Media relations
Relationships, messaging, preparation…
There’s much more to engaging the news media than sending out press releases.
Media relations is a powerful part of a PR strategy. Jamie has been on both sides of the equation. During a 22-year career in journalism, he served at every level of the newsroom — writing, assigning and editing thousands of stories, leading high-impact projects and earning local, state and national awards. Later, as strategic communications director for three agricultural organizations, he trained spokespeople, facilitated interviews, developed messaging and managed relationships with a broad range of news providers, from local to international. Whether promoting a project or protecting a reputation, Jamie puts that inside-out perspective and practical experience to work for clients.
How Jamie can help
Engagement
Reporters don’t typically
just show up at your door.
If you want to draw media
attention, the good kind, you have to proactively build relationships, demonstrate relevance and be responsive. Jamie helps manage this critical function. Backgrounding journalists, pitching stories, arranging interviews and facilitating press events are among ways he showcases your company or cause.
Messaging
What you communicate
is as important as how you
communicate it. Without
substance in your words, it won’t matter how smooth your delivery. Authentic messaging that is clear, compelling and consistent will build credible connections with your audience. Jamie distills complex issues and ideas into messages that resonate.
Preparation
Winging it should never be
an option when participating
in a media interview.
With experience both asking and answering the questions, Jamie ensures clients are prepared.
He draws on that understanding and follows his journalistic instincts to train spokespeople and get them ready for interviews. Whether it’s print, radio, TV
or podcasts, Jamie helps spokespeople
to be confident and on message.
Measurement
You made the news…
now what? Measuring the
impact of that attention
is important to informing your earned media strategy. Jamie puts a powerful database tool to work to track and analyze where you are being mentioned, how many people you’re reaching, story tone, social media activity, the dollar value of the publicity, and other aspects of performance. Having data makes a measurable difference.