Designing an online press room
From GrassrootsPedia
A divide exists between what PR people think journalists want and what journalists expect to find in online newsrooms.
In nearly every category of information, journalists placed a higher value on online availability than did the PR professionals surveyed.
For example, while 93 percent of journalists rated media kits as valuable, only 71 percent of PR professionals thought they were important. Similarly, 91 percent of journalists placed a high value on executive team bios, compared to just 58 percent of the PR community surveyed. But the greatest gaps came in the areas of past media coverage, upcoming events, awards and speeches. Journalists valued all such details highly, while PR professionals surveyed did not consider this information important to the media. Vocus survey
It's essential that campaigns understand what the media wants and provide that information. Better access to information means better exposure for your campaign and enhanced relations with the media. Yet PR people have reported it tough to create and keep online newsrooms up to date.
It is important to recognize that being a journalist and a communications officer are different jobs. While a journalist would love to see all the information in a press room including past media stories, it may not be the best for PR people to provide the information in the press room. The goal of the press room is to make moving your message of the day easy for journalists to access and understand. You want to meet the journalists' needs and let them know they are valuable visitors to your web site. You really want to make it as easy as possible for them to cover your issues.
So here are the to-do's for an online strategy to help with the care and feeding of the press.
1. On the home page put a link to "press room", use those words...
2. Have your current press release on your site (up to the minute).
3. Clear (painfully clear: include press people cell phones or 24 hour info) contacts for journalists working on deadline.
4. Media kits and background facts, spelling and title of staff/volunteers that might be quoted, age, bios.
5. Images and video that can be used to accompany stories. (More the better) Have clean copyrights posted for the press.
6. Sign up form for media specific to be cultivated and pushed to your press team.
Good examples:
Good campaigns:
Chris Carney follows the rules pretty well.
Steve Young no clear contact info, no current press releases
Andy Michaud uses "newsroom / forum", no contact information for media person.
Martin O'Malley uses "media center", no contact information for media person, no media specific kits, no ease of sign up for reporters.
Bad: (basically telling journalists working online ...@#$%#@@ you)
Bob Casey no press room, no current releases, no press contact information, no images for use.
PA Democratic Party no press room, no current releases, no press contact information, no images for use, no media kits. VS. PA GOP
Marty Kearns ..NOI Advisory Board
