Coakley Loss: Political Spin and Backroom Tactics Do Not Work for PR Strategists

By David M. Bresnahan

PR consultants and political strategists, whether they are Republicans or Democrats, should learn from the mistakes of the Coakley campaign for the U.S. Senate special election in Massachusetts. They tried to use the tactics of the past and failed, and that should be a wake-up call to PR people everywhere.

There are many PR mistakes that led to the loss by Coakley… » read more

PR Tips: Getting Attention in Local, Traditional Media

By David M. Bresnahan

When it comes to getting press coverage in the traditional, local media outlets it is absolutely critical that your PR strategy must include a way to get past the gatekeeper. Even if you go around the gatekeeper by going directly to a reporter, that reporter cannot do a story about you without permission from the gatekeeper.

Get to know who the gatekeeper is at the target media. It may be an editor, assignment editor, or even the publisher. If you are going after the local radio and television outlets you will need to find out who is the producer and news director. Talk shows have both a host and producer who need to be impressed by whatever you are trying to publicize.

Many small business owners decide to write their own news release and just send it to the reporters themselves, but very few home-made releases get any results.

However, if you want to try, here is a list of the things that turn reporters off… » read more