Media & Communications Corner: Law-firm Media Relations in a Bloomberg Age

For a number of familiar reasons ' lawyers' innate caution, bureaucratic obstacles, the sheer number of available sources for reporters, among others ' positioning lawyers and law firms for media visibility has always been a daunting challenge. Adding to the challenge is the continuing struggle for survival of print publications, caused in substantial part by the Internet's increasing preeminence in delivering news content. For media-relations professionals advising lawyers and law firms, the question is simple: How does the emergence of the Internet as the primary vehicle for delivering news affect law-firm media relations?

In some instances, there's not much of an effect. If, say, you're promoting a win at trial to The American Lawyer (an ALM sister publication of this newsletter), or responding to an inquiry from a Wall Street Journal reporter, the approach is essentially the same ' even if the information will appear electronically and in the printed product. As always, media relations professionals still need to vet the inquiry, keep an eye on potential client concerns, recruit and prepare a source, coordinate the interview, and perform any follow-up work with the reporter.

Online Publications

In many other instances, however, it's critical to consider the unique dynamics of online publications when working with reporters. A recent New York Times article, “An Uneasy Marriage of the Cultish and the Rumpled,” looks back on Bloomberg's December 2009 buyout of BusinessWeek magazine. While the thrust of the article examines the clash of cultures between the online colossus and the venerable business magazine, it also provides several insights that help answer the question of how the emergence of the Internet has affected law-firm media relations.

Not surprisingly, a primary insight is the supercharged speed at which media-relations professionals must work in an increasingly electronic world. At the same time, the need for speed does not come at the expense of content, for which Bloomberg has an insatiable appetite. One wrinkle at Bloomberg is its emphasis on news stories that “move markets,” which plays a key role in pitching reporters. And finally, at Bloomberg and other online publications, the era of working from 9 to 5 is dead.

Speed Kills

“One speaker [at a training session following the BusinessWeek buyout] was the head of Bloomberg's 'speed desk,' who was especially proud, according to people at the meeting, when the desk published a headline seconds ahead of Reuters,” the Times article says. Bloomberg leans heavily on its writers to develop and post content first, and the writers' compensation is based in some measure according to their ability to scoop the competition.

Media-relations professionals at law firms who can work at the hyper-speed of today's electronic environment will earn the gratitude of writers fighting to be first. Given the more deliberate speed at which cautious lawyers at large law firms tend to proceed, positioning experts with writers at Bloomberg and its competitors is no easy task. The key is to lay the foundation with the lawyers and establish a response process
before the story breaks.

Content Is King

“Every writer has a 'dashboard' where the metrics determining his compensation ' any scoops, hits an article attracts ' are tracked,” the article reports. For writers at Bloomberg and its competitors, the pressure to break news and spot the next trend is relentless. Thus, if you can help reporters write the next story while presenting well-trained lawyers who can provide clear, compelling analysis, those reporters will come back to you time and again.

It pays to think like a reporter. Have the partners in your white-collar group detected a coming crackdown by the SEC in executive-compensation disputes? Did a life sciences counsel mention something about an increase in punitive-damages awards in patent cases involving big drug companies? Alternatively, perhaps you can use a headline-making story to illustrate one of your firm's strong points. One firm with a robust litigation practice, for example, noticed in 2009 that green-tech companies receiving federal stimulus funds were suddenly subject to rules protecting whistleblowers. The application of the whistleblower rules, which had previously been applied to other industries, attracted the interest of reporters covering green-tech companies, and the firm earned some publicity for its litigation practice.

The Market Mantra

At Bloomberg, writers are constantly reminded that their content must “move markets.” Bloomberg's core subscribers are Wall Street and financial-services professionals ' traders, bankers, hedge-fund managers, and so on. Bloomberg became a media colossus in part through its ability to provide data to subscribers who are relentlessly prospecting for a competitive advantage. Media relations professionals pitching their clients' stories to Bloomberg should thus be prepared to emphasize how the stories will move markets.

No Bankers' Hours

According to the Times, news meetings are held at 7:30 a.m. As noted above, Bloomberg has an insatiable appetite for breaking, market-moving material. The days of 9-5 workdays in the media-relations realm are long gone, but the fact that the lights are always on at Bloomberg is a pointed reminder that the news cycle never slows. Media-relations professionals looking to position their clients for visibility should adapt accordingly.

Conclusion

Clearly, the Internet's increasing dominance as the platform for delivering news has fundamentally altered the rules of the public relations game. Bloomberg, one of the few profitable media companies in an otherwise bleak era for journalism, has made the game even more challenging. By studying Bloomberg's methodology for gathering and publishing news, however, media-relations professionals can give their law-firm clients an invaluable edge.

John D. Tuerck, a former journalist and non-practicing lawyer, is the senior communications adviser at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge. He can be reached at [email protected].

For a number of familiar reasons ' lawyers' innate caution, bureaucratic obstacles, the sheer number of available sources for reporters, among others ' positioning lawyers and law firms for media visibility has always been a daunting challenge. Adding to the challenge is the continuing struggle for survival of print publications, caused in substantial part by the Internet's increasing preeminence in delivering news content. For media-relations professionals advising lawyers and law firms, the question is simple: How does the emergence of the Internet as the primary vehicle for delivering news affect law-firm media relations?

In some instances, there's not much of an effect. If, say, you're promoting a win at trial to The American Lawyer (an ALM sister publication of this newsletter), or responding to an inquiry from a Wall Street Journal reporter, the approach is essentially the same ' even if the information will appear electronically and in the printed product. As always, media relations professionals still need to vet the inquiry, keep an eye on potential client concerns, recruit and prepare a source, coordinate the interview, and perform any follow-up work with the reporter.

Online Publications

In many other instances, however, it's critical to consider the unique dynamics of online publications when working with reporters. A recent New York Times article, “An Uneasy Marriage of the Cultish and the Rumpled,” looks back on Bloomberg's December 2009 buyout of BusinessWeek magazine. While the thrust of the article examines the clash of cultures between the online colossus and the venerable business magazine, it also provides several insights that help answer the question of how the emergence of the Internet has affected law-firm media relations.

Not surprisingly, a primary insight is the supercharged speed at which media-relations professionals must work in an increasingly electronic world. At the same time, the need for speed does not come at the expense of content, for which Bloomberg has an insatiable appetite. One wrinkle at Bloomberg is its emphasis on news stories that “move markets,” which plays a key role in pitching reporters. And finally, at Bloomberg and other online publications, the era of working from 9 to 5 is dead.

Speed Kills

“One speaker [at a training session following the BusinessWeek buyout] was the head of Bloomberg's 'speed desk,' who was especially proud, according to people at the meeting, when the desk published a headline seconds ahead of Reuters,” the Times article says. Bloomberg leans heavily on its writers to develop and post content first, and the writers' compensation is based in some measure according to their ability to scoop the competition.

Media-relations professionals at law firms who can work at the hyper-speed of today's electronic environment will earn the gratitude of writers fighting to be first. Given the more deliberate speed at which cautious lawyers at large law firms tend to proceed, positioning experts with writers at Bloomberg and its competitors is no easy task. The key is to lay the foundation with the lawyers and establish a response process
before the story breaks.

Content Is King

“Every writer has a 'dashboard' where the metrics determining his compensation ' any scoops, hits an article attracts ' are tracked,” the article reports. For writers at Bloomberg and its competitors, the pressure to break news and spot the next trend is relentless. Thus, if you can help reporters write the next story while presenting well-trained lawyers who can provide clear, compelling analysis, those reporters will come back to you time and again.

It pays to think like a reporter. Have the partners in your white-collar group detected a coming crackdown by the SEC in executive-compensation disputes? Did a life sciences counsel mention something about an increase in punitive-damages awards in patent cases involving big drug companies? Alternatively, perhaps you can use a headline-making story to illustrate one of your firm's strong points. One firm with a robust litigation practice, for example, noticed in 2009 that green-tech companies receiving federal stimulus funds were suddenly subject to rules protecting whistleblowers. The application of the whistleblower rules, which had previously been applied to other industries, attracted the interest of reporters covering green-tech companies, and the firm earned some publicity for its litigation practice.

The Market Mantra

At Bloomberg, writers are constantly reminded that their content must “move markets.” Bloomberg's core subscribers are Wall Street and financial-services professionals ' traders, bankers, hedge-fund managers, and so on. Bloomberg became a media colossus in part through its ability to provide data to subscribers who are relentlessly prospecting for a competitive advantage. Media relations professionals pitching their clients' stories to Bloomberg should thus be prepared to emphasize how the stories will move markets.

No Bankers' Hours

According to the Times, news meetings are held at 7:30 a.m. As noted above, Bloomberg has an insatiable appetite for breaking, market-moving material. The days of 9-5 workdays in the media-relations realm are long gone, but the fact that the lights are always on at Bloomberg is a pointed reminder that the news cycle never slows. Media-relations professionals looking to position their clients for visibility should adapt accordingly.

Conclusion

Clearly, the Internet's increasing dominance as the platform for delivering news has fundamentally altered the rules of the public relations game. Bloomberg, one of the few profitable media companies in an otherwise bleak era for journalism, has made the game even more challenging. By studying Bloomberg's methodology for gathering and publishing news, however, media-relations professionals can give their law-firm clients an invaluable edge.

John D. Tuerck, a former journalist and non-practicing lawyer, is the senior communications adviser at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge. He can be reached at [email protected].