Some time ago, I was asked to speak with a group of librarians about what they needed to do to get their public relations information in the local newspaper.

At this event, a number of other media concerns, including representatives from radio, television and larger daily newspapers, addressed the same topic from each of its respective areas of expertise.

Basically, we all came up with the same answers.

Common things were covered.

 

You know the drill: Don’t confuse news content with advertising. Know deadlines and don’t push them. Know who to contact for what and build relationships. Lead with compelling info first. Be familiar with the media and its coverage. Become a source. Give plenty of advance notice. Write it down and either fax, e-mail or hand deliver, and finally be sure to follow up.

Because I was one of the last speakers on the schedule, almost everything had been covered, and I was scrambling.

That’s when I summoned the power of David Letterman, and came up with my own Top 10 list, developed in haste to bail me out of toastmaster’s hell.

Enjoy.

The Top 10 reasons your stuff didn’t get in the paper this week:

10.) You called 20 minutes before an event was slated to begin and asked an editor to bring a camera because you have something “you want to get in the paper.”

9.) You called and said you have an event you want to “advertise” in the news section.

8.) You threatened to take your news somewhere else, because the editor seemed unresponsive.

7.) You used the name of an editor who moved on five years ago on the release you sent.

6.) You called the editor hoping to interest him or her in a story, but then asked him or her to check with “so and so” for the correct time and “what-cha-ma-call-it” on location.

5.) You wrote the perfect release but you didn’t leave a contact name and number and then disappeared off the face of the earth.

4.) You told the editor you want this story on the front page, or at least page 3, without even cracking a smile.

3.) You gave the information to the paperboy who said he would give it to an ad rep, who was going to give it to the business manager who would forward it to the publisher who said he would make sure it gets in (if he didn’t forget to give it to the editor).

2.) You sent a release via e-mail but you neglected to ask if the paper’s staff can read a Microsoft Publisher attachment from a PC on the paper’s Mac-based, Quark-driven publishing software and hardware.

1.) You told the editor that his or her paper wasn’t your first choice for publication, but under the circumstances, it would have to do.