Patty Michalski

“I just need a few key messages that I should hit.” It’s a common request that every communications pro has encountered many times ahead of a media interview. And if you’re anything like me, you roll your eyes. Why? Because key messages are fine and good, but only if they are used to form a broader narrative. More often than not, they’re seen as a license to be repetitive, robotic and focused only on your own outcome. Brute-forcing key messages down a reporter’s throat doesn’t help them do their job. Media opportunities are a two way street - you give value, share expertise and contextualize whatever you’re talking about in exchange for the profile the media outlet can give you and your business. The best and only way to respect this duality is to shape a simple and memorable story which contains the messages you want to hit, and which shows instead of telling why what you’re discussing is important and meaningful. I used to keep a folder of video clips that could’ve been titled “when key messages go wrong” - often depicting some hapless executive or politician stumbling through a repeated response straight from the message sheet he or she was handed. They universally looked silly and unprepared, and the interview did nothing but undermine trust and damage the speaker’s reputation. Next time, before the camera starts rolling, think about a story instead of a key message. Your brand will thank you.

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When the American Journalism Project launched five years ago, our mandate was to create the conditions for community-led nonprofit news organizations to sustainably provide the journalism our democracy requires. Today, I’m pleased to share our 2024 Impact Report, a look at the progress we’ve made since our inception. In the five years since our launch, we’ve raised $175 million from national and local philanthropy, and built a portfolio of 44 nonprofit local news organizations —  diverse in size, scope, reach and leadership. Some highlights from the report: -In the last year alone, our portfolio of 44 grantee organizations generated $86 million in revenue — a 36% increase over their 2022 revenue. -Year over year, the organizations in our portfolio are seeing a 58% median growth. -And this growth is leading to more journalism – last year, our portfolio of grantees employed 568 editorial and newsroom staff – an 18% increase over 2022. Organizations are growing, diversifying their revenue, adding journalists, and strengthening their communities. I’m proud of the progress the portfolio has made, and remain clear-eyed about the future. This report sheds light on how far we’ve come and sets the stage for what’s ahead. I hope you'll take a moment to read it. https://lnkd.in/eipwwhxN

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Join me July 11 at 3:30 EST for this Notified webinar, where I'll share advice and tips on effectively pitching your press releases to journalists. Hope to see you there, along with the 800+ people already registered - the link to sign up is in the comments. We'll cover: ➡️ What a press release is - and isn't - for 👍 ➡️ What to include in a well-written release 📝 ➡️ The best methods to pitch your news to journalists 🗣 ➡️ Other ways you can repurpose your release ♻️ #publicrelations #mediarelations #PRtips

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As I approach my third month at The Baltimore Banner, I have been thinking a lot about defining success. A mentor offered the following thoughts: For reporters, it is much easier to define success. Editors often need help seeing that their goals should be quite different than their reporters'. They need to see each of their reporters as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. So editors need to meet each reporter at a different place and help them improve, and hopefully, thrive. Sometimes that means focusing on reporting or writing skills, sometimes it is helping a reporter figure out how to cover a beat, or how to distinguish their work from the competition. Editors of course are key to guiding coverage, whether it's breaking news or a more conceptual beat, when the goal has to be finding the front edge of the topic (for an education reporter, that might be new trends in teaching and for the city hall reporter it might be who are the emerging power brokers.) When it comes to editing copy, editors have to avoid rewriting stories, which can completely demoralize reporters, but they also can't send along stories that are confusing or take too long to get to the point. It takes awhile for editors to figure out that sweet spot between improving copy but not just rewriting it the way they would have written it. The hardest part of editing is probably dealing with difficult reporters and there is no easy answer for that. The only part of running a newsroom that I could advise on is running the coverage and for me, that was always driven by focusing on the big news of the day. You have to make sure that editors have put enough staffers on the big stories and are looking across the news cycle, e.g. what will we have to publish first thing tomorrow, and make sure some people are trained on the bigger, deeper questions that take a few days to report. If you are clear on your top priorities each day and the newsroom aligns behind those, then the smaller stories will take care of themselves. You will be judged by how the Banner did on the big things, not the small things.

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Axios: "The Sixth" aims to bring about a sense of catharsis, especially for locals.” For my fellow DC friends who don't want to relive that day... I can tell you that this documentary was done so well. And in the end, gives hope and rededication to why we all do what we do here in the nation's capital. I strongly encourage you to watch. https://lnkd.in/ga3YAiHT #THESIXTHmovie

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💥 This email will self-destruct in 48 hours. 💥 There’s nothing wrong with telling a journalist that they need to respond by a certain deadline if they’re interested in your story. We spend so much of our time trying to accommodate journalists, but you need to be respectful of your own time, too. If you don’t set a clear deadline for when a response is needed, you could sit around forever waiting for a reply that will never come. If the journalist doesn’t reply in time, move on to the next person on your list. Don’t let a lack of response from someone cause you to miss out on telling your story.

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You're probably already taking in a lot of information on how to cover this year's elections. These guides are aimed at helping you talk through that information with your news organization, and strategize or decide on how you'll navigate different scenarios long before they arise and leave you thinking, "I wish we'd talked about how we'd actually handle this." Our first two guides help you consider your coverage of misinformation and polling, and we've got more in the works! Let us know if there are other topics you'd like to see addressed.

