325 lines
9.4 KiB
HTML
325 lines
9.4 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
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<HTML
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><HEAD
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><TITLE
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>Contacting the Editors</TITLE
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><META
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NAME="GENERATOR"
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CONTENT="Modular DocBook HTML Stylesheet Version 1.7"><LINK
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REL="HOME"
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TITLE="Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community
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"
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HREF="index.html"><LINK
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REL="UP"
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TITLE="Contacting the News Media"
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HREF="contacting_media.html"><LINK
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REL="PREVIOUS"
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TITLE="Maintaining Your Database"
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HREF="maintaining_db.html"><LINK
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REL="NEXT"
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TITLE="Making the Pitch"
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HREF="making_pitch.html"></HEAD
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><BODY
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CLASS="section"
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BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"
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TEXT="#000000"
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LINK="#0000FF"
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VLINK="#840084"
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ALINK="#0000FF"
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVHEADER"
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><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Header navigation table"
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TH
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COLSPAN="3"
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ALIGN="center"
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>Guide to Managing Media and Public Relations in the Linux Community</TH
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="maintaining_db.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="80%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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>Chapter 3. Contacting the News Media</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="10%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="bottom"
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><A
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HREF="making_pitch.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H1
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="contacting_editors"
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></A
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>3.3. Contacting the Editors</H1
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="intro_letter"
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></A
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>3.3.1. Letter of Introduction</H2
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><P
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>When contacting an editor for the first time, you should
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take pains to get your relationship off to a good start. This is
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best accomplished by sending a well-crafted letter (or email) of
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introduction prior to issuing your first news release.</P
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><P
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>Even if you have been involved in media relations in
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another capacity, a letter of introduction can help establish a
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<SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"new era"</SPAN
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> of cooperation between
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you (in your new public relations role) and the editor. After
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all, a successful public and media relations program is all about
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relationships—successful ones.</P
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><P
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>What must your letter accomplish? Consider your goals
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carefully, because this letter can do a great deal for your
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organization.</P
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><P
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>First, reaching the right editor or reporter is extremely
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important. Then, you will want to get that editor's help in identifying other
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professionals who may be interested in receiving and conveying
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Linux news. These professionals include freelance writers (who
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write speculatively or on assignment, then sell specific stories
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to publications), editors in related areas (business and feature
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editors), industry spokespeople, and so on. Your letter also
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needs to articulate why this editor will likely be interested in
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your organization's story and why his or her
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audience will be interested.</P
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><P
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>The primary purpose for the letter of introduction is to
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open the lines of communication and to make yourself or your
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designated spokesperson available. Be sure to give your full name
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and contact information.
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<EM
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>Most importantly, do not forget to include
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your email and website addresses.</EM
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>
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Email is the preferred method of communication in the
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journalistic community. Make corresponding and dealing with you
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easy for your media contacts. This is critical to the success of
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any media and public relations program.</P
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><P
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>If you include broadcast in your public relations program,
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you will need to adjust the terminology accordingly. Instead of
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editors, you will be corresponding with news directors and
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producers; instead of readers, you will be referring to
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listeners, viewers, or an audience. No matter what their job
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description is, remember that you are dealing with actual people.
