I was browsing through LinkedIn recently and came across this incredible experience that Amanda Griffith shared about an interaction she had with a 20 year veteran of healthcare journalism. She gave me permission to share her experience with our healthcare marketing community. Here’s what she wrote:
A journalist I have known for 20 years – and whom I consider a friend – sent me this note a little while ago, and my heart sunk because I knew just where they were coming from:
“Is there any reason why PR professionals in this space are becoming more aggressive, entitled, and demanding? Are clients putting even more unrealistic expectations for coverage on you?
Over the years, it is just becoming insane to the point of not being professional to some in response. Just trying to get a sense of the shift or catalyst for this.“
As a journalist myself (only 17 years for me), I was quite interested in this question and observation from my peer. Amanda Griffith offered this as her response:
“I think you have it just right. Clients are being much more greedy and demanding, more me too and PR people – especially with agencies – are afraid to push back and provide counsel because they worry about losing the business. I learned early in my career from an agency I worked with, who was doing it right, that while we work for a client and they pay the bill, they are doing so because they need counsel and advice – or they would do it themselves.
I am so sorry you are on the receiving end of this. It’s why I will never go back to an agency and only consult – my dedication and allegiance are to reporters; I guard my relationships very closely and work hard to nurture them. We are all people in the end. It shouldn’t be so transactional.”
As PR people, we can and must do better – don’t be afraid to push back. Journalists are people too; they have a job to do and they do not work for you or your client. Treat these relationships like gold – because they are. Take the time to listen to what your client wants, but set reasonable expectations on what may actually be possible.
At the end of the day, relationships matter. Maybe I am in the minority, and maybe it’s because I started out as a journalism major, but I will not compromise a hard-earned, respected relationship with a member of the media just to secure unrealistic results.
I have to admit that I have not seen PR people be any more aggressive than previous. This may be because of the relationships I’ve built over the years and that I have a clear understanding of how I want to work with PR people when writing on Healthcare IT Today. Maybe it’s because of the involvement of so many PR people in HITMC. This connection may be different than they have with other reporters. It’s pretty rare that someone is entitled, aggressive, or demanding with me. I certainly get a few overtones of this, but nothing too awful. In fact, it probably shows up most often when they ask shortly after working with me on a story “When will this be published?” Let’s just say that there’s a right way and a wrong way to ask that question and many get it wrong.
What I have sensed from PR people is more desperation when trying to get coverage for their clients. Maybe that is what is leading them to come off as more entitled, aggressive, and demanding with this other journalist. I think it’s fair to say that getting PR coverage is harder now than it’s ever been for health IT companies. There aren’t as many publications. There aren’t as many journalists. The line between sponsored and editorial has gotten blurred and often impacts your ability to get coverage. There are a lot more companies in health IT making a lot more noise. Put more simply, the supply of health IT stories being written has gone down and the demand from companies that want their story written has gone up.
What’s been your experience with the healthcare PR recently? What changes have you seen?
I agree with Amanda Griffith, at the end of the day, it is all about the relationship between the PR person and the journalist and/or publication. Aggressive and border-line unprofessional behavior does more harm than good for a PR professional. Plus, the good PR people I know hate this behavior too since it make their life more difficult and leaves a stain on the profession.
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