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Thank you to PRNEWS for publishing my piece on lessons brands and communications leaders can learn from the recent fallout at NBC News and the pitfalls of binary thinking. "This debacle is one of many scenarios that remind us of why deliberate, well-coordinated and consistent internal communications are even more important in today’s climate where sensitive information leaks are becoming commonplace." If you're so inclined, you can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eSjSG26d

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Quick tip for media spokespeople and panel speakers: **well-prepped** examples, stories, and anecdotes can be entertaining and memorable for your audience. However, there can be too much of a good thing i.e. when speakers try to cram several into the same speaking point or response. Where they quickly dilute each other and overwhelm the audience. So limit yourself to one example at a time: you will tell it better and you won't overcrowd your audience with too much information. #PublicSpeaking #Stories

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PRWeek's great 2024 Business Report highlights the key challenge facing our industry. Communications is more important than ever. Comms and policy leaders are being asked to play far larger roles as business partners supporting ever more stakeholders. So why did the industry suffer so much in 2023 after many years of growth? As an sector, we are not adapting fast enough to the needs. Organizations are desperate for help but also under tremendous financial strain. They now need both senior level counsel and advisory support as well as deep domain expertise to actually produce. By and large, our industry is still split by this chasm - between strategic and tactical. Clients cannot afford to separate these, either in time or money. At Bully Pulpit International our goal is to bridge this divide, building a team that can both 'think and do' at the highest levels. It's not always easy. Last year was a challenge. But if you share this vision for the future, please check out some of our open roles: https://lnkd.in/dGQwJUSG

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The latest edition of our Compass for the Chaos newsletter discusses challenges presented by the unsteady and complicated election-year environment for brand marketers and corporate communicators alike. #webershandwick #compassforthechaos #brandsafety #corporatecommunications 

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I wrote a piece for Politico on major trends buffeting the media including artificial intelligence, deepfakes, and fighting disinformation in an age of dwindling resources. The conclusion is that founders, CEOs, politicians and others in the public eye now face an exponentially increasing threat of reputational damage. In today’s media landscape, a single negative review can quickly go viral, a poorly phrased statement can trigger a global backlash and an ill-judged joke can wreck careers. While the media world’s pace of change is dizzying, the words written by businessman Warren Buffett almost a decade ago have never been more relevant: “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it.” Article here: https://lnkd.in/dtTNY4PU

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Start-up and scale-up founders, CEOs and CMOs can save themselves a lot of heartache if they assess their company's readiness for corporate communications before they bring on an expensive corp comm leader. By identifying where the requisite building blocks for success already exist, executives can develop the function in a way that impacts business results by making better hiring decisions, understanding where to expect results near and long term, and strategically planning their investments in the function. Looking for a guide to help you do this? Drop me a line. As a 25-year veteran leader who has helped a number of start-ups and scale-ups build their corporate communications departments, I can help you figure out if you are ready to add this strategic function. #CorporateCommunications #ScaleUp #StartUp #PublicRelations

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If you're not someone who works in government communications, keep scrolling. If you DO work in government comms...amazing news: Vyond for Government--an all-in-one video creation platform built specifically for the needs of (and many regulations required by) government agencies is officially a thing. We're on track to be "In Process" for FedRAMP approval soon, and with the VA as our partner, we're gearing up to change how federal agencies communicate. See how this news could affect you: https://vynd.ly/3xoHOtz #VyondForGov #Innovation #PublicSector

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Today, in Cognito's Media Intelligence newsletter, I wrote about Hunterbrook Media, which is simultaneously a hedge fund and a news outlet. Like any news outlet, Hunterbrook will investigate companies suspected of bad behavior. Unlike your traditional news outlet, they will take financial positions that benefit from market movements once the article is published. What do you think? Is this a clever way to fund journalism or a slippery slope to unethical reporting and/or market manipulation?

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Bloomberg News: "In a new partnership with Vote.org, people will be able to register to vote, sign up for election reminders and make a plan for Election Day from within Snapchat. In 2020, the app registered 1.2 million people to vote, making it a prime platform for political advertisers to reach voters. More than 80 million Americans of voting age use Snapchat every month, according to the company. Snap will also prominently feature politically focused content from NBC News, including on-the-ground coverage of key events from conventions to rallies and speeches. In order to help those users make more informative decisions, Snap launched in 2016 its Good Luck America news show, which offers perspective and explanation around key events from both political parties. This year the show will launch a new series called Campus Tour from colleges across the country. Also, Snap’s partnership with NBC News’ “Stay Tuned’ program will present a series that talks with Gen Z voters in local, state and federal elections about issues that resonate with them. Political ads on Snap are vetted through a 'rigorous human review process,' as well as fact-checking with nonpartisan partner Poynter Institute, and a registration and certification process for potential ad buyers. The app will screen for misleading information, including those using artificial intelligence to create deceptive images." https://lnkd.in/gWKJM-EF

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This article highlights the challenges reporters face when seeking comments from companies and public figures. The phrase “did not respond to a request for comment” is becoming increasingly common in journalism. This trend raises questions about the impact on journalistic integrity and the changing landscape of media communications. https://lnkd.in/e33AuQRy

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Putting a human being at the center of a story was always the most effective way to talk through a bigger narrative, and as a journalist, getting to the core of a narrative was a critical part of my work. Now, with Prosek Partners, my work centers on establishing similar relationships with our clients that I once did with my sources, competitively developing a messaging that stands out, and putting it to work with our colleagues in the press. https://lnkd.in/edCPU_8m

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Beware the AI bear trap that turns thought leadership into thought laggardship. Don't get me wrong: AI is a transformational technology, but it's not a silver bullet. In this piece for our Edelman website, I'm looking at the AI pitfalls that companies must avoid. https://lnkd.in/e377u73i #thoughtleadership #ai #artificialintelligence #content #goodwriting

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