Making Your Mark With Journalists

Be Very Nice To The Editor

The editor of any publication is a total autocrat. He, and he alone, has the final decision as to which stories, articles, etc. are used and which are not. Editors need these draconian powers, partly because they are solely responsible to the publisher for the readability and reputation of the publication, and partly because they can be personally sued for expensive things like libel (see Chapter 11).

Knowing this may help to ease the frustration if, as sometimes happens, an editor doesn’t use the first couple of news stories you send him. If the editor doesn’t know you, he may want to be sure that you’re not one of those here-today-and-gone-tomorrow outfits before he puts your name in front of his readers. So he waits until he’s seen a few of your press releases coming across his desk to convince him that you’re real, interesting and here to stay. Simple, when you think about it!

To avoid incurring the imperial displeasure:

Don’t threaten to appeal to a higher authority if the editor doesn’t use your story. There is no higher authority to appeal to.

Don’t try to pressure an editor to use your stories on the grounds that you advertise in his magazine. Most editors have little or nothing to do with advertising, and value their independence.

Don’t waste his time (and yours) by phoning and asking him if he’ll be using the story you’ve just sent him. Read the next issue and you’ll find out.

Don’t suggest that an editor really must use a particular story you’ve sent him because the industry has been waiting for it with bated breath, or that it’s a matter of vital public interest. The editor will be the sole judge of that, thank you-just write it well, send it in, and say your prayers.

Don’t phone and ask an editor why he didn’t use your last story. Non-appearance may be for any one of several reasons, but he doesn’t owe you an explanation and may resent your implication that he does. So better not to ask at all, yes?

By now you may be feeling that establishing good relationships with such godlike beings is Mission Impossible. Take heart – most editors are quite human really. They actually rely on people like you to send them news stories, articles and case studies to fill the editorial pages of their magazines, although it would probably be very counter-productive to remind them of this!

Try to understand the imperatives and constraints on them, fit in with their needs, treat them with friendly respect as professionals in their field, and you’ll get along just fine.

Always Ask: ‘what’s Your Deadline?’

Imagine, if you can, producing a monthly magazine. As a minimum you would have to allow time every month for getting all the news, articles, etc. sorted out, deciding what’s going on which page, what pictures to use and, finally, getting the whole thing off to the printers in time for them to print it and get it to the distributors by the due date. To facilitate this, editors and journalists have to work to tight deadlines – and so must you. This affects you in two ways:

If a journalist phones and asks for some information which you don’t have at your fingertips (or that you want to think about first), always ask: ‘What’s your deadline for this?’ It may be the end of this week; it may be the end of today. Whatever it is, honour it and you’ll earn yourself Brownie points.
Quite a few monthly trade and industry magazines close for copy round about the middle of the month before publication, e.g. if you want to hit April issues you will probably need to get your copy to the editor by about 10^th – 12^th March. This is only a general rule of thumb, and news stories mostly take their chances. However, if you are submitting a feature article requested for a particular issue of a magazine, do make sure you know what the editor’s copy deadline is. If he doesn’t tell you. ask him.

Whatever Happens, Don’t Lie

Telling lies is a sure and certain way to wreck a beautiful friendship with a journalist. All PR people put a touch of ‘spin’ on a story from time to time – maybe leaving out something which is better left unsaid (like, it’s a wonderful piece of kit but maybe best not to mention its out-of-sight delivery time). But never, never tell a direct lie to a journalist, either verbally or in a written news story. If he accepts it as genuine and acts on it, and then it proves to be a lie, he will never trust you again. It’s all part of the stories thing, it’s about his professionalism. He needs to get a reputation for accuracy, for getting his stories right. You’ve broken the trust he placed in you. you’ve dented his reputation. He won’t risk it next time.