Cindy Price writes regularly for the Travel and Leisure section of The New York Times. In her career, she has covered a wide range of topics for The New York Times Magazine, Gotham, FHM, The New Leader, and FreeWilliamsburg.com. But her road to the “big leagues” was not paved in gold. “I had my share of struggles. I could get work doing stories for small papers here and there, and that helped build my references, sure, but when I tried pitching The New York Times, they were like, `and you are?’”
Price is referring to her first attempt at having The Times publish a story about the independent documentary, Capturing the Friedmans. To build her story, Price had tried pitching Friedman’s publicist, Dawn Daniels, but without a reputation to back her, Price had a hard time gaining headway. In fact, her first encounter with Daniels was acrimonious, to say the least. But a serendipitous turn of fate—and the sudden interest of The Times—changed the course of Price’s career. Using The Times as leverage, Price called Daniels again, and their working relationship swiftly became productive.
This anecdote speaks to the trials of the novice journalist. Without a solid reputation to back her, seeking the co-operation of a PR person had put Price in a vulnerable position. “Once you have built a name for yourself, you can stand with more confidence when calling to dig for stories.”
For the most part, when asked to explain her working relationship with PR, Price had positive things to report. Price finds herself partial to those who come to her as journalists, “those who talk and think like serious reporters of facts.” She is turned off by the PR representative who clearly has an agenda, who she feels is using her to hock their products. While she is savvy to the reality that most PR is about self-promotion, she appreciates those professionals who are fact-centered, possessing a degree of journalistic integrity.
As well, she is more inclined to work with the PR person who has good social skills and respects her privacy as a journalist. “I don’t like PR people who micromanage and I don’t want you to shove your agenda down my throat. I’ll usually take the PR pitch and feed off it—going off on my own story inspired by a news release. And of course, I will reference them and their product in the end, should that be the case, but for the most part I only use press releases or PR calls as resources for my own ideas.”
The distance Price keeps from PR practitioners, noted by her skepticism of agendas, is reinforced by The Times’s ethics guide, which steers journalists away from relying too heavily on PR. For example, journalists for The Times are not allowed to accept extravagant promotions from PR professionals, Price says.
When asked whether she contacts PR professionals or vice versa, she says that in the beginning of her career, she had to contact them. But once she had built a name for herself, there came a “tipping point…and the PR people started calling me.”
Indeed, Price sees PR as critical when it comes to developing sources: finding out facts, details, etc. She then tends to go on and develop her own sources from there. “Many journalists I know are sometimes lazy, and go right off the press release, but I prefer to do it myself.” Price says she has friends who are in PR, who will often see their press releases printed almost verbatim and published under a journalist’s name. That is not a practice Price agrees with, and certainly not one she engages in.
When researching and writing her stories, Price relies heavily on the search engine Google. She uses first person accounts, through interviews and archival sources at the newspaper she works for, as well as the old-fashioned use of libraries, Lexis-Nexis, microfilm and microfiche, librarians' know-how, media archives, the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting office in NYC, and books.
On the topic of newsworthiness, Price qualifies that what makes a story newsworthy for her may not be the same as what it is for a journalist writing on the Iraq war, for example. For Price, “newness” governs a lot of what she deems newsworthy. Being the fist to report on a topic, or to report on a topic that is new, is important. “Take restaurant openings…In my business, you want to be the one to talk about it first. That’s always important to me. So I do a lot of research to make sure the topic or story hasn’t been covered already. PR helps me here, to know what’s new.” Price also looks for a cultural twist to make her story newsworthy. A celebrity chef at a restaurant opening is more newsworthy than a regular opening.
When commenting on her perception of the media in society, Price paraphrases a line from the movie Spiderman: “Media is the weight,” she says. The media is powerful, “and with power comes responsibility. Even as a so-called fluffy journalist, it’s important to be correct and fair and honest,” according to Price. Correctness and fairness are even more important for stories on the front page, she says.
People’s reputations and livelihoods often rest on Price’s reviews—especially given that she writes for what is arguably the world’s most respected newspaper. “People listen to The Times. I feel like my work—even though it’s not hard-hitting news—is about delivering the truth so that people can make decisions based on my opinions. My readers come to trust me and I take that very seriously. If you’re going to report negatively on a subject, it better be factual,” she says.
Here, Price repeats that she looks for the facts from her PR contacts, and she shuns the hyperbole and the propaganda. PR is often her touch-stone for facts, dates and numbers. She expects her PR contacts to be scrupulous. And her employer expects her work to be flawless when it comes to the facts.
When talking with Cindy Price, I was overwhelmed by her emphasis on the importance of facts and truth in reporting. Of course, I know that the facts are the cornerstone of all reporting, but I was struck by how present this was in every aspect of Price’s discussion of her job. Facts seemed to be the trope that governed our interview. It was useful for me to hear how seriously reporters take their jobs and their research. As a PR professional, I will strive to deliver newsworthy facts to journalists. Price seems turned off by the PR person who is not on top of his game, whose facts are sloppy and whose agenda overrides his understanding of the journalist’s job. It is important that the PR professional fully appreciates that journalists expect to deliver news that is topical, timely, and relevant. If you understand this, you can design your pitches and media communications accordingly.
Facts lend to credibility and that’s what the whole news enterprise is about. The media wants to be a credible source of news, so that readers rely on the media for the truth; and as PR professionals, we want the media to maintain this reputation of reliability, so that when they report on our products, we can share this reputation by association. This carries more weight, in my opinion, than any advertisement could carry.
