The first was this interview with Yann Martel by The Guardian‘s Stephen Moss, who admits that his first move is to ‘rather rudely insist that the young woman who is steering him round the UK and Ireland on the publicity tour for his new novel, Beatrice and Virgil, absent herself from the room while we talk.’

Ahem. I’m guessing Stephen Moss is a tad old school, shall we say, in terms of his views on PR folks? I think I might perhaps counter with the notion that anyone smart enough to get a more than one million dollar advance from a publisher in this day and age can probably figure out how to take a taxi by himself and get to an appointed meeting in a hotel, especially in a country where his own mother tongue is spoken. And that, therefore, the young woman’s role might have been just a bit more than merely that of courier/chaperone.

But then I saw this article from the fine folks at Knight Science Journalism Tracker at MIT, in which the suggestion was made that disclosure is necessary when a public information officer (who fills the role of a corporate communications or public relations person) sits in on an interview – and that the situation should be avoided at all costs to avoid having the interview ‘influenced.’

I’m both mystified and saddened by this suggestion. The single biggest complaint PR people hear from journalists – both mainstream and bloggers – is that they’re not appropriately ‘pitched’ – in other words, not enough time and care has been taken by the PR person before approaching a journalist. Bloggers complain that PR people don’t read their blogs and journalists complain that they too have been inappropriately targeted.

Sitting in on interviews with clients is a learning experience for a PR person in many ways. Ultimately it ends up being a learning experience for the client as well. My presence in interviews is as discreet as it can be, given that I’m actually there and haven’t yet mastered invisibility. In fact, I usually take notes, because it’s part of my job to assess my client’s actual performance and to determine if more media training or coaching is required. It would never occur to me to intervene in an interview after the ground rules have been established (and sometimes they do need to be). I can, however, be helpful in a variety of ways once the interview’s done, by providing additional prepared background information (you know, like the interviewee’s bio, correct spelling of name, exact title, etc.), and by ensuring journalists can meet their deadlines by getting supplementary material like photos sent directly to their editors if necessary. I can also help the journalist by finding them someone else to interview if they need to consult an independent third party expert.

Do I influence the interview? In one way, I can definitively answer, Certainly not. I am not the spokesperson. On the other hand, my – and my colleagues’ –  influence is necessary prior to the actual interview. My job is to ensure I provide and deliver a spokesperson who’s ready, willing and able to answer the questions the journalist poses – and who can do so in a timely fashion to ensure the journalist’s deadlines are met. I’ve been to enough briefings with enough new clients to know that no journalist has time to listen to an hour-long dissertation so mired in random detail that the journalist has probably forgotten the question by the time the answer is obliquely approached. Fun though conversational segues are in real life, this is business, both for the client and for the journalist.

I’d also add that many times, as I’m ‘steering’ clients around to interviews, my role is to sense their mood, help them overcome their apprehensions, and get them into the right frame of mind to provide a focused interview. Some clients are too low key, too low energy in that hour or so before the actual interview and need to be psyched up. Others come close to hyper-ventilating, and need to be reassured – or, if I’m confident they actually know their stuff – distracted from the prospect of the interview, so that by the time we arrive and the interview actually happens, they’re ready to put their best foot forward. It’s very similar to the frame of mind in which you want to be when you arrive at a job interview. As opposed to rain-soaked, fly undone, with windblown hair and 10 minutes late, you know.

I once sat in on an interview and did have a question for the journalist later on. Not actually being the soul of tact, my question went something like, ‘That was a really non-linear approach to an interview – your questions were all over the map – what’s up with that?’ The journalist explained it was a technique he used to get more spontaneous answers from subjects. Which is fine with me – I infinitely prefer lateral thinkers. But it’s something many of the software and other engineers and scientists with whom I worked might find disconcerting – which means they’ll need a heads up if I arrange an interview for them with that particular journalist.

When the interview’s over, the client gets some frank but constructive feedback on their performance. Sometimes they get their knuckles rapped, not so much for what they’ve said during the interview but for the way they’ve treated the journalist. ‘So who watches this show anyway, housewives?’ and ‘Thanks to the five of you who bothered to dial in for this teleconference’ were two remarks that earned clients a few performance-enhancing tips from me for the next round.

