Book Review: Free Publicity

As it's often been said, inspiration can come at the strangest times. After two decades of experience working in television media, reporter Jeff Crilley stumbled upon an epiphany over a plate of lasagna. It struck him during a lunch meeting with a friend who was having considerable difficulty getting media attention. Crilley's friend was employed as a public relations liaison for a local company and could not understand why the media ignored her public relations initiatives. Over lunch, he reviewed her techniques and press releases and in an exchange that Crilley refers to as a “Simon from American Idol moment,” and the Emmy award-winning reporter unleashed a torrent of constructive criticism.

“Your events are boring, your press releases are terrible, you are trying to pitch us stories we don't care about when our interests are focused elsewhere, and frankly, a tic-tac wouldn't kill you.”

Stunned silence followed this diatribe of tough love, and for a brief moment Crilley thought he might have crossed a line and lost a friend. Instead, his candor was much appreciated. His friend was thankful to hear the blunt truth and suggested to Crilley that he should write a book explaining to the world how the media really operates. At that moment Crilley received inspiration for his mission.

His book, Free Publicity, ensued shortly thereafter. Free Publicity is a concise but substantial look into the mechanisms and motivations of the modern media. The book is full of short and succinct examples of how ordinary people and businesses have been successful using the press to promote their own agendas. As the title suggests, if you know how to work the system, you too can spread your message around the world without spending a cent.

Advice from the Source

Before writing Free Publicity, Crilley researched the most popular books on media relations and noticed that many of the most successful titles were written by people who had never actually worked in the media. Crilley found it hard to comprehend that people without a background in television, radio or print news could offer such expert advice. After reading many of these books he became frustrated because much of the purported “expert” information was incorrect. Free Publicity sets up dozens of common misconceptions and shoots them down. For example, many people have suggested that press releases should be written on higher quality, colored paper to get the reporters attention. This is a laughable theory according to Crilley.

“If you write a great story on a piece of Kleenex, I'd cover it. But write a bad story on the finest paper, and I'll blow my nose on it.”

You get the point. This book does not beat around the bush. Crilley really wants us to think differently about the press. Each chapter contains specific examples and promotional suggestions. Each chapter concludes with easily digestible bullet point summaries.

In the course of the book Crilley tells us how to turn an average story into a great story. However, he warns us that not even a great story is enough to guarantee coverage. The best stories are often lost in the feeding frenzy of breaking news. Crilley wants us to understand that the news is about supply, demand, and timing. We have to know what to sell, how to sell, and when to sell our story.

Free Publicity contains many examples of how to maximize your impact and earn a place of honor in the Rolodex of a reporter. Some tips listed confirm our general assumptions. Other tips confirm our fears. Crilley recounts a typical moment when a news editor reviewed a dozen press releases in under 20 seconds. Once you know how the press really responds to requests for attention, you can predict their reactions and plan accordingly.

Slow News Day

Free Publicity gives much credence to the slow news day concept and encourages us to take full advantage of this easy-to-spot phenomenon. You may think predicting what days will be slow is difficult, if not impossible. Generally speaking, it is really quite simple. Slow news days almost always occur near federal holidays. Why? Reporters get many leads for stories from trusted sources that work for the local police, the court system, or elsewhere in the government. Most of these sources are not around during the holiday. On the day I met with Crilley, he pounded this point home. He picked up the front page of the Dallas Morning News to demonstrate his point.

“I've been giving this speech for years and it is always the same regardless of the date or what newspaper I use. Watch as I remove every story off the front page that is somehow associated with the government. This story is about the troops in Iraq, so rip it out. This one is a court case, it's gone. This one is about the Legislature, let's get rid of it. Here is a story about a congressional investigation, and so on. Every one of these requires a source that won't be working on a federal holiday.”

Scraps of newsprint were piled at Crilley's feet. By the time he was finished making his point, he was holding a very small portion of the front page. All that remained of the front page was a photo of the Dallas Mavericks playing basketball, a three line mention of the passing of Frank Gorshin (who played the Riddler in the Batman series), and the table of contents. When you consider how the press is fed information, you can understand Crilley's point and plot out potential slow news days for the entire year. There is a reason that every news station in America reports from the local shopping mall the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing else is happening. Seasoned reporters would rather not be cover the 6 a.m. shopping rush at the local Wal-Mart. They would rather report on your compelling story. If you have a good story to sell you can maximize your coverage by sharing it on the next slow news day.

