Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with pr

Will a newspaper job inch me closer to a career in public relations?

sureshot — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:46:48 -0800

Job_Offer_Filter: I'm a struggling freelance writer trying to (someday) break into the pr/communications field. I've just been offered a staff writer position at a small local newspaper. Does accepting the job inch me closer to my desired field? Or just burden me with a ton of unmarketable experience? So, my background:

4 years out of college, doing my best to flex my English/Creative Writing degree. Over the past three years, I've established myself as one of the top arts writers in a large, non-Chicago Midwestern city. I have regular columns in the glossy monthly, aimed at young, hip, and moneyed readers. I am a regular contributor to an alternative weekly, and I fill in for the big daily's art critic when she is sick or on vacation. I also get to do occasional speaking engagements, juried art shows, etc.

Problem is, none of this has evolved into full-time work. I've worked random odd jobs since graduation, some vaguely related to media--wrote audio description scripts for a year, wrote back cover copy for paperback books at a small publisher, picked up random corporate copywriting/speech writing/press release writing projects here and there. I've been unemployed and broke a lot. I'm now working 30 hours per week as a paraprofessional at a local public school, while still doing all my writing stuff on the side.

So now I have an actual job offer:

Staff writer/reporter position at a pair of small, neighborhood newspapers. A small local publisher, hanging on by a thread. The staff seems overworked and underpaid. The job calls for 10,000 words per month, writer pitches/plans all stories (in a very broad range of subject areas), deadlines every two weeks. Some nights and weekends. The pay is low. $30,000 (salaried, which means no overtime pay).

I don't see a future in newspapers. And print publication, though a true love of mine, is not my final career goal. I want to sneak my way over to the other side of the media. And I'm not sure that amassing more print clips is the way to do that. But print journalism is much closer, industry-wise, to pr/communications than teaching, so maybe a year or two at a paper would narrow the gap for a career leap. And perhaps I could learn enough new media skills (video and sound, slide shows) to balance out my increasingly-obsolete print portfolio.

The alternative would be to stick at this part-time school job until summer (when I will be laid off) and devote myself to a long-term, strategic job hunt. Get an on-line portfolio up, maybe start a blog. Network like crazy. By summer, I"d be ready to launch a targeted, nation-wide search. And if the fish aren't biting, I just go back to the school in the fall and keep at it.

So. All of this nattering is to simply ask: Will a newspaper job get me closer to where I want to be? Or is it just another detour?

Any recovering journalists out there starting a new life in PR?

PR success fees: I need the skinny

OctopusRex — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:43:24 -0800

How exactly do big PR firms calculate success fees? Do they "cap" them, or is the sky the limit? Or do they structure them so that no one would use them? Do they use the face value of AVE (1 page in newspaper = 1 page advertisement value) or do they use multiplicators?

Questions about PR job interview

t0astie — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 18:23:55 -0800

Oh my! I've been shortlisted for a PR job at a university. AskMe, what might they ask me at the interview, and have you any tips as to how I ought answer? I'm a (newspaper) journalist who's been shortlisted for a job doing PR at a university. Hurrah! I understand from this question how my reporting experience will be valuable to a PR employer. But I'm a bit at sea as to what PR-specific questions might ask me at the interview tomorrow.

I've had a look at areas of research the interview panel members specialise in with a view to tailoring my responses in the interview; am au fait with the university's media and marketing efforts, including social media, and I'm able to provide specific examples of how I can leverage my experience/skills into positive coverage for them.

I'm also OK with general interview stuff – how to answer the ''Where do you see yourself in five years / what's your greatest weakness / why did you leave your last job?'' type questions.

But PR specific questions? And University PR? The only other question I can think of is how might I approach damage control and negative incidents.

i) What else might they ask me?
ii) How could I best answer?
iii) Have I forgotten anything?

Also: I'm in Australia, not the US if that makes any difference.

Thank you AskMe. (And wish me luck!)

No comment.

downing street memo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:40:54 -0800

Resume-filter: I'm a PR consultant, and for the last few years my job has primarily consisted of writing statements, press releases, blog posts etc. for my clients that invariably go out under someone else's name. Now I'm writing a cover letter - can I say that my work was "forward-facing"? Obviously I don't have "on-the-record" experience from this, since my writing went out under someone else's name. What's the best way to indicate that I wasn't writing internal memos - that my work actually saw the eyes of the public?

