Please Release Me!

Well, it’s been too long since I updated my lil’ corner of cyberspace. Apologies.

But two weeks ago, I made about as extreme a move in media (without having to move, physically) one could make: from the “write until you drop,” infinite news hole of a Website, to the backtimed, “two minutes is an eternity” land of television.

Some would call that backwards. I call it a new challenge, with a bigger audience, and a chance to explore new territory. I’m jazzed.

This will no doubt change my perspective on things (I’m the new assistant news director at KTVZ), but as for the point of this Website, it really doesn’t change things. I’m still seeing lots of press releases, good bad and … well, not so bad.

A good press release is a good press release, for any form of media. Sure, much less of it can be used in a minute-long TV news segment, but you don’t want to pre-write the segment (or article) anyway - you want to entice the editor/reporter to write a story. Spoon-feed a tasty tidbit or two and let them fill in the blanks - do their job.

My brain is still wrapping itself around my new duties (haven’t touched a camera yet, much less the fancy video-editing system), but … to no surprise, one major rule is that the Clock Rules in TV (and radio, of course). There’s always more to say than time to say it, but then again … it’s not about words, is it? It’s about powerful, telling images. When it’s at its best.

You can’t get that out of a news release, but the best sure can provide a sense of where those images will come from, and whet a reporter’s appetite.

Sure, there’s a daily Beast to be fed, and it’s not all powerful and there’s fluff and, yes, the dreaded “happy talk.” But my new boss talks of the power TV holds, beyond any other medium - you get to know these people who come into your living room every night, for better or worse (oh am I not looking forward to being on camera;-)

But magic can happen, I’ve already had a taste of it. And I’m anxious, and ready, for more.

I should have thought of this - remembered it, actually, because I’d been down this mental road before - before I even started this blog - its name and theme might have been different, but better.

Many individuals and organizations in both the public and private sector are not taking advantage of the glorious opportunities the Internet provides. They are still crafting “press releases” and trying to woo the interest of cynical, time-constrained editors to please give their product, event, group or what have you some of the precious news hole in their “dead-trees” print publications.

How 20th Century!

I was again reminded late last week, as I easily found a press release on the federal Dept. of Health and Human Services  Website, how such opportunities are blown. Indeed, they had a quick link to the ability to receive their press releases by e-mail. But I really wonder how many folks out there aren’t even thinking of the glorious DIRECT marketing opportunities the Net provides.

For example: HHS is a vast organization that deals with a lot of issues of vital concern to Americans. It doesn’t put out a huge amount of press releases, but a fair sum. How much better would it be if the public and the press (many of the same goals/interests in information gathering!) could check off the boxes and say what topics they are interested in receiving regular updates about? (Instead, the e-mail sign-up for HHS led to a page of Listserv commands of the kind the Geeks of the ’90s loved, but were indecipherable to most mere mortals.)

That’s it. That’s my grand discovery. Press releases directed solely to the media should become a very minor part of any forward-thinking organization’s effort to inform the public.

By now, a vast majority of the public is looking for information directly from YOU! Not spoonfed in the media. And while they grouse of the infernal amount of spam out there, what a wonderful chance to provide the information these folks are interested in. Sometimes, it seems the only time a company does that right is when you buy their product and they sign you up for coupons or the like - the low-end, “Buy Me Today!” end of marketing.

I doubt most members of the public care when American Conglomerate Inc. picks Bob Jones for its board of directors or appoints a new Western VP of Sales, Marketing and Buck-Passing. (Though that should be one of the check-off options, of course.)

But making that personal link between your group or firm and the folks who belong or simply are interested in it can yield benefits we’ve just scratched the surface of. It’s a golden opportunity to tell those interested in what you do what you’re up to, directly, immediately and not as 2 paragraphs in a trade journal only read by your competitors.

Opens the mind to some exciting possibilities, doesn’t it? And all it takes is the tools we already have, plus relatively little programming time. Of course, opening that avenue of dialogue is a 2-way street, and you never know could come in return. But as high-maintenance as the questions and comments might be, it’s a valuable dialogue that far too many who believe they “get” the Web really don’t get. But they should.

Oh, and the other thing governments and large businesses don’t get, quite simply, is the need to CENTRALIZE that communication with the public. It should NOT take me five years to sign up for all the state/federal agencies, individually, and the information I (as press or public) want. It should be ONE stop, directly off the main page, kept fresh as new products/topics/initiatives enter and exit the radar screen.

It’s overdue, folks, and I’ll be happy to trumpet anyone who shows me they’re doing it.

I’m not the biggest fan of cookie dough. I’d prefer to eat a gooey chewy baked cookie (chocolate chip, of course!) And when it comes to pre-digested press releases, here’s a warning: DIGEST THEM BEFORE YOU SEND THEM.

Got one a couple days ago from a state agency here in Oregon, that obviously got it from another source, because peppered through it, where there’s supposed to be a city or state’s name, it was (CITY, STATE) and (DESCRIBE EVENT) and (TIME) and (LOCATION), etc.

At first I had to laugh, then I thought, “Oww. Poor Press-Release Sender.” As they say in some of the … thinner comedies out there, right after a particuarly painful event: “That’s gotta hurt.”

If you ran an “application integration consulting company,” and you were telling the world about several prominent clients you’ve signed up, you wouldn’t want to date the press release “September 31,” would you?

Of course you wouldn’t. But … stuff happens. It’s just especially painful when the ouch comes even before the first words of your release. (Sorry, Jon, I couldn’t resist )

I was just musing about how some press-release writers - either not wanting to waste a reporter’s/editor’s busy time, or too busy to spend more time in the creation process - can blow a golden opportunity to get their book/event/group/company/etc. more attention.

Some press releases, for sure, tell us far more than we want/need to hear (getting to a third page is a big clue). But far more often, there’s simply too little information to invite us into the subject - a terse recitation of what’s happening where, when and a contact for more info (if one has time to make the call).

One local organization that usually sets a great balance between too little info and too much is the Deschutes Public Library System . Their event heads-up releases are almost always just one page, and yet they add 2-3 grafs (paragraphs) about the speaker’s background, and even a comment or two from the speaker on the topic. Add an inviting lead (first sentence), and you have more than an event/calendar item, you have a brief that can stand alone in any local newspaper or publication, and actually INVITES the reader to show up and participate.

Nifty!