Full Frontal PR Report
Michael Prichinello

Twenty miles east of here, and a few decades back, my Mom raised me to be a good Lowng Oiland boy. I was polite, unassuming and capable of delighting adults at any wedding, graduation or Bar Mitzvah you threw my way. I earned a lot of pats on the head.

Unfortunately for Mom, being a PR guy has wrung modesty right out of me. I learned quickly that the media holds no respect for humility. If you want coverage, if there’s an angle that you know is best, if you want to be the lead for a Times story, being meek and “helpful” just doesn’t cut it. You’ve got to pitch hard and not be mysterious about what you want or what placement you’re looking for. But you knew that I guess.

Well, maybe some of you didn’t know. During the past couple of months it seems that everyone’s developed a new nicety with the media, under the presumption that if they’re really sweet and oh-so-darn helpful reporters will be sure to feature them. While it’s true that being “nice” works with old ladies and in court hearings, it doesn’t work with reporters who are busy fighting deadlines.

Is your head spinning yet? Does not being wonderfully pleasing mean you got to be nasty? Nope. What you need to be is honest and up front.

Journalists interview you because they need information and some new story ideas. You, on the other hand, have what they need and you need some coverage. See a deal formulating? Reporters are in fact people and love to be treated like adults. Yes, you should help them out with their story and okay be polite like your mother taught you, but you should also tell them, mano a mano, what story you’re looking for, what angle you think is best for them and you, and—how you can help.

Strangely enough, Mr. and Ms. Business Type, you soon learn that journalists happen to be some of the most talented dealmakers on our planet! If you think I’m on a media Jihad, do a quick Nexis search on Comcast Corporation. Since February, some four spokespersons have commented in a not small way on the Disney deal Comcast slapped on the table. The result was a thousand or so individual pieces of coverage around the globe, each a carbon copy of the last. That wasn’t what you might call luck—it was shrewd negotiation.

Reporters are aware of the balance between knowledge and access. They know how to use leverage when it’s necessary. They’re experts in requesting what they’re looking for—exactly what they need—and they do it with the subtly of a thrown mallet. Bottom line: the next time you’re on the horn with a media dude, lay out what you hope to get out of the conversation. That reporter will appreciate you being frank, and in the final analysis you’ll appreciate the story when it runs.

Former Long Island boy, and RLM’s 1999-2004 PR Pro, Michael Prichinello is co-author of the book Full Frontal PR, which you read about a bit on these pages.