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The more personable you are in your correspondence, the more
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likely you are to see results.</P
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="section"
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><H2
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CLASS="section"
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><A
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NAME="using_phone"
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></A
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>3.3.2. Using the Phone</H2
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><P
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>Regardless of the size and scope of your media relations
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program, look for an opportunity to directly contact at least
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some of the editors and journalists important to your
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organization. The telephone is a tremendous ally in any public
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relations program. A phone call establishes person-to-person
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contact, lends credibility to your public relations effort, and
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helps your contact to associate a name to the news releases you
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subsequently send to them. A few moments on the phone, either as
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a prelude or a follow-up to a news release, not only draws
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attention to your organization but can also impart a sense of
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immediacy and urgency that may provide the edge you need to
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acquire editorial coverage of your story.</P
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><P
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>When calling an editor, always immediately identify
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yourself and your organization. Next, ask if the editor is on
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deadline. If their answer is <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Yes,"</SPAN
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>
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don't tie up their time but offer to call back
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in a day or two and then do so. Editors are known for their
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extraordinary memory—they never forget a
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nuisance or a courtesy.</P
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><P
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>If the editor is not on deadline, then state immediately
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why you are calling, saying something like this:</P
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><A
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NAME="AEN256"
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></A
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><BLOCKQUOTE
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CLASS="BLOCKQUOTE"
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><P
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><SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"Hello, I'm (name) with (my organization), and I'm
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calling to alert you to our announcement of (news topic). I want you to know
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that I'm available to you for any additional information or an interview,
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now or any time in the future. Give me a call at (phone number) or email
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me at (email address)."</SPAN
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></P
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></BLOCKQUOTE
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><P
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>Look what the dialogue above accomplishes. You have
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identified yourself and your organization, stated your business
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succinctly, and offered your services as a liaison. Now let the
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editor decide what to do. If they seem to want to get off the
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phone quickly, don't worry. They may have
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something urgent demanding their attention or a story that needs
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to be filed immediately. You can always call back or have the
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editor return your call later. Listen carefully to the
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editor's recommendations for calling them at
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another time.</P
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><P
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>While most editors and reporters are busy, they are seldom
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rude (in fact, the contrary) and usually cooperative. If the
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editor asks why you are calling, or has other questions, be
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prepared to answer. As in any business situation, always do your
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homework. If necessary, write down potential questions and
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answers and rehearse beforehand. Nothing irritates a busy editor
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or reporter more than dealing with a public relations
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representative who is unprepared to answer basic
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questions.</P
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><P
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>If you cannot answer all the questions, promise to find the
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answers and send the information by email.
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<EM
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>Be sure to do this in a timely fashion.</EM
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>
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Editors appreciate quick responses and will give more attention
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to people who can give them the information they are seeking in a
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timely manner. This is a very important consideration.</P
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><P
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>If the editor gives you a <SPAN
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CLASS="QUOTE"
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>"No thanks, not
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interested"</SPAN
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> response—which may
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happen quite frequently at the beginning—you
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should ask if there is someone else on staff who would be
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interested in your information. If there is time, and the editor
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seems receptive to sharing information (listen carefully to their
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tone of voice and phone manner), you might also ask if there is
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anything special about Linux they are looking for, now or in the
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future. After all, the less you waste of each
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other's time, the more productive your
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relationship will be.</P
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><P
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>Once editors know of you and your organization, there may
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be times when they contact you directly. For example, the
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publications you have targeted may occasionally feature an
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editorial focus on Linux. Check the editorial calendars of these
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publications on a regular basis. Periodicals plan their issues
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two to three months in advance of the publication date, so you
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need to be proactive in pitching (telling) your
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organization's story ahead of time. Editorial
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calendars are often made available on the
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publication's website. They are also usually
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available free of charge from the
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publication's advertising department. If all
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else fails, contacting the publication's
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editorial assistant and making a polite request should yield
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positive results.</P
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><P
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>Another important way to use the phone is to find out who
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you should be contacting at a specific publication. The
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receptionist is usually cooperative and very knowledgeable about
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this. You may end up talking to a lot of different people before
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you get the answers you need, but public relations is far more
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effective when you deliver your news to the right people.</P
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></DIV
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></DIV
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><DIV
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CLASS="NAVFOOTER"
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><HR
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ALIGN="LEFT"
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WIDTH="100%"><TABLE
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SUMMARY="Footer navigation table"
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WIDTH="100%"
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BORDER="0"
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CELLPADDING="0"
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CELLSPACING="0"
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="left"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="maintaining_db.html"
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ACCESSKEY="P"
|
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>Prev</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="index.html"
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ACCESSKEY="H"
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>Home</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="making_pitch.html"
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ACCESSKEY="N"
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>Next</A
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></TD
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></TR
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><TR
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
|
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ALIGN="left"
|
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VALIGN="top"
|
|
>Maintaining Your Database</TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="34%"
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ALIGN="center"
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VALIGN="top"
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><A
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HREF="contacting_media.html"
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ACCESSKEY="U"
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>Up</A
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></TD
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><TD
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WIDTH="33%"
|
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ALIGN="right"
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VALIGN="top"
|
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>Making the Pitch</TD
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></TR
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></TABLE
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></DIV
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></BODY
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></HTML
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> |