Comments on: (Some) PR People Are Annoying (written by a PR person)

By: Lyn Mettler

Lyn Mettler — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 13:22:37 +0000

Oh my gosh, will you come to work for me, right now??? I 100% agree and also think journalists make the best PR folks. Great comment!!

By: Chris Tatum

Chris Tatum — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 03:17:27 +0000

You’re right on the money
I spent years as a TV news reporter before launching my PR company. As a reporter I trashed nearly every press release I received. Seldom do PR people write releases that hold my attention much less that a producer can cut and paste and have the anchors read verbatim. Put another way, far too many PR professionals can’t write worth a crap.
Equally as annoying to a reporter is a publicist who thinks their job is to insulate their client from the media. If a reporter needs your client in their story they’ll get them in. They may have to write you in and talk about how you dodged them (which makes your client look like they’re hiding something) but they’ll get you in. You have far more control of how you’re presented if you agree to an interview.
Finally, few PR people have a clue about what’s needed to make a news story. Your press release represents YOUR client’s position. There are ALWAYS at least two sided to a story and any reporter worth a crap is going to include both. The story doesn’t always have to be JUST about your client for our client to get favorable press out of it.
I think journalist make the best PR reps.

By: Cutting Edge PR 101 That Might Save The Industry! | Ashley Evens || PR || Marketing

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 03:36:29 +0000

[...] if you want to read a little more PR 101 you can check out Lyn Mettler’s article called (Some) PR People Are Annoying (Written By A PR Person). It lays out grievances that I think are far more valid and that I can confirm I’ve heard [...]

By: Tanner Johnson

Tanner Johnson — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 22:38:03 +0000

I think your sentiments are understood by a lot of us. As a small business owner I have felt under-served by the majority of PR free-lancers I’ve worked with (until recently) and been frustrated by the difficulty of getting reporters to work with us on stories.

By: Lyn Mettler

Lyn Mettler — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 20:01:58 +0000

Absolutely. Journalists are equally as annoying in their own way. I’ll have to do a post on that.

By: Kira Perdue

Kira Perdue — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:57:46 +0000

BRAVO, Lynn! Well said. Next, i’d like to see you tackle “Why Journalists are Annoying” (to turn the tables). I’ve often wanted to remind certain reporters that they are writers of news, not curers of cancer (for all the importance they can assign themselves).

By: Liza Jones

Liza Jones — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:57:45 +0000

A-MEN, sister!! I wholeheartedly agree with all of your points. It’s unfortunate that there are bad apples in our industry, but I’d assume that’s true in every profession. It’s up to those of us who value the work to raise the bar for everyone else.