This weekend while running in the gym, I caught CNN’s Reliable Sources and absolutely loved it.  I’m recommending it to all PR people.  Until this weekend, I had only watched it sparingly, but now I’ve TIVO’ed it and don’t plan on missing it again.  At Public Relations agencies, we spend our days figuring out how to penetrate the media with stories and angles that will interest them.   This show, which CNN describes as “television’s only regular program to examine how journalists do their jobs and how the media affect the stories they cover,” provides insight into the psyche of the media.  An absolute necessity for PR pros.

If more publicists watched this program, we might not have such a tough time hiring senior people.  At most competing PR firms, senior people never pick up the phones to call the media.  Instead, they spend their days “counseling” clients.  One can’t properly counsel clients on securing media if the counselors themselves don’t ever pitch media.

I highly recommend Reliable Sources moving forth.  (The same goes for Mad Men, which everyone in the PR, marketing and advertising industry seems to be talking about, but which I have only seen a few times.  I now have it Tivo’ed as well.)

Ronn Torossian

5W PR

In reading PR Week this week, I came across the following article:
http://www.prweekus.com/State-of-the-news-media-gloomy/article/108192/
which essentially states that the media “business” is in bad shape.

The number of resumes from media folks seeking to transition to PR in recent months has been nothing short of shocking to me. Simply a tremendous amount of resumes floating around this way (particularly among TV folks).

As Web 2.0 and so called “new media” continues to flourish, expect this trend to continue to grow. Media needs to continue to adjust and grow, and for some that will mean changing fields.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR