For some clients, part of our role is to share newsworthy happenings about their businesses. This usually starts with a press release (that the client approves)—and ideally, it results in a media outlet wanting to do a story—great news!
Ultimately, this can result in better publicity than you could pay for—a newspaper article, radio mention or blog post. But all this great publicity comes with letting go of something—control.
Sometimes clients ask if they can see a story before it’s published, and the answer is generally no. Why? As a rule, journalists don’t show their stories to sources before they are published—it’s what assures integrity and objectivity in journalism.
For it to be a real story, the reporter needs the freedom to use their own voice and write what he or she sees fit. It’s the reporter’s job to write about people and events objectively, and if a reporter lets a source dictate what goes into a story, then that reporter loses objectivity. It’s essentially the difference between free publicity (which is in the hands of the media outlet) and paid advertising (which you control).
Clearly, it’s bad practice to ask a reporter to see the story before it is published, but we do want you to feel confident about your story! That is why we work closely with you to ensure everything we are submitting to the journalist is correct. You will get a chance to fact-check and approve quotes—but once we send the press release to the journalist, we have to trust them to do their job. This approach has resulted in many great stories for clients over the years!
If you’re interested in spreading the word about your business, we are ready to help.