's Fox-Davis said that wire's daily calendar is done five days in advance.

It usually has about two pages, but has contained as many as 15 during Oscar season. Things to do, events to cover, and people to interview. So we don't run stories and we don't hire your friends, we don't shoot video, but we just have a calendar. We've had it for 15 years.

Susan Fox-Davis
Hollywood News Calendar

"We will take story announcements in New York and Los Angeles by fax or email, carry a pigeon, we don't care as long as it gets to us, and it is reasonably accurate," said Fox-Davis.

Fox-Davis called on PR pros to raise three bars:

The bar of truth – "Either accidentally or not we get the wrong information. The wrong day, the wrong time, or ‘Oh no we're not having a premier for the biggest movie of the year and we're not admitting press.' If you're limiting press, tell us, don't lie to us."

The bar of punctuality – "I get calls for major events months in advance. I like to have them five days in advance. There is one studio that always sends out their news releases about 10 minutes before I go to print the day before. It makes me crazy and makes my clients crazy. And it probably makes your clients crazy, because your clients are not getting the exposure you want. We're on the same side here. My deadlines are noon Eastern for New York, and noon Pacific Time for L.A. Please let me know the weekday before. If today's Thursday, I'm doing the Friday issues. On Friday I'm doing the Monday issue."

The bar of courtesy – It doesn't cost anymore to me nice. I try to be nice, whenever you call to find out ‘are there any other events on March 12th?' My role model in the business is the late Evelyn Hayward. She used to do traveling tourism for the Republic of Portugal. She was the nicest person in the world, and she always got what she wanted every time. It pays. Don't give courtesy, because you're a nice person, do courtesy, because it works!"