About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Content we like, Opinion

A two way street

As B2B PR professionals, an important part of our job is maintaining strong relationships with our target journalists and to pitch them relevant, timely and interesting story ideas on behalf of our clients. Sounds simple doesn’t it?

Well in theory, yes it should be relatively simple, but the reality is all too frequently very different. Firstly, often just getting to speak to a journalist can be a struggle. Some are only ever contactable by email, while others are hardly ever contactable with phones that ring out unanswered and emails that are ignored. While for others, social media sites like Twitter are now the preferred communications tool.

Given the sheer volume of pitches, follow up calls and sell-ins they receive from PRs on a daily basis, it’s little wonder that we PR folk face an uphill struggle to actually get five minutes air time with a journalist.

PR’s are often on the receiving end of criticism from journalists for wasting their time, calling on a deadline or pitching them materials they feel aren’t relevant or news worthy enough for their readers. Much of this criticism I’m sure is justified, but having recently I read an article entitled: ‘8 things I wish journalists  knew about PR’ it got me thinking about how a bit more understanding from journalists on the role of a PR could be mutually beneficial.

Much of the article explains from a PR’s point of view how we work and how to get the best from the two way relationship. It’s a really interesting read and many of the eight reasons listed could do much to nuture the future relationships between journalist and PRs.

About this article

Read time:

4 minutes

Category:

Content we like, Opinion

Q&A with Alex Gladwin: What does it mean to be a trustee for an EOB?

Rules of engagement: do you need an AI policy?

Browse more blog posts

Posted on
byIsobelle Yoxall
As you may know by now, this year Skout went through the process of becoming an employee-owned business (EOB)! This is an exciting move that provides great opportunities for everyone connected with the business, not just for our employees, but for our clients and everyone we will work with in the future. As part of the process, an employee-owned trust...
Posted on
byClaire Lamb
In short, yes. But that answer would make this a really brief blog 😉. With the UK Government estimating that one in six UK organisations, nearly half a million companies, have embraced at least one AI technology, the chances are your employees are already using it – whether officially or unofficially. One thing that we discovered when we started to...
Posted on
byJames Weaver
In today’s digital-first world, we constantly receive breaking news and developing stories around the clock. The dawn of the smart phone and rise of social media has given us a world of information at our fingertips and major news organisations’ rolling coverage can be as theatrical and gripping as the plays of old. Just as Shakespearean tragedies gripped audiences, today...
Posted on
byRob Skinner
If you’re working in B2B marketing in the digital commerce technology sector you’ll know what an incredibly complex landscape it has become! As online buying both by consumers and businesses has evolved, the range of technologies available to help businesses selling or purchasing online or digitally has grown hugely. Today, your key audiences are being bombarded with marketing content covering...
Posted on
byJack Snell
Why was PR your chosen career?  Without it sounding like the biggest cliché in the industry, I just happened to fall into PR unintentionally. I applied to study journalism at Leeds Beckett University but they replied telling me that the course was already full, heart-breaking stuff 😔. Instead, they offered me a place on the public relations course, so I...
Posted on
byJames Bentley
You may have seen recently the brilliant news that Skout is now an employee-owned business as our founding shareholders, Rob Skinner and Claire Lamb, signed 100 per cent of the company’s ownership over to an Employee Ownership Trust (EOT) which acts on the behalf of our team. It’s a move that provides great opportunities for everyone connected with the business,...
Posted on
byClaire James
Generative AI (such as ChatGPT) has caused a bit of a storm in the marketing world but its power to transform is being embraced by other industries to significant advantage. In this blog I am looking specifically at the retail industry and how it is adopting GenAI to help shape the future of customer experience whilst also reducing costs. Creating...
Posted on
byLee Simpson
From Meet Ups to Expos, the tech industry is one that thrives on knowledge and best-practice sharing. Yet all too often tech events fail to hit the mark when it comes to offering tangible value, instead created by corporate machines as something of a vehicle for self-promotion.   Manchester’s Amy Newton is on a mission to change that, striving to reinvent...
Posted on
byRebecca Brown
AI has been the hot topic in our team meetings over the past few months, with the Skout team debating the pros and cons of its use. From using it to assist with desk research and providing inspiration for headlines through to transcribing interviews to help remove the need for extensive notetaking. Its flipside, however, has driven conversations around its...
Posted on
byHonor Williamson
As World Wellbeing Week draws to a close, we wanted to shine a light on wellbeing at work. While every area of wellbeing is hugely important in all aspects of life, it’s especially important in the workplace – we’re there nearly every day, after all! We spoke to Chris Snookes, Group Head of Marketing, Products and Markets at our client...

Send us a message

Download The B2B business relationship report

The B2B relationship renaissance – did digital kill it? The importance of relationships throughout the customer buying journey. Please complete the form below and receive a download link via email.