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Which media?
What Such magazines as Architectural Record, Engineering News-Record and Architecture are among the many dozens that publish editorial calendars.
How to approach the media
Now that we've covered what media are important to you, let's talk a bit about how best to approach these media. After all, your message may be an excellent one, but if you can't get a reporter or editor to listen, that message won't get told.
Before approaching any reporter or editor, make sure you know well both his/her work and the medium for which he/she works. It's hard to over-emphasize this. You might be surprised to know how many public relations people pitch a medium blind, having no idea of what kind of story that medium does -- and does not -- cover. That kind of behavior, by the way, has much to do with how poorly my profession is perceived by many in the media.
Thus, one thing any good public relations person does is to become an expert on the idiosyncracies of the press -- and that comes down to fundamentals. for starters, it's important how you send material to a reporter or editor. Some like it mailed. Others like it faxed. Many like it e-mailed. Find out; it can be almost as important as spelling their names correctly.
Indeed, for most busy reporters, a good way to approach them is by mailing, faxing or e-mailing them, rather than calling. This gives them the opportunity in their busy lives to go through pitches at their convenience.
With this in mind, I'd like to offer some guidelines on In general, they are enormously overrated. Press releases are sometimes necessary, but rarely sufficient. Journalists are inundated with press releases, so you should be very judicious about sending them out. And if you do have a release worth sending out, keep in mind that effective press releases employ lively, simple language. Journalists are turned off by jargon and by self-serving praise of one's own work.
I'm happy to report that press releases are not the only type of material you can send a reporter or editor. Far more effective, generally, is a letter tailored very carefully to the individual recipient. It can be a letter proposing an interview, a meeting for background purposes, an article, or any of a dozen other ideas. It can be a letter approaching trade publications with ideas for bylined articles; trade publications are generally more open to articles by outsiders than are the key business publications, like The Wall Street Journal.
One thing to keep in mind, regardless of what you're pitching, is to try to incorporate good visuals. Higher quality photos or renderings greatly improve your chances for obtaining publicity.
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