The Secret To Getting An Editors Attention

Just when you think youve seen and heard it all, something comesalong that leaves you awestruck, stunned, amazed, shocked or justplain flummoxed.

No, Im not talking about some new blockbuster technology productor service. What caught me by surprise was a question posedat a recent press conference; a question I had never heard askedanda darn good question at that. The question was not asked by themedia in attendancerather it was directed at us scribesand scriveners who cover the industry from a technologyperspective.

An executive for a technology company wanted to know why certaintechnology stories get covered in the media, while othersjudged bytheir purveyors to be major newsare ignored. I had always thoughtthe reasons were fairly obvious, but as I began to reflect moredeeply, I realized that there are lots of reasons, and that any oneor a combination of them might explain why some stories getattention while other items dont.

Sometimes the answers are simple: A message not sent, a phonecall not made, an e-mail or fax not received or read, too manystories coming in at once, someone on vacation, or poorly executedPR efforts. These everyday possibilities aside, however, just whatis it that determines which stories run and which dont? In the end,it is the reporters or editors judgment.

While that might seem obvious enough, theres a lot that goesinto making such judgments. On the practical side, one mightconsider the amount of exposure a company has received lately. Forexample, if a company gets covered in three successive issues of apublication, chances for a fourth appearance in the next issue maybe slim.

In a related vein, some companies are fond of making multipleannouncements at the same time, little realizing that editors willmost likely choose just one for coverage and ignore the rest.

When I worked in advertising (yes, I was once on the dark side),we learned that the average driver has no more than seven secondsto read a billboard message. The same type of time limitationapplies to press releases, e-mails and other communications thatpass by the eyes of editors.

Further to that point (and I know some of you may find thisshocking), we editors really dont care that much about yourcompanys rich heritage or its world-class leadership. If youreworld-class, chances are we already know that. If youre notworld-class, a flowery press release isnt going to convince us.

Of course, the editor must also judge how important the messageis in the context of the broad spectrum of news in technology, andtechnology news about this industry in particular. Some companiesare surprised to hear that their hiring of a new sales manager isntas important as a new technology platform that half the industrycould use. Imagine that.

Does it surprise you to hear that we might let our personalfeelings get in the way of our otherwise good judgment? Well, wetry very hard not to let that happen, but why push your luck? Whilemost of the journalists I know are professionals, we are humanbeings as well. Spitting into the wind has never been an effectivepersuasive tactic.

The best overall advice I can give is to be real. Dont saysomething is “revolutionary” if its really just slightly betterthan ordinary. Dont tell us a story is important when you know inyour heart its not worthy to be written on a bathroom wall. Andwhen it comes to offering time and resources to make our jobeasier, dont mislead us or let us down.

An industry vendor recently volunteered to provide a tech storythat I was quite eager to publish. When the time came to get thestory, however, the vendorfor rather obvious politicalreasonsdecided not to provide it, and even tried to make it look asif I had been the one asking them for the story, when they had infact offered it, unsolicited.

I think I might have made some horrendous faces on thatoccasionreal Halloween stuff, if you know what I mean.

So, if you take nothing else away from this exercise in basicPR, remember this: Honesty, professionalism, integrity and respectare your best weapons in the battle to have your story heard. Thesequalities dont guarantee your story will get published, but they doguarantee that youll get a fair shot.

Senior Editor Ara C. Trembly covers the technology beat for bothweekly editions of NU. He may be reached [email protected].

Readers Respond To

Trembly Hacker Columns

The following readers took time to e-mail Ara C. Trembly abouthis “Tech Guru” columns on hackers and crackers, with the mostrecent appearing on Jan. 31.

Rob Foster, an information security officer in Wichita Falls,Texas, wrote:

“I think your reevaluation of the previously posted article wasa noble step in the right direction (and it was appreciated). Ialso think that your column may have served to educate thoseindividuals in the world who have no clue of what a true hackeris.

Most of us are highly educated and hold positions of greatresponsibilities within the information technology infrastructuresof the world. The true hackers are the IT security professionalswho provide the daily architecture and engineering that keep all ofour systems secured and stable.

It is always amazing to watch vendors and consultants preach onthe almighty bad hacker. I love nothing more than to raise my handas the information security officer of a company and let them knowwhat a true hacker is.

Its also a shame that IT world leaders and trend-setters willfocus more time and energy on the elusive hacker (cracker) thanthey will on the security of their companies. Starting with thelarge expenditures on systems and applications that supposedly (ifactually implemented 100 percent) keep their IT borders secure,keep in mind that they are only as effective as the informationsecurity staff are educated and able to do their daily functions100 percent.

Selective information security practices are what enable thecrackers of the world to succeed. If company leaders would stop fora moment and realize that information security is a necessity andnot there for convenience, the typical cracker would cease to existas a threat to corporate America.

It is all kind of a do as I say, and not as I do situation.Information security is not here out of convenience. Informationsecurity is a necessity and it must be adhered to with a proactiveapproach that starts with buy in at the top of every company.”

Chester A. Butler, president of The Butler Company Inc. inBrentwood, Tenn., wrote:

“I just want to write to commend you on continuing to shinelight on the serious problem of people who invade the privacy ofcomputer users. The destructive nature of what they do goes farbeyond the names hacker or cracker…in my book, they are no lessthan terrorists of cyberspace.

They are indeed social bandits preying on commerce and privatecitizens alike. These kind of folks have always been with us, butthe good news is we are getting better at tracking them down andputting them out of business…Bad boys, bad boys whatcha gonnado?”

Charlie Williams of the Daly Williams Agency in Jennings, La.,wrote:

I enjoyed your column on hackers/crackers. Although I considermyself a forgiving person, occasionally I see heinous crimes in themedia and confess to being willing and able to be the executionerof the perpetuator.

As for crackers, if they had any idea the level of contempt theycreateWell, at least they'd be concerned for their own safety. Theyare low and bring out the worst in us, and in me.”

Reproduced from National Underwriter Edition, March 17, 2005.Copyright 2005 by The National Underwriter Company in the serialpublication. All rights reserved.Copyright in this article as anindependent work may be held by the author.