This lesson is invaluable to the budding PR practitioner. To avoid the wrath of journalists and the pernicious reputation of PR as a scourge, we as PR representatives must strive for professionalism, and the high standards set by working journalists.
Price is referring to her first attempt at having The Times publish a story about the independent documentary, Capturing the Friedmans. To build her story, Price had tried pitching Friedman’s publicist, Dawn Daniels, but without a reputation to back her, Price had a hard time gaining headway. In fact, her first encounter with Daniels was acrimonious, to say the least. But a serendipitous turn of fate—and the sudden interest of The Times—changed the course of Price’s career. Using The Times as leverage, Price called Daniels again, and their working relationship swiftly became productive.
This anecdote speaks to the trials of the novice journalist. Without a solid reputation to back her, seeking the co-operation of a PR person had put Price in a vulnerable position. “Once you have built a name for yourself, you can stand with more confidence when calling to dig for stories.”
For the most part, when asked to explain her working relationship with PR, Price had positive things to report. Price finds herself partial to those who come to her as journalists, “those who talk and think like serious reporters of facts.” She is turned off by the PR representative who clearly has an agenda, who she feels is using her to hock their products. While she is savvy to the reality that most PR is about self-promotion, she appreciates those professionals who are fact-centered, possessing a degree of journalistic integrity.
As well, she is more inclined to work with the PR person who has good social skills and respects her privacy as a journalist. “I don’t like PR people who micromanage and I don’t want you to shove your agenda down my throat. I’ll usually take the PR pitch and feed off it—going off on my own story inspired by a news release. And of course, I will reference them and their product in the end, should that be the case, but for the most part I only use press releases or PR calls as resources for my own ideas.”
The distance Price keeps from PR practitioners, noted by her skepticism of agendas, is reinforced by The Times’s ethics guide, which steers journalists away from relying too heavily on PR. For example, journalists for The Times are not allowed to accept extravagant promotions from PR professionals, Price says.
When asked whether she contacts PR professionals or vice versa, she says that in the beginning of her career, she had to contact them. But once she had built a name for herself, there came a “tipping point…and the PR people started calling me.”
Indeed, Price sees PR as critical when it comes to developing sources: finding out facts, details, etc. She then tends to go on and develop her own sources from there. “Many journalists I know are sometimes lazy, and go right off the press release, but I prefer to do it myself.” Price says she has friends who are in PR, who will often see their press releases printed almost verbatim and published under a journalist’s name. That is not a practice Price agrees with, and certainly not one she engages in.
When researching and writing her stories, Price relies heavily on the search engine Google. She uses first person accounts, through interviews and archival sources at the newspaper she works for, as well as the old-fashioned use of libraries, Lexis-Nexis, microfilm and microfiche, librarians' know-how, media archives, the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting office in NYC, and books.
On the topic of newsworthiness, Price qualifies that what makes a story newsworthy for her may not be the same as what it is for a journalist writing on the Iraq war, for example. For Price, “newness” governs a lot of what she deems newsworthy. Being the fist to report on a topic, or to report on a topic that is new, is important. “Take restaurant openings…In my business, you want to be the one to talk about it first. That’s always important to me. So I do a lot of research to make sure the topic or story hasn’t been covered already. PR helps me here, to know what’s new.” Price also looks for a cultural twist to make her story newsworthy. A celebrity chef at a restaurant opening is more newsworthy than a regular opening.
When commenting on her perception of the media in society, Price paraphrases a line from the movie Spiderman: “Media is the weight,” she says. The media is powerful, “and with power comes responsibility. Even as a so-called fluffy journalist, it’s important to be correct and fair and honest,” according to Price. Correctness and fairness are even more important for stories on the front page, she says.
People’s reputations and livelihoods often rest on Price’s reviews—especially given that she writes for what is arguably the world’s most respected newspaper. “People listen to The Times. I feel like my work—even though it’s not hard-hitting news—is about delivering the truth so that people can make decisions based on my opinions. My readers come to trust me and I take that very seriously. If you’re going to report negatively on a subject, it better be factual,” she says.
Here, Price repeats that she looks for the facts from her PR contacts, and she shuns the hyperbole and the propaganda. PR is often her touch-stone for facts, dates and numbers. She expects her PR contacts to be scrupulous. And her employer expects her work to be flawless when it comes to the facts.
When talking with Cindy Price, I was overwhelmed by her emphasis on the importance of facts and truth in reporting. Of course, I know that the facts are the cornerstone of all reporting, but I was struck by how present this was in every aspect of Price’s discussion of her job. Facts seemed to be the trope that governed our interview. It was useful for me to hear how seriously reporters take their jobs and their research. As a PR professional, I will strive to deliver newsworthy facts to journalists. Price seems turned off by the PR person who is not on top of his game, whose facts are sloppy and whose agenda overrides his understanding of the journalist’s job. It is important that the PR professional fully appreciates that journalists expect to deliver news that is topical, timely, and relevant. If you understand this, you can design your pitches and media communications accordingly.
Facts lend to credibility and that’s what the whole news enterprise is about. The media wants to be a credible source of news, so that readers rely on the media for the truth; and as PR professionals, we want the media to maintain this reputation of reliability, so that when they report on our products, we can share this reputation by association. This carries more weight, in my opinion, than any advertisement could carry.
This lesson is invaluable to the budding PR practitioner. To avoid the wrath of journalists and the pernicious reputation of PR as a scourge, we as PR representatives must strive for professionalism, and the high standards set by working journalists.
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