By: Jessa Robles
How often do you have the opportunity to share breakfast with 60+ people that work in the same industry as you? How often does that same room also have eight people who could make or break your job? It sounds intimidating, but it’s actually refreshing and I just experienced it this morning at the PRSA & FPRA Media Roundtable event.
PR professionals, ranging from new college graduates to PR experts, gathered at the Chart House in Tampa for breakfast and a different type of “speed dating.” Six to 10 PR pros sat at each table awaiting the next member of the media to join them to drill them with questions. What was the difference between this and speed dating? Not much, except we were all interested in each member of the media and would not have asked them to leave us alone.
Among the eight guests at today’s event were the following:
1. Vicky Benchimol – Planning editor at ABC Action News
2. Diane Egner – Publisher and managing editor at 83 Degrees Media
3. Stefanie Fletcher – Senior photo editor at Tampa Bay Times
4. Grover Murrell – Assignment editor at Bay News 9
5. Alexis Muellner – Editor-in-chief at Tampa Bay Business Journal
6. Rich Mullins – Business writer & columnist at The Tampa Tribune
7. Orlando Nieves – VP integrated marketing solutions at Entravision
8. Jeff Schlesser – Senior producer – medical & consumer at FOX 13
Each of these members of the media spent 10-11 minutes at each table and gave a brief introduction then opened the floor to any questions the table might have. I learned how each of them prefer to work, their pet peeves and some of the best advice I learned was:
1. What makes them open a press release?
- Look for impact.
- Look for the who, what, when, where and why in the headline or first paragraph
- They want to know the sender
2. Issue-based coverage seems to be the front-runner lately.
- Events used to be top stories but the focus has changed to community issues, national issues and human-interest stories.
3. What should I have available when I’m trying to get a story picked up?
- Press release
- FAQ about company
- Photos/video
- Phone number of client’s CEO (This helps with deadline)
PRSA and FPRA did an awesome job with this event. As a young PR professional, I learned a lot and I’m sure I wasn’t the only one. Networking and writing skills are top priority in this industry and it’s important for everyone to practice these skills daily.