The media relations mistake some reporters can’t forgive

If you want to get your news covered and promote your organization, you must build quality relationships with the media.

Media relations takes time and ongoing effort, but if you’re willing to put in the work, it can pay off big time once you earn the trust of the right reporters. Of course, while building that trust with a reporter takes a lot of time and effort, losing it forever takes just a moment. If that happens, you might never be able to regain it, particularly if you make the one media relations mistake some reporters consider unforgivable.

What’s the one thing you absolutely can’t do when dealing with the media? What’s the one thing that could make a reporter to write you off forever?

Perhaps the most egregious mistake you can make when dealing with a reporter is to leave him or her hanging at the last minute by not being available and responsive. If you’re going to go through the trouble of pitching the media, you’d better make yourself available to them. When they come knocking, you need to be responsive, and if you promise to be available for a conversation, you need to keep that promise. Otherwise, be prepared to burn that bridge forever.