A September post on contact persons in press releases deplores the hours that the blogger/journalist wastes on waiting for responses from people listed as contacts on press releases, and outlines the expectations from such contact persons:
- that he or she answers requests rapidly
- that the contact person knows the subject of the press release and is able to speak about it
- that, if written answers are provided, they are provided in a timely manner
- that he or she has supplementary information or illustration materials readily available
- that there is someone else who can supply all this info if the original contact person is unavailable
And in a nutshell, that is why, throughout my career, I was the contact person for press releases, although with increasing seniority I could have “dumped” the responsibility on somebody else. But let me explain why in a country like Romania it makes sense to have a senior rather than a junior executive be the primary contact for the press:
- Decision-making power and speed of decision – the more senior the contact, the more aware they are of what information they can release, to who and in what form, or the better access they have to the key decision makers who speak on behalf of the company. This cuts into the time needed to respond to the always urgent inquiries from local journalists.
- Credibility. In a hierarchical culture such as ours still is, most people want to speak to or here from the organization leaders, whose discourse is seen as both more interesting, and more reliable. Thus, the more senior you are, the better your message is heard.
- Ability. Seniority generally equals more experience, and in most normal situations, that translates into a higher ability to generate quotable phrases, give compelling answers, and even engage in effective evasive maneuvers if contacts are pushed into answers they don’t want or can’t give.
Just my two (senior) cents.
Posted under PRealities
This post was written by Corina on October 8, 2008
