I know instantly when I’m talking to a man and his eyes begin to drift to the side like a vehicle starts to drift when its driver is on a cell phone. Often, the man is processing the attractiveness of a woman passing by. This phenomenon takes place even if I’ve engaged this person in a conversation about business, sports or world peace. It doesn’t take much to get distracted.
News stories are eye candy for journalists. For example, someone at a media outlet sent me a message about my pitch: ”They like your idea, should I give them your number?” But no one called.
Another reporter wrote me, “Hi Keith! We’d like to talk to your expert about —–. Could you please provide a name & number? Thanks!”
When the reporter didn’t call that day, the client said, “FYI, no word yet from —-.”
A reporter actually called the next day, but the point is clients often don’t get the media’s mentality. For example, it was not uncommon for a TV station to give me a story and then re-assign me two more times within an hour. This is especially exasperating when I started calling people for interviews, hung up the phone and learned someone changed my story.
So consider some media like that man who finally gave you time for an important discussion. Just when you think you’ve sealed the deal, something else walks in and distracts him. The media like sexy stories and your hot idea is just one nice pair of legs away from being yesterday’s news.
Last month, we wrote a series of blogs about crisis communications after a network newscast led people to make angry phone calls to one of our clients. The news report does not mention our client. However, the story discusses another business with a contract with our client. And some of the visuals in the news story reveal that business relationship to viewers.
