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Credibility
Don't call about or send something that's already been published in a competing publication. That means you must know the medium you are targeting -- as well as its competition (Amy Stevens, legal reporter of The Wall Street Journal, says her most important piece of advice to those seeking her interest is "Read our newspaper"). Avoid "legalese" in your material and in your interviews; as Business Week's Linda Himelstein puts it, "Citing the tax code doesn't make good copy." Try to provide information on what other firms are doing. And seek out associates in your firm who are, as Ed Adams of the New York Law Journal editor puts it, "gossips."
Interviews
To help you get an interview, review the reporter's medium and the demographics of its audience. Then, get on the reporter's Rolodex as an expert resource by sending material listing names of your attorneys and their areas of expertise. Send a brief letter offering expertise on various subjects the journalist covers. Know what issues are current and invite the reporter to discuss them. But don't try to set up a meeting just to talk.
Before the interview, identify and develop main points to be made. Devise quotable answers to questions likely to be asked. Assume everything you say will be used. Though you have the right to ask that parts be "off the record," the reporter may refuse your request. A "no comment" is no solution; the reader of your interview will become suspicious and assume that you have something to hide.
Make sure your spokesperson is not only available as promised, but also prepared to talk. Your firm's credibility with the media will be seriously jeopardized if he or she turns out to be unavailable, or just stonewalls and refuses to say anything of interest. Your spokesperson should make plenty of eye contact and occasionally use the reporter's name when answering a question. Avoid aggressive or defensive body language.
A final point when dealing with a reporter: Make sure you are offering something of interest. "Ask yourself what we ask ourselves when we are pitched," says Amy Stevens, legal reporter of The Wall Street Journal. "Why do we care?" Even if your story involves a top law firm, she won't likely be interested unless there's a human angle.
Conclusion
Media relations need be no more mystifying than labor relations or client relations. It's just a form of human intercourse whose principles must be mastered.
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