Monday, December 23, 2013

PR Lessons from Ron Burgundy

A former CNN Anchor extracts PR tips from the faux-newsman’s classy quips
by Anna Hovind

I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve got a soft spot for cheesy anchorman Ron Burgundy.  In fact, just about everyone I know who’s a current or former TV news broadcaster feels a special kinship with the mustachioed anchorman. I think we’ve all worked with someone like Ron Burgundy somewhere in our careers.
Besides the intense ego and obvious lack of intellect that make Ron such a foil for the TV news industry as a whole, there’s something that all of us in the PR and broadcast PR business can learn from Ron. 
“I immediately regret this decision.” — Ron Burgundy
There’s a big difference between what is “news” in the eyes of the media versus the perception of “news” as seen through the eyes of a PR person who’s never set foot in a newsroom.  And just like Ron Burgundy’s co-anchor Veronica Corningstone, those of us who’ve worked in the rough-and-tumble newsroom environment can spot a fake a mile away. You can’t just expect the media to eagerly grab your pitch and run with an overly commercial, self-serving message merely because you and your client think it’s newsworthy. Or, let’s say you successfully pitched the story, but after the outlet has done the interview, they realize it’s just a sponsored segment masquerading as a news story. They are under no obligation to run the story just because they conducted the interview, and chances are you’ve just wasted both your time and that of the media. Back in my newsroom days, I used to have a “three times and you’re out” rule.  If someone pitched me three stories in a row that were commercials pretending to be news, I would never take a call from that person again.
"I look good. I mean, really good. Hey, everyone! Come and see how good I look!" – Ron Burgundy
 
A great interview is much more than an attractive spokesperson or a celebrity who’s hawking a series of attractively displayed products. People can see through a thinly-veiled commercial quicker than you can say “Stay classy, San Diego.” So the best way for you to stay classy, is to give your news outlet something substantive, some meat along with your client’s “key message” potatoes.  At the end of the day, a great TV interview is one that provides timely, meaningful, useful or interesting information.  The interviewee provides expertise, wisdom, and hopefully leaves the audience with news they can use. The minute your talent begins talking exclusively about brand-name products and only the sponsor’s brand-name products, your credibility goes out the window.
 
“You know I don’t speak Spanish.” — Ron Burgundy
One of the biggest mistakes we see in TV and radio land is when a spokesperson (aka, the “talent”) has been overly media-trained, often to the point where a question that deviates even slightly from the memorized key messages can literally render the talent speechless. That tongue-tied response happens because many media trainers erroneously teach the talent to either 1) immediately hijack the interview and never let the anchor get a word in edgewise; 2) make certain to mention their sponsor or product right out of the gate; and 3) continue to mention the product or sponsor in the response to every single question. Yikes! In the language of news, this is the best way to sound like a commercial and prevent your story from being aired.  
 
"I don’t know if you heard me counting. I did over a thousand.” — Ron Burgundy
 
If you really want to be a valuable news source to the media, the trick is to share content that has solid news value.  End of story. That type of PR person is worth his or her weight in gold to the media.  If you can become a reliable source, if you are the person with a great story angle and can pitch an awesome, seasoned spokesperson who is capable of delivering quotable quotes or tasty sound bites, you’ll find that reporters will do more than take your calls: sometimes, they’ll be the ones calling you.
 
 
 
Anna Hovind is an Executive Producer with Firstline Creative & Media in Atlanta, Georgia. Prior to Firstline, Anna worked as an anchor at CNN, appearing on Headline News, CNN International, CNN Airport Network and CNN Radio.  Anna started her broadcast career in the newsrooms of the late 1970’s, where she worked with more than one Ron Burgundy wanna be. Anna can be found on LinkedIn.

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