Work in the industry as a PhD or teach instead?

philrj — Sun, 17 May 2009 20:39:54 -0800

What starting salary can a recent graduate PhD in Mass Communication expect to make in the industry focusing on research (i.e., not teaching at a university)? Trying to decide whether to go into teaching at a university or go in the industry to do market research with my PhD. I know there is a relatively large price difference; but wondering how much the difference actually is.

I've been told teaching is anywhere from 40k-60k starting—untenured, but in the industry anywhere 100k and above. Can anyone enlighten me on this? Tough choices to make. Oh, and I have two more years to go before I graduate. I currently do online marketing/public relations research as a PhD student. Trying to begin plan ahead. Cheers...

Software Marketing Ideas

jasondigitized — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 05:43:02 -0800

I have created a website and software that I would like to promote and market. What are some creative ways to drive more traffic to my website and get people to buy my software? How does one go about getting write-ups in industry trade mags, ezines, and blogs? I am interested in learning more about ethical SEO, PR Campaigns, Affiliates, Guerilla Marketing, etc. If you created a piece of software, how would you get the word out?

What percentage of comments on large blogs/newspapers are propaganda?

Damn That Television — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:20:35 -0800

What percentage of comments on large blogs/newspapers are planned propaganda? As an example:
http://nymag.com/news/features/43892/comments.html#comments

Pretty scary article about an anti-smoking drug with lots of user comments in favor of the drug. I know that many, possibly all, are sincere anecdotes from people who have been helped. But how many are accounts from Pfizer or their PR firm, trying to spin/discredit it?

Are website user comments even something that companies/political groups really bother with?

Just registered for Selective Service; can I still apply for naturalization?

Anonymous — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:30:45 -0800

I'm 25 and a Permament Resident of the United States. I want to apply (and am eligible) for citizenship. Stupidly, I neglected to register for Selective Service until now. However, I was able to get my registration processed before my upcoming 26 birthday (the absolute deadline for registration). Can I apply for citizenship, or will I not have the requisite five years of good moral character, since I haven't registered until very recently?

How do I send mass mailings?

NekulturnY — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 13:14:31 -0800

Mass mailing software for PR purposes: the trees, the forest, and which is which. Typing in "mailing solutions pr" or similar queries lead to massive results, but it's not always clear if they're reliable and such. So I thought I'd take this up with you people.

We're looking for a mailing solution (hosted on our server or to be used on in house pc), that can address several hundreds of contacts. It must also be able to categorize contacts in various flexible ways, as in: "business press", "leisure and travel press", "all press" etc etc. It also has to be (as) cheap (as possible). Anyone?

How often should I post to maintain an audience?

gusandrews — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 13:13:08 -0800

I produce a YouTube show about media literacy/criticism. Right now we post weekly, on a schedule which is driving me insane. Does frequency of publishing new content matter (whether it's for a blog, a podcast, a comic, etc) so long as you publish regularly? Could I do it every other week or monthly without losing people's attention? And what do you suggest doing to help make up for less-frequent publishing? I produce a YouTube show about media literacy/criticism which is aimed roughly at high-school- and college-aged students. Right now we post weekly. I've been sticking to this schedule because I've always felt that blogs/webcomics/other online serials which post regularly tend to have a more devoted audience. (This also echoes advice I got when working for an organization which supported small-circulation magazines.)

However, posting weekly is kind of driving me crazy. Editing and shooting video is a hell of a lot more time-consuming than writing a blog post. I'd like to post less frequently, but I'm worried I'd lose audience. A lot of the people I speak to about the show don't seem to have a YouTube account, so using the "subscribe" button is out.

So I'm hoping to gather up the expertise of people who have been doing this for longer than I have. Does frequency of publishing new content matter (whether it's for a blog, a podcast, a comic, etc) so long as you publish regularly? Could I do it every other week or monthly without losing people's attention? And what do you suggest doing to help make up for less-frequent publishing?

Help me transition from journalism to government PR and/or corporate communications

t0astie — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:57:00 -0800

Due to a raft of factors beyond my control, I have to give up my awesome but poorly paid and very demanding job as a reporter and seek a more 9-5 employment, with better pay. AskMe, can you help me identify my selling points for PR and communications jobs? Background
I worked as reporter and photographer at a daily newspaper, running an office remote from the paper's main headquarters. I loved it. But I got sick. Too sick to live in the middle of nowhere with poor health care, work from 5am-9pm, deal with extreme heat, no breaks and conditions best be described as, uh, somewhat adversarial. Thankfully, I will eventually recover completely and am currently well enough to hold down a regular 9am-5pm job. So, I've moved back to the main city in the (Australian) state where I grew up and I'm gearing up to apply for jobs in PR and communications, mainly in government.

