Jun
22
Today, The Times ran an article discussing the possibility of News Corp selling MySpace to Yahoo. This is the perfect story to cover on my blog Betaflow but I wanted to do things a bit differently this time - like a real journalist. I made phone calls.
Often times, we find ourselves in a slump of merely reposting what other blogs have already snagged up first and merely tossing our opinions and thoughts on top. I decided I wanted to at least attempt to get a unique perspective or a quote from the companies involved although, because of the nature of the topic, I doubted I would get anything more than “no comment.”
I was right, of course, “no comment,” was released by both News Corp and Yahoo, but it provided a unique insight into the world of media relations. The people actually made an effort to get back to me! When I was making the calls this morning I was running around doing other things and accidentally left my wife’s number in the voice-mail. The VP of Media Relations from both companies called my wife, excused themselves for bothering her, then emailed me thinking they had copied down the wrong number from the voice-mail. From both companies, it was nothing but true professionalism and an honest desire to get back to me and provide their side of the story, even if it was “no comment.”
The next time you are working on a story - don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and call those companies involved. Learn from my experience and write up a quick cheat sheet for yourself, before you call, with the phone number you intend to leave, your email address, and any questions you would like to ask. This way, if you do get caught off-guard by voice-mail, you don’t mess up like myself.
Not only was this a valuable learning experience for myself but now my name is out there, in two of the big names within my niche market. Both companies now know who Michael Wales is and have visited Betaflow (I have the logs to prove it) - not a bad result for 10 minutes of work.
Michael Wales is currently a Senior Airman in the United States Air Force awaiting a July promotion to Staff Sergeant. Michael also writes a blog at http://www.betaflow.com/ about Web 2.0 companies and new media.
How exciting!!!
We have a piece of legislation in the UK called the Freedom of Information act which allows any individual access to non personal, non sensitive information in the UK. It’s fascinating the Wikipedia article on it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Information_Act_2000 especially when you see what information has come out now.
I think there’s a similar act in the US, check it out, especially useful for research (I know some acts also cover publically owned companies).
We have something very similar here in the US, although in my experience (probably because I am an Information Manager for the Air Force) it is primarily geared toward the government. At my last base I processed the incoming FOIA requests and made sure they were responded to within an appropriate amount of time.
Wikipedia: FOIA in the US
Good advice about making those calls Michael. Phone work is really undervalued. Great tip about the cheat sheet as well.
Michael,
What a great post. The best part about reporting the news is getting on the phone and getting the real dirt. I used to be a telemarketer, so I’m not afraid to call anyone.
How interesting Roberta. When I was attending Florida State I worked for a company that conducted political surveys over the phone. That job only lasted 2-3 months, I couldn’t stand it, and I a PHP slot at a local design firm for the rest of my time there.
Michael, thanks for the idea, something (picking up the phone) that is easy to forget about when you’re online all day.
WTG for making those calls!
myspace is dieing and the bubble will soon burst
Heh - MySpace is nowhere near dieing. It may be losing a bit of traffic, but it’s far from dieing. A quick walk around any middle or high school today, listening to conversations, is evident of that.
Good advice, emails often get neglected. I’m waiting for a decent hour to make an important blog related call today. Breath easy….