Biz reporters are skeptical of “exclusives”

An experienced PR pro should be able to distinguish between what constitutes an exclusive-worthy story and material and what’s best kept on the client’s website or in their sale presentation.

The best professionals are adept at working closely with their clients to ensure that white paper and other intellectual capital produce truly compelling findings that are tied to issues that matter and, even better, that also tie into the current news cycle.

With this in mind, my hypothesis was that reporters would agree that exclusives are helpful and serve to further the PR/reporter relationship.

I was wrong.

Instead of enthusiastic applause, my inquires to some influential media outlets regarding how to best position exclusive material were met with skepticism and frustration on the part of the reporters I surveyed. From an anecdotal standpoint, all four of the reporters I asked were wary of being pitched an exclusive.

A markets reporter at an international news agency relayed his frustration:

 “…The most frustrating part about being pitched an exclusive is when a flack doesn’t understand that it’s not completely up to me when or in what form an article is published. I may have a general interest in the topic they’re pitching, but I can’t say for sure when it will go out or if their press release or news item is going to be the central focus…It’s also difficult because oftentimes PR teams envision `coverage’ of something very differently than I do. Most of the time, their news item is just one piece among many others in a story, so if they give me an exclusive, but their piece of news gets wrapped up with a lot of other sources in the story, that feels a bit awkward. So even if I’d like to have an exclusive, unless it’s really a groundbreaking piece of news, I just can’t afford the restrictions – either implicit or explicit – that come with them.”

The same reporter shared a specific “exclusive” he was pitched:

“One time a flack was promulgating a decent market study done by their client, a money manager, and offering it up as an exclusive. The trouble was that if we wanted an article on the topic, it would be a broad one with lots of sources, so I couldn’t really promise I’d be able to deliver what she wanted. So I ultimately told her that we’d turn down the `exclusive’ offer, but it was included in a small portion of the story. So in the end, these things never really end up looking any different in my stories. Exclusive, not exclusive, it’s all the same to me basically. Anything that’s worth publishing as an `exclusive’ most likely isn’t going to be coming from a flack.”

Tamika Cody, managing editor at Accounting Today, warned against sneaky flack action:

 “…Whenever I see the word ‘Exclusive’ in the subject line of my email on a topic we might cover, I immediately Google the topic and the source just to see if the story has been told somewhere else. I usually find out that the story is not an exclusive. Journalists knows that PR folks are sending out email blasts to everyone in their media circle….I’ve learned never to trust a PR person when they use the term ‘exclusive.’ I usually respond in my thoughts… ‘Really? Let’s just see how exclusive this story angle really is.’ A true exclusive, is when a journo receives a phone call at an odd hour, from a familiar source, with a juicy tip. You’ve probably seen the scenario play out on the HBO series The Newsroom or Being Mary Jane on BET.”

When asked about being pitched and exclusive, Walter Hickey, a lifestyle journalist at fivethirtyeight, reiterated the basics of the reporter/PR pro relationship:

“Main thing this comes down to is trust. Blind pitches and ones ill-suited for the writer are probably doomed. I have stuff to do, and the best way to get a hold of my attention is a previous relationship or a history of reliability. I get that a lot of time you folks have to put stuff out there even if it’s not ideal for the writer, but understand that there’s definitely a cost involved there.”

Finally, I asked a reporter I’ve worked with for several years her thoughts on exclusives. Formerly at a financial trade publication and now a radio journalist covering business, she was also pretty cynical regarding the exclusive angle.

“The only time I’ve gotten a pitch for an exclusive it’s clearly a mass email and it’s from someone I don’t know. Also typically not targeted at all to my beat and isn’t an exclusive anyone would want or care about.”

From a contrarian angle as PR pro, I have had success pitching client studies/survey findings as exclusives. Based on feedback for this article, as well as personal experience, successful media coverage of exclusive material is contingent upon a few key items.

First, ensure the material is truly exclusive in nature, then check to see if it’s relevant to the reporter’s beat, and finally, be able to convey to the client that unless the reporter specifically states otherwise, the exclusive material could end up as part of a broader story with additional sources.

In this business, credibility and trust on the part of PR professional go a long way.

Bill C. Smith (@BillCSmith87) is an account supervisor at Makovsky Integrated Communications in New York.