Apart from writing skills and knowledge of how the media works, I'm a bit vague about why a government department would hire a former journo instead of someone with a specific PR background. Other than better pay and working conditions, I'm also at a bit of a loss for positive reasons to seek out a career in PR. While ''I need to do something that doesn't suck the marrow from my bones and pays above the poverty line'' is true, it won't win me any gold interview or cover letter stars, I'm sure. Moreover, it's not a *personally* satisfying reason for making the change. I'd really like, in my own mind, to have sorted out some positive reasons for embracing my new career other than brutal necessity.

Further background
I have an MA in journalism and communications; three years reporting experience, a couple of awards and fellowships, and five years prior technical communications experience. I do NOT want to go back to tech writing. While I look for a job, I am volunteering as a migrant English tutor two mornings a week and have also been considering some volunteer PR work to put on my resume.

AskMe PR and communications peeps, can you enlighten me?

i) Why do you love your PR job?
ii) What strengths would a former journo bring to the table in a PR role?
iii) What weaknesses would a former journo need to compensate for when applying for PR and communications jobs?
iv) Is there anything I haven't thought of about this transition that I should know?

How do I get (free) press coverage for my boss' pet issue?

micketymoc — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 22:21:43 -0800

What's the best way to get some buzz going on a web article my boss asked me to write? The higher ups want to get an established columnist/journalist in the US to publish it, or comment on it. I've posted the article on our corporate site (if you must know, it's a defense of outsourcing) - so what's a guy gotta do to get some column-inches for a pet issue in an actual newspaper?

Spasm and spam only differ by one letter

anarchivist — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:54:59 -0800

What is a good source of online etiquette for cross-medium self-promotion? I'm thinking someone might be going over the line, but I want something to back me up so it doesn't seem like I'm just overreacting. A member of an e-mail list I subscribe to posts about her/his blogs over frequently, to the point of always posting whenever there is a new entry up. I'm through ignoring it, and more than one person has suggested to him on list that if people wanted to read her/his blog that they'd do it. I'm not sure she/he is getting it. However, I can't really find any good sources for this sort of netiquette - I'm finding things only related to blogs or to e-mail lists, not both. I'd like something to point to if I (or others) choose to reach out to her/him.

Design + policy + communications: what colour is my parachute?

Weng — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 19:34:58 -0800

Graphic Designers / Commercial Artists, Social Policy People, PR/Communications Professionals: where do your professions overlap? I'm currently working my way through the What Colour is Your Parachute exercises, and have had some interesting and unexpected results. Where I'm a bit stuck is finding the "overlap" between particular fields of interest.

Can anyone suggest roles where the above-mentioned fields overlap? Bonus points if you can explain how to get there!

The only one I can come up with, is an in-house communications officer, who also designs posters/pamphlets etc, for some kind of non-profit organisation or policy advocacy group. Which, by the way, would be ideal. But since I have little practical experience - though lots of interest - in these fields, I'm assuming there must be many more options?

(Am I being too literal in doing these exercises?? Any advice welcome!)

I see the journalism industry has crashed around you. Please hire me?

elisabethjw — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 01:30:26 -0800

I'm a sophomore in college looking for a journalism or public relations internship in NYC this summer. (I know, right?) So where am I going wrong? I do realize the journalism industry has gone down the toilet lately.

I have living arrangements in New York this summer, and am searching for a job to complement my apartment. I will happily accept an unpaid internship in either public relations/marketing or magazine/web journalism. I have experience in both areas -- probably less experience in marketing (I interned at an ad agency last summer, but I study journalism at a very well-known j-school and am an editor at one of the big campus publications).

So I will basically offer myself up for free (or for pay, I mean, but I can't be picky) to any publication or agency that will hire me. Unfortunately, it seems every other fledgling journalism student will do the same. I don't want to operate under the presumption that I will land an internship at any of the "big" NY magazine/web corps, so I'm looking for something a little...different.

Craigslist has so far been a crapshoot (not just for me, but for others applying past years). The jobs posted to our school's job board tend to be highly competitive. Where else is there to look? I have no "ins" in the NY media world, as I'm from nowheresville in the Midwest. Are there any small (web)magazines (along the lines of Time Out NY) who may be looking for free labor that you could direct me towards? Could cold emails to smaller publications help me, or would they just be relegated to the "never-answered" bin?

