Newsflash: 90% of the reporters on the targeted media list you created in January are out of work. They’re not responding to your emails because they’ve packed up their belongings and gone home. Which is probably a change from why they usually don’t reply to you (ahem, spray and pray?). As newsroom staff dwindles, reporters’ roles and responsibilities are shifting and we’re left scratching our heads, wondering how to keep up with constantly moving, undefined targets.

Yes it’s true. The days of creating a media list and letting it sit unmodified for a year are over. No, the days of thinking of journalists as little more than another email address you blast your news to are over. But you know this. Change isn’t just coming anymore, it’s here. So, where’s the silver lining in these pink slip-laden newsrooms and inboxes full of bounced emails? I’ll tell you. As the number of reporters per publication declines, competition for coverage will become increasingly intense, forcing us PR pros to tighten up our game and play smart or be sent to the sidelines to cry on the bench. [Read more...]