But let me ask some of you journalists, bloggers, and PR folks out there: what’s your view on this issue? Frankly I think it’s one of the most important services I can provide to a client.

It’s rare to see a semi colon in a headline, but given all the other dramatic news Maclean’s is fighting this week, between the shocking attacks in Mumbai and the roller-coaster ride the global economy is on, it obviously had to do something.

Telling the whole story in the headline is obviously one way to go; with ‘Somali pirates hijack tanker; guards jump into sea, rescued by NATO helicopter’ you’ve pretty much got the gist of it. It’s not the first Somali pirate attack this week, I don’t think, but with the added elements of the NATO tanker rushing in to try to prevent the ship being boarded and the drama of some crew members jumping overboard, this headline has curb appeal.

For the patriotic introverts among us who feebly want to know what’s going on in our own country, we’ve got ‘Tyrannical Majority to PMO: Check.’ There would be a certain delicious irony if Dion did end up as Prime Minister, even if it was only for a few months.

And in Health news, it’s all about The Angry Breast Cancer Survivors and the fact that no one wants to hear the reality of what life is like for those whose recovery cannot be described as ‘buoyant.’

Media relations is a powerful tool to get your message to your target audience. A strategic media relations plan can drive sales, help you attract and retain the best and the brightest employees, and draw investors to fuel growth. The headline competition is tough though, and the single biggest challenge I’ve consistently had to face as a public relations practitioner is managing client expectations regarding coverage they’re likely to see for their company after they’ve made an initial investment in PR. For more on my thoughts on media relations, if you have half an hour or so, listen to the podcast I did a few months ago with my strategic partner, Out-Smarts. Naturally I didn’t prepare myself for the podcast as I would have prepared a client. Naturally I said things I wish I hadn’t said – or said things I wished I’d phrased a little differently. That’s why you’re supposed to be the spokesperson, not me!

As for Arnold Sawislak’s little gem, Dwarf Rapes Nun: Flees in UFO – I guess I should have held onto my copy, since this first edition is listed on eBay for $98.

Within minutes of our arrival at the Waazubee Cafe it was also apparent that our mutual passion for strategic marketing communications and our love for the kind of technology that makes your life easier can only lead to good things.

I tried to order the butternut squash tortellini and was dismayed to hear that it hadn’t actually been on the menu for six years. That seemed odd to me, since I’d only checked the web site Saturday and it was on the downloadable food and drink menu then. I’m not actually a picky eater, but the online reviews I’d found were confusing – at one point I saw a reference to the cafe as a Japanese eatery and then saw another comment that asked why the cafe was listed as a Japanese restaurant, since it’s not. (Disclosure: I don’t eat uncooked fish, meat, or poultry and I have a few food allergies.)

When I mentioned the web site and the reviews to our server, she rolled her eyes and said, oh yes, that’s because we can’t access our own web site or find our web designer to change anything on it. Mhairi and I immediately began to think of solutions to this problem: switch your hosting provider, said Mhairi. Educate and inform clients that when they contract with a web designer, all files created are their property, not the web designer’s, I said. And don’t pay the final web design bill till you’ve received the files via email!

It was a nice example of how well we work together and of the kind of rich and deep knowledge and skills we can offer clients. Marketing communications, one of the many areas of public relations specialization, cannot possibly succeed or benefit clients who don’t actually have both a business strategy and a marketing strategy in place. Since marketing in general and internet marketing in particular are Mhairi’s specialities, No Spin PR clients who don’t have marketing plans can benefit from her knowledge, expertise, and results-oriented approach to create cost-effective strategic marketing plans. And Out-Smarts clients will be able to broaden their reach and ensure they’re not failing to reach all their target markets. There isn’t a company in existence that can’t benefit from public relations, whether it’s a traditional media relations campaign that results in print, radio and television coverage, a comprehensive, integrated social media strategy, or managing internal communications to help attract and retain employees or position you as a thought leader in your industry.

Public relations supports both business and marketing strategies. Make sure you’ve got yours in place. Get in touch and we’ll start to make it happen for your company: mhairi[at]out-smarts.com; ruth[at]nospinpr.com.

P.S. The Out-Smarts blog is rich source of info and tips on social media, and internet marketing. Sign up for the feed. I’ve learned a lot from reading it, and chances are you will too.