The changes in chapter 5 talks about are already outdated, which reinforces the point they were trying to get across. For example, the digital switch has already happened, and it’s hard to find a place that doesn’t offer free Wi-Fi. It also mentions bloggers are becoming more reputable news sources, calling themselves “citizen-journalists”. While I still get my news from a daily news paper and the evening news on channel 4 (it’s the only channel I get because I still have rabbit ears on my TV) most other college students get their news from a variety of ways some of the older generations haven’t thought of: blogs, Twitter, Facebook, internet, and even Comedy Central. The Daily Show with John Stewart is rated higher than Fox News
This is all good news as far as nonprofits are concerned because of their limited funds to spend on advertisements. With Twitter, Facebook and blogs they can get the word out about an even for next to nothing and it would be more successful. More people are going online to read about something than a newspaper or magazine. Blogging seems to be the way of the future as far as news reporting and understanding because it is so accessible.
Chapter 7 deals with taking the time to build a strong, reliable relationship with a reporter. It can take several months or even years to gain their support. It’s all about the phrase “what’s in it for me?” http://www.brainwoo.com/posts/ralph/building-relationship-reporter-takes-years-destroying-it-seconds
The website above gives some really good examples of how to build that fragile relationship and how it can be destroyed. The book also gives some of the same information: be respectful of deadlines, don’t waste their time, and respecting their preferred way to communicate (i.e. Twitter, emails, etc.) Also, knowing what kind of email to send is a skill to master for anyone. It should be short and to the point and free of attachments.
Get to know the reporter, what interests them, and keep them in the loop whether it’s convenient for you or not. Now, something else to watch out for is not letting that reporter back you into a corner with the “Gotcha” stories. Another website that talks about avoiding the on-the-fly interviews makes some really good points: http://www.ereleases.com/prfuel/avoid-victim-gotcha-journalism/ and the book goes along with having 3 points and stick to them. Never offer up information that you don’t want to see in print. And as always watch out for the hecklers http://www.speakingaboutpresenting.com/audience/handle-a-heckler/ You should also remember to thank the reporters for coming to any event you have, but not for good press, just for their interest.
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