In case I haven't been succinct:
* Are there any alternative venues/methods to finding either journalism or marketing/pr summer internships in NY?
* What small (web)magazines might hire summer interns? And are cold emails welcome?
* Or is it just simply too early to look? I know several people who have already landed summer internships, and the school HIGHLY encourages us to find one ASAP -- but if I keep ruthlessly applying to Craigslist postings, etc., is there a decent chance I will find an "employment match"?

Help me use these minions wisely

faineant — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:06:18 -0800

Looking for useful marketing projects for volunteers I need to come up with a laundry list of open-ended or broadly focused projects that volunteers to the organization can do to assist with marketing/pr for an educational nonprofit. Said volunteers will get to choose the projects that interest them, so a wide variety of potentially (actually, if not necessarily immediately) useful activities is the goal. Said volunteers are also, obviously, volunteers, so if they lose interest two weeks after beginning, the projects need to be something that isn't critical if abandoned and/or is relatively easily picked up by a new volunteer.

They will not be able to assist with any organizational website-related projects.

This is not my area of expertise, so please don't hesitate to suggest the obvious.

Some of the ideas I've got:

a) research news clippings;

b) conduct surveys;

c) take photos of staff/student interaction;

d) interview/profile staff/students/corporate partners/sponsors for the newsletter;

e & beyond) ??

Any ideas gratefully received. Thanks.

Tales From Agency Life?

producerpod — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 07:46:51 -0800

PR/Marcomm Filter: What's it like to work for a PR/Marketing/Ad agency/firm? I'm currently a jack-of-all trades comm person, working for a small non-profit. I'm considering my next move. I do everything here - copywriting, speechwriting, graphic design, web coding/design, newsletters (print and e-newsletters), annual reports, brochures, one-sheets, you name it. I'm constantly busy, but there's nowhere to go, promotion-wise. My experience doesn't seem to be specific enough for a lot of the corporate-type marcomm jobs out there ("5-7 years experience in the healthcare industry") so I'm considering all my options.

So what do you have to say about the day-to-day life of your average account exec? And where could I go from there?

p.s. I spent 10 years in an editorial role in the broadcast news industry, which is why I'm leaning toward the PR route.

Renaissance Communications Man Seeks Advice.

producerpod — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:24:44 -0800

Am I a marketer? Am I a flack? Am I lost? Yep. I'm currently the marcomm director at a non-profit agency - the only person in my department. I am a true renaissance man, handling marketing, PR, internal communications, the website (I've hand-coded an entire site), all our graphic design and some video production.

I do it all, and that's kind of the problem. I'm looking to leave for the for-profit world, and I don't know which way to go. Marketing seems to be the best solid profession to get into (I am a family man as well, so pay is a big consideration) but I'm not sure I know what a for-profit marketer would do. Most marketing positions I see seem to be industry-specific as well. The more job descriptions I read, and the more resumes I read of people who are in marketing, the more I realize I may not have any idea how to do that at all - and it's rather depressing.

In my former life, I was a TV news producer in a top ten market, which gives me a lot of solid, basic skills that translate into any industry: team leading, writing, ability to grasp complex topics quickly and translate them into common language, working under HIGH PRESSURE under daily deadlines. When I do the PR part of my current job, it's this background I use, and I have a very easy time dealing with the media. I have no problem speaking on camera, or to large groups of people. I see people making PR mistakes ALL THE TIME. Sometimes I think I should go into for-profit PR based on my journalism background, but I dread working for an agency, calling reporters and producers with forced story ideas from a lame client.

My true passions, though, are graphic design and web design. I love CSS, Flash, XHTML, all things Adobe. I'm told I have a talent for it, but referencing a previous point (I'm a family man, entering my mid-thirties) I'm not sure I can create a new career from it.

Bottom line: How do I leave the non-profit world, and which path do I pursue?

Ayúdenme, Boricu@s!

mynameismandab — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:02:17 -0800

Puerto Rico: Help Me Find Stuff in Ponce. I'm helping a family who is moving to Ponce, PR. This family is in need of English-speakers that provide the following services:

--Orthondontics (orthodoncista)
--Home Remodeling (private residential bathroom and kitchen)
(remodelación de casas residenciales)

--General Handyman (hammering, fixing stuff, etc.)
(servicios de arreglamiento técnico)

Names, phone numbers, and addresses would be very helpful.

¡Gracias!