Law Firms are Terrible

In a separate interview, I asked Crilley if the tips he offers is applicable to the legal market. Do legal marketers really need this advice?

“Overall, law firms are terrible at communicating with the press,” he says with zero hesitation.

He insists that legal marketers would be wise to heed his advice. He suggested that we cease our total reliance on one single method of contacting the media. Cut out the middleman when possible.

More frequently the reporter's first contact with a law firm is through their outside media consultant or PR firm. As a reporter he assumes that many law firms have relinquished effective media relations by outsourcing this important function. Crilley asserts that this is often expensive and unnecessary in some situations. If you have a story, he would prefer to hear about it from you, not a paid consultant. If someone at your firm can be quoted as an expert, a reporter would rather hear from that person directly.

He sees value in the outside consultant, but recommends that we do not rely completely on any one tactic.

“I view some PR people as a necessary evil. Some are just mercenaries and I know that when I speak with them, they are simply trying to sell me something. The fact is, I would much rather get a call from the person with the story than from a middle man trying to broker a story.”

In an era when the main news outlets are controlled by a handful of giant corporations, it is very reassuring to know that many of the reporters promoting the stories are still accessible. Crilley beats that drum through the entire book. Free Publicity is not a weighty academic tome. Crilley does not waste time turning colorful phrases. Rather, in a text just over 100 pages, he strives to share the secrets of media access.

Legal Marketing Has to Change

Crilley is determined to change the way we view the press and our ability to communicate with and through the media. With the proper guidance anyone can gain access to the media. By following the rules set forth in the book, you can secure valuable insight that will help you maximize your effectiveness with your own media relations.

Ultimately Free Publicity has value for legal marketers because it allows us rare insight in to the reporter mindset. What is perception to a reporter today is likely to be reality on the nightly news in the near future. In this regard, think of this book as a free pass into the break room of your local newspaper or television newsroom. Free Publicity will leave you with the type of advice that a reporter friend might tell you over lunch someday ' that is, if he or she is completely honest with you.

Charles Gillis has worked in legal administration for over 12 years and serves as the Administrator for Brown & Hofmeister LLP, a law firm specializing in municipal law and economic development. He can be reached at [email protected] or 214-747-6100.

As it's often been said, inspiration can come at the strangest times. After two decades of experience working in television media, reporter Jeff Crilley stumbled upon an epiphany over a plate of lasagna. It struck him during a lunch meeting with a friend who was having considerable difficulty getting media attention. Crilley's friend was employed as a public relations liaison for a local company and could not understand why the media ignored her public relations initiatives. Over lunch, he reviewed her techniques and press releases and in an exchange that Crilley refers to as a “Simon from American Idol moment,” and the Emmy award-winning reporter unleashed a torrent of constructive criticism.

“Your events are boring, your press releases are terrible, you are trying to pitch us stories we don't care about when our interests are focused elsewhere, and frankly, a tic-tac wouldn't kill you.”

Stunned silence followed this diatribe of tough love, and for a brief moment Crilley thought he might have crossed a line and lost a friend. Instead, his candor was much appreciated. His friend was thankful to hear the blunt truth and suggested to Crilley that he should write a book explaining to the world how the media really operates. At that moment Crilley received inspiration for his mission.

His book, Free Publicity, ensued shortly thereafter. Free Publicity is a concise but substantial look into the mechanisms and motivations of the modern media. The book is full of short and succinct examples of how ordinary people and businesses have been successful using the press to promote their own agendas. As the title suggests, if you know how to work the system, you too can spread your message around the world without spending a cent.

Advice from the Source

Before writing Free Publicity, Crilley researched the most popular books on media relations and noticed that many of the most successful titles were written by people who had never actually worked in the media. Crilley found it hard to comprehend that people without a background in television, radio or print news could offer such expert advice. After reading many of these books he became frustrated because much of the purported “expert” information was incorrect. Free Publicity sets up dozens of common misconceptions and shoots them down. For example, many people have suggested that press releases should be written on higher quality, colored paper to get the reporters attention. This is a laughable theory according to Crilley.

“If you write a great story on a piece of Kleenex, I'd cover it. But write a bad story on the finest paper, and I'll blow my nose on it.”

You get the point. This book does not beat around the bush. Crilley really wants us to think differently about the press. Each chapter contains specific examples and promotional suggestions. Each chapter concludes with easily digestible bullet point summaries.

