What’s a publicist, and why should I care?

It makes sense for a corporate person to ask this. After all, larger companies are receiving solicitations – or pitches – every week from publicists, and a lot is written about the field.

Seeing the word, you may think of Hollywood press agents doing stunts to attract media attention.

But for a serious company, the reality is different. Here, the publicist is responsible for all sorts of things that often are gathered under the title,”Public Relations.” Such as helping sell the product or service. Or improving the impression of the corporation in the minds of customers, prospects, holders of the company’s stock, investors of other kinds, and the world in general. Or handling media relations in time of emergency.

So how does a publicist for a company go about it?

For starters, he or she is definitely responsible for finding major feature article stories within the company, and finding editors that the stories will fit, and bringing the two together. For this function, it helps to be a journalist. Because a journalist can spot stories you may not realize exist. And a journalist can talk to other journalists knowledgeably.

In our firm, we actually guarantee a certain number of major feature articles per year, and pledge to work for free if the target is not met.

A second publicists’ responsibility – most think this is the primary goal, but it probably isn’t – is to turn out news releases. (Often called “Press Releases,” which ignores the fact that broadcasters – who are a major target – don’t have presses.) The reason it isn’t a primary goal is that of 100 releases sent out, today maybe 10 get printed or broadcast, except when there’s real news…which isn’t all that often. When there is no real news, your journalist will be creating stories that quote you or the company, such as “Company reports 10 things to think about…” etc. If you have a really good publicist, who writes in decent journalese, you may get picked up by 20% or 50% of your target media. Writing to journalistic standards is crucial. We see so many news releases that start with a company name and say that the company “proudly announces.” No newspaper or magazine uses “proudly announces.” Awhile back, a client inserted the word “esteemed” before the name of a new board member. We axed it because no reputable editor will carry such an adjective.

Third major role for your publicist is to be there in case of catastrophe. Say you are a hotel and someone jumps from a window. The press and TV come a-running. It helps greatly to have a journalist to help work with the press and blunt any criticism of your hotel. Another example, from a few years ago, is the poisoning of some consumer products. Back then, Johnson & Johnson did fabulously in instantly recalling a product, and won many kudoes. They’ve not been so fabulous in a recent instance of a product liability.

Your publicist may also help you settle on a central theme for your news and advertising. And then fight to retain it. Years ago, the president of an aspirin manufacturer asked his agency, “You keep proposing that we continue the theme, ‘Fast, fast, relief.’ Aren’t we paying you for new ideas? The president of the agency replied, “No, you’re paying us to insist that you continue a winning theme.”

So whatever you call the job – public relations consultant, publicist, PR person, Communications Manager or ? – it’s a valuable function and worth some fraction of the corporate treasure.

By Ronald T. Smith, Managing Member, JournalistPR LLC www.journalistpr.com. journalistpr@gmail.com. 888/730-6630 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting 888/730-6630

Thoughts & Facts re Social Networking

Some call it “Social Networking,” and some call it “Viral Marketing” (which sounds sick-making). Anyhow, here are some facts on the subject compiled by the Michael Saunders real estate organization in Sarasota…

Of eight couples married in the U.S. last year, one met via social media. That’s more than 12%, and it’s growing.

Facebook added 100 million users in fewer than nine months, with the fastest growing segment made up of females 55-65 years old.

Blogs are omnipresent: there are more than 200 million now. -



Ronald T. Smith

JOURNALISTPR LLC

Newsman Joins Journalist PR

SARASOTA FL -- Tom Toolen, a one-time New York Daily News journalist, has joined JournalistPR (www.journalistpr.com) as a media relations consultant.

JournalistPR is believed to be the only PR agency in the Tampa Bay area that is staffed exclusively by journalists. The firm believes that it gets stronger results with journalists talking to media journalists.

Mr. Toolen was a reporter, feature writer, rewrite person and editor for The New York Daily News, before shifting to freelance status to report, write and edit articles for the New York Times, Daily News, Reuters, United Press International, Newark Star Ledger, San Francisco Chronicle and such magazines as Luxe, Money, First for Women, New Jersey Business and New York.

He was on the founding team for several publications, including New Jersey Times, a weekly; and Luxe magazine, a glossy lifestyle magazine based in New York. He also was a ghost writer for several books for business leaders in the insurance and real estate fields. For several years, he wrote a weekly human interest column for The Bergen Record newspaper in New Jersey.

He also served at separate times as Journalism Adjunct at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Teaneck, N.J.

Over the years, his journalism assignments covered a wide range of page one stories, including the first World Trade Center bombing in 1993, the assassination of John F. Kennedy, Pope John Paul's visit to New York/New Jersey, major financial and corruption cases involving government and business leaders, Mafia chief John Gotti's trial, the Bobby Riggs-Billie Jean King tennis showdown and civil unrest and turmoil in Harlem, Newark and Jersey City.

Aside from his responsibilities with JournalistPR, Mr. Toolen is also associate editor for two monthlies in New York, The Medical Herald and The Spiritual Herald, and operates a website where he writes articles commenting on news events.

He lives with his wife, Carolyn, in Venice and they have two grown children.

Writing Tip #7

If you're hiring someone to dig up and report press releases for your firm, find a journalist. A journalist will already know these rules.

writing Tip #6

Avoid calling an editor and saying that you have a great idea for him or her. It's their decision, not yours, as to how powerful your idea is. I counsel courteous diffidence: "Do you have a couple of minutes to hear a story idea?" (When press agents would call me as a New York editor proclaiming a great story, my response would be, "I'll tell you if you have a great story for us; please don't you tell me." Arrogant, but true.)

Writing Tip #5

And write that nugget in the style of your target publication! Better still, find a section or category which your target uses, and write in that style, and propose it as the next entry in their series.

Writing Tip #4

To get a major interview or feature, don't write the entire proposed piece. A quality news organization -- the kind you really care about -- will assign a staffer to do it. All you need write are a few sentences or a couple of paragraphs with the core of your story idea. If they want you to write a draft for their consideration, then ask "How long, and by what deadline?"