Help me point this thing at teh intarwebs

littlerobothead — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 13:04:35 -0800

Built a little website, and now would like the world to see it. How best to do this? I've built a web app that I'd like to spread around, but after 10 years in this industry I still haven't picked up any good tips on the best ways/people to break this site with/to. Without begging for direct contacts (which certainly is not what I want to do in this particular forum, fair MeFites) can anyone give me a few good ideas about how I might generate some interest?

I've done all the obvious things, but even great meta content and good links can't do everything for me. I also want to avoid the "get your buddies to Digg your site 8,907 times" route. I'd like to build a stable group of users who like this idea as much as I did—and keep them happy and around for a long time—rather than having a rush of six million people over four days and then nothing.

Should I write a press release and take my lumps with TechCrunch, or is there a better route? For what it's worth, the site is sort of in "beta" just now, but still very useable and fun. Be gentle, it's my first time (other than my blog, and I could put state secrets on it and no one would ever know.)

Elvis' Giant Cheque

meech — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:36:02 -0800

Was Elvis Presley ever presented with a giant cheque [check]? If he was, what were the circumstances?

Slice the pie, hive.

NekulturnY — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 02:34:56 -0800

Marketing budget question: suppose I have 150,000 $... Suppose I have a budget of 150 000$ for a cultural exposition. With this, I need to pay everything: design, copy, poster/flyer/brochure printing, distribution of said printed material, ad space, media deals, etcetera.

How do I define what portion of the 150k I earmark for bying ad space, how much I need for PR, how much will go to design & print work? Is there a rule of thumb that will make life easier? Is there any good literature on how to come up with a decent media mix (radio, mags, flyers, posters...?).

to pitch or be pitched?

arielmeadow — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:36:15 -0800

Is it better publicity to write an article, or to be a quoted expert in someone else's article? I'm often caught between wanting to pitch magazines and newspapers with ideas inspired by projects I'm working on, and finding myself contacted by journalists who've pitched similar ideas want to interview me and write about my projects.

Most current example: I wrote a book about nontraditional weddings. I recently spoke to a journalist who wants to pitch a quirky wedding story to the NY Times, and wants to quote me in the article. "That is, unless YOU want to pitch your own story to them," she said, knowing that I'm a writer myself.

This got me to thinking about what's of better value to me as an author: being published in the NYTimes, or being written about in the NYTimes?

I've pitched stories about my projects in the past, and it's always felt weird to write a piece about some lifestyle trend ... that, um, I'm totally into and feel like I should disclose that I'm totally biased and can't be objective about.

So, fellow authors, journalists, PR folks, entrepreneurs, etc: what's better for business: to pitch or be pitched?

Should I let the PR machine work through me?

ramenopres — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 10:26:39 -0800

Should I let a PR company put out a message through my Facebook group? What would be the implications? I am the admin/group creator for a Facebook group based around a recent movie that is only now coming out in other, non-US parts of the world. I've received the following message from a random account (not an account belonging to the writer of the message):

Hello!

Glad to see you're a [movie] fan! I work for a PR company called [name of company], and we're working on the [country] release of the film. I'm trying to upload a couple of clips from the film to the group, but how would you fancy dropping the members of the group a message telling them about the film's [country] release?

We can give you all the text etc, and some links to find out more. Drop me a line if you're interested in letting more people know about the film, either here or at [email@prcompany.com].

Many thanks!

[Name]
[PR company]

I've checked out this company's website. They appear to be legitimate, with a lot of big-name clients.

Aside from a disinclination to being used, I don't mind alerting the group members to the [country] release of the film. I might have done it on my own. I also know that in running this group, I have been doing free PR for the film. I like the movie, so that doesn't bother me. (I'm actually surprised that we haven't been told to take down the photos in the group album, since they don't belong to us - do copyright issues only come up when the publicists for the movie in question aren't getting something out of the infringement?)

My question is: What should I do with this PR stuff? Should I refuse on principle? Should I accept on principle? (Props to them for using Facebook - that's smart, if creepy.) Can/should I get something in return for posting their stuff? Will any messy obligations arise from endorsing them? Is it wrong for them to start using my group as part of their campaign? If I go into business or marketing, can I use this for leverage or networking?

Google Search Results

bytheowner — Tue, 22 May 2007 08:06:30 -0800

I am looking for someone to explain Google's search results. The reseach I have done says you need to have lots of good links coming into your site from other high PR sites. I am wondering why Google does not use website visitors. Ie. If you have 100,000 visitors per week, this must be better than a site with 1000 visitors per week, but has high PR incoming links.