Survey reveals how journalists rate public relations practitioners and what they want from them

Thanks to publication coach Daphne Gray-Grant for alerting me (via Twitter) to the Bulldog Reporter/Cision 2010 Journalist Survey on Media Relations Practices.

If you are dealing with the media, the survey provides useful information about productive relationships between journalists and those on "the dark side."

Some journalist complaints about pr practitioners are the same now as they were when I was starting out 30 years ago:

• They don't know what beats I cover.
• They pitch their product/organization, but don't give any reasons why my reader/viewer would care about them.
• Their writing reads like advertising, not journalism.
• They don't understand that when I say I'm not interested, I mean I'm not interested, don't bug me.

But the survey also indicates increased opportunities for public relation professionals. Journalists reported

• Nearly half are expected to produce a greater number of stories per week
• A fourth are covering more beats
• Almost a fifth are making greater use of press releases and other pr materials

More stories, more beats, less time for each means, as seen by the increased reliance on press releases, that communication professionals can do well if they pitch timely, creative, audience-focused stories.

What I especially enjoyed, however, were the comments journalists made about emails. Here are 3:

1. Subject line doesn't grab my attention (23.5%)
2. Doesn't get to the point quickly enough (43.2%)
3. Wastes time with pleasantries (11.6%)

The survey also includes how journalists rate the professional skills of pr professionals. Could make for some very humbling reading.