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B2B Editors and Journalists Say “Enough!” to Old and Irrelevant NewsJargon and Superlatives Also Top “Pet Peeves” ListWALTHAM, Mass. – February 14, 2008 –Today Hart-Boillot announced the results of its annual survey to editors and journalists working in the high-tech and healthcare industries. The brief survey is part of Hart-Boillot’s ongoing campaign to improve the working relationship between public relations professionals and editors. Asked to rank “press release don’ts” in order from the most aggravating to the easiest to overlook, respondents chose the most aggravating as: “Issuing news that is neither interesting nor timely” and “rerelease of old news,” each garnering 27.8% of the vote as an editor’s greatest pet peeve and an astounding 38.9% as the second greatest. Additional pet peeves included the use of superlatives and jargon, news that is hidden on the second page of a release, and incorporating a weak headline. The survey confirmed the agency’s assumption that most respondents, more than 70%, prefer email as the only method of contact. Finally, the survey asked editors to divulge the one tip they would like to tell all PR professionals. Nearly all of the respondents urged practitioners to research and understand the publication they are pitching to, and to keep all news relevant and concise. “Our findings solidified our working belief that editors receive an inordinate amount of data each day and therefore can only digest the key points of a news release,” said Perrin McCormick, Account Director at Hart-Boillot. “We must constantly strive to keep pitches, editorial queries and press releases concise and relevant, making every communication as much about an individual journalist’s needs as it is about our client’s product or service.” ### |
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