Journalist Gets #PR Religion, Contrast and Columbia Journalism Review

The grab bag returns.

Three quick takes coming at you.

Journalists Showing Off PR Acuity

I don’t mean to pick on David Carr, noted chronicler of the world of journalism for The New York Times.

I just find it amusing that Mr. Carr assumes his deep knowledge of journalism also makes him an expert in PR.

In a recent column “Big News Forges Its Own Path,” he penned these words of “insight:”

The way to break a big story used to be simple. Get the biggest outlet you can to take an interest in what you have to say, deliver the goods and then cross your fingers in hopes that they play it large.

Really?

I must have missed the chapter in the PR 101 handbook that called out “cross your fingers” as an announcement strategy.

Even journalist-turned-provocateur Julian Assange left nothing to chance in how he orchestrated the PR for WikiLeaks.

With Bees Versus Without Bees

We’ve discussed how contrast accentuates the storytelling in business communications.

A news release from Whole Foods, “This Is What Your Grocery Store Looks Like Without Bees,” demonstrates the concept in action. The core idea revolves around the dependence on pollination for much of our produce and what would happen if bees disappeared.

Even better, visual storytelling comes to the fore in photos of the produce department “with bees” and “without bees.”

Not an accident that the photos are blog friendly (vertical format).

Kudos to Sharp Think which supports Whole Foods.

Columbia Journalism Review Taps PR Content

During my days at the University of Arizona J school, I aspired to make the Columbia Journalism Review (CJR).

Didn’t happen.

After less than six months of reporting for the El Independiente, the search was on for greener pastures.

That’s why I got such a kick out of seeing that the CJR leveraged one of my recent posts.

And yes, I could have done without the “tech flack” reference.