In the course of the book Crilley tells us how to turn an average story into a great story. However, he warns us that not even a great story is enough to guarantee coverage. The best stories are often lost in the feeding frenzy of breaking news. Crilley wants us to understand that the news is about supply, demand, and timing. We have to know what to sell, how to sell, and when to sell our story.

Free Publicity contains many examples of how to maximize your impact and earn a place of honor in the Rolodex of a reporter. Some tips listed confirm our general assumptions. Other tips confirm our fears. Crilley recounts a typical moment when a news editor reviewed a dozen press releases in under 20 seconds. Once you know how the press really responds to requests for attention, you can predict their reactions and plan accordingly.

Slow News Day

Free Publicity gives much credence to the slow news day concept and encourages us to take full advantage of this easy-to-spot phenomenon. You may think predicting what days will be slow is difficult, if not impossible. Generally speaking, it is really quite simple. Slow news days almost always occur near federal holidays. Why? Reporters get many leads for stories from trusted sources that work for the local police, the court system, or elsewhere in the government. Most of these sources are not around during the holiday. On the day I met with Crilley, he pounded this point home. He picked up the front page of the Dallas Morning News to demonstrate his point.

“I've been giving this speech for years and it is always the same regardless of the date or what newspaper I use. Watch as I remove every story off the front page that is somehow associated with the government. This story is about the troops in Iraq, so rip it out. This one is a court case, it's gone. This one is about the Legislature, let's get rid of it. Here is a story about a congressional investigation, and so on. Every one of these requires a source that won't be working on a federal holiday.”

Scraps of newsprint were piled at Crilley's feet. By the time he was finished making his point, he was holding a very small portion of the front page. All that remained of the front page was a photo of the Dallas Mavericks playing basketball, a three line mention of the passing of Frank Gorshin (who played the Riddler in the Batman series), and the table of contents. When you consider how the press is fed information, you can understand Crilley's point and plot out potential slow news days for the entire year. There is a reason that every news station in America reports from the local shopping mall the day after Thanksgiving. Nothing else is happening. Seasoned reporters would rather not be cover the 6 a.m. shopping rush at the local Wal-Mart. They would rather report on your compelling story. If you have a good story to sell you can maximize your coverage by sharing it on the next slow news day.

Law Firms are Terrible

In a separate interview, I asked Crilley if the tips he offers is applicable to the legal market. Do legal marketers really need this advice?

“Overall, law firms are terrible at communicating with the press,” he says with zero hesitation.

He insists that legal marketers would be wise to heed his advice. He suggested that we cease our total reliance on one single method of contacting the media. Cut out the middleman when possible.

More frequently the reporter's first contact with a law firm is through their outside media consultant or PR firm. As a reporter he assumes that many law firms have relinquished effective media relations by outsourcing this important function. Crilley asserts that this is often expensive and unnecessary in some situations. If you have a story, he would prefer to hear about it from you, not a paid consultant. If someone at your firm can be quoted as an expert, a reporter would rather hear from that person directly.

He sees value in the outside consultant, but recommends that we do not rely completely on any one tactic.

“I view some PR people as a necessary evil. Some are just mercenaries and I know that when I speak with them, they are simply trying to sell me something. The fact is, I would much rather get a call from the person with the story than from a middle man trying to broker a story.”

In an era when the main news outlets are controlled by a handful of giant corporations, it is very reassuring to know that many of the reporters promoting the stories are still accessible. Crilley beats that drum through the entire book. Free Publicity is not a weighty academic tome. Crilley does not waste time turning colorful phrases. Rather, in a text just over 100 pages, he strives to share the secrets of media access.

Legal Marketing Has to Change

Crilley is determined to change the way we view the press and our ability to communicate with and through the media. With the proper guidance anyone can gain access to the media. By following the rules set forth in the book, you can secure valuable insight that will help you maximize your effectiveness with your own media relations.

Ultimately Free Publicity has value for legal marketers because it allows us rare insight in to the reporter mindset. What is perception to a reporter today is likely to be reality on the nightly news in the near future. In this regard, think of this book as a free pass into the break room of your local newspaper or television newsroom. Free Publicity will leave you with the type of advice that a reporter friend might tell you over lunch someday ' that is, if he or she is completely honest with you.

Charles Gillis has worked in legal administration for over 12 years and serves as the Administrator for Brown & Hofmeister LLP, a law firm specializing in municipal law and economic development. He can be reached at [email protected] or 214-747-6100.