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Typically, I try to share tips on pitching the media including bloggers. In this post, I’d like to discuss whether PR interns should engage in pitching the media. My BurrellesLuce colleague, Valerie Simon, mentioned this as part of her post, “Summer PR Internships: Preparing for Your Future” several months ago, but I’d like to expand on that mention and get your feedback.
Earlier this year, I read a blog post by Joan Stewart (aka the Publicity Hound) where she gave four reasons why interns should never be allowed to pitch the media. (The post is in response to a Forbes.com “do-it-yourself PR tactics” article.) Seems to me, her reasons boil down to a single point – that is she believes interns do not sound professional. Stewart likens a PR intern pitching the media to a med school student performing brain surgery. I am not sure I agree with such an extreme analogy, but I do see her point.
@Journalistics then posted a blog saying he does believe interns should get real-world experience, but likens their pitching to “having an assistant shop for your spouse.” He goes on to give some compelling arguments and even turns the tables, suggesting: “What if the local paper wanted to interview you for a story and sent the intern out to write it? How would that make you feel?” In the end, Porter concedes that there are some instances where having a PR intern pitch the media is just fine.
Spurred by the Journalistics’ post, Becky Johns fired a rebuttal with her own, “7 Reasons To Let Your Intern Pitch Your Story.” She provided well-thought-out responses and sums it up with, “Of course, it is not always appropriate for interns to make pitches, and supervisors should use good judgment when it comes to making pitching opportunities available to interns. But just because someone has the label ‘intern’ does not mean that person cannot gather a proven track record and gain more responsibility and independence with projects over time.” Very good point!
Weidert Group’s interns chimed-in with help from their PR manager and internship coordinator, Abby Gutowski. Her post states “Teaching young PR interns the art of a media pitch can be scary to hand-off, but it is the responsibility of PR managers to do it right.” She then provides some excellent tips on how to do so successfully.
In response to the same Forbes article mentioned earlier, an IT reporter responded: “I personally don’t care if it’s the senior person or an intern that is pitching me necessarily. What matters is that whoever is trying to get me to pay attention, has done their homework, and understands both who I am and write about, as well who their client really is talking to and about.”
The reporter response sounds about right to me. Perhaps this should be a discussion question for #PRStudChat? What do you think?
As an entry-level professional, it was not too long ago when I wore the intern title.
I feel very fortunate that at every internship I was given the opportunity to pitch the media. Learning how to develop a story, identify the appropriate media outlets and use follow-up techniques were perhaps some of my greatest learning experiences. To blatantly not allow interns to pitch the media is depriving young professionals the opportunity to learn the skills they need to develop professionally.
On some level, internship supervisors need to trust their interns. They may be surprised at just how successful their interns can be.
I agree, Betsy, that interns must get real-world experience, after all, isn’t that the point of the internship? Thanks for your insight!
Tressa, great post! I’m glad you found my blog post useful in writing this. I think the big issue when it comes to interns making pitches is how well they’ve been prepped and trained. Great managers know that by investing in teaching and guiding interns, they are creating incredibly valuable helpers. Helping shape the way an intern does business (or in this case, make pitches) is one way of developing trust with the intern.
In the end, it is up to the seasoned professional to tailor the pitch for each particular media contact, and in the cases that allow the intern to be the right match, they should allow these professional learning experiences to happen. I’d love to hear what #PRStudChat has to say on the issue!
As with so many PR questions, surely the answer to this one (as hinted by Abby Gutowski and the IT journalist) is “it depends.”
If you have a talented and professional intern, you’d be foolish not to let them pitch the media. If your interns have more to learn about pitching, you shouldn’t let them pitch the media directly until they’re ready for it. Instead, you should help them to learn how to pitch by providing feedback on their draft pitches and discussing your successful pitches with them.
Like Betsy says, to not involve interns in pitching at all is to deprive them of a valuable learning experience, which goes against the whole aim of the interning.
Interns should definitely get a chance to pitch the media! Why? Because the entire point of interning is getting a chance to test out what you’ve learned in school. Sure, reporters might not be the most pleased with talking to an intern but it’s part of the profession, deal with it. And as for the shoe being on the other foot, if the journalist intern can write and write well, why would anyone have a problem with them covering their story if it means it will get printed? That gives you the opportunity to give the intern the most information possible, helping the student and you look great! At my internship I had to write a case study on a client and I think I did a good job with it. Sure, I’m no SAE but they probably got more attention and a more accurate presentation of their offerings because I’m not.
Interns NEED to learn everything they possibly can, including pitching!
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I agree Becky, managers should be sure to prep the intern appropriately.
I’m not sure if I’ll make #PRStudChat but I’m going to try! Great topic
Why hire an intern in the first place if you don’t believe they have what it takes to succeed in the company? To deny an intern these opportunities and treat them as less-than employees is only going to damage the caliber of talent applying to be interns! Post-grad interns should be allowed to pitch and their managers should be sure they are prepared for what to expect. Chances are it is not the intern’s first internship if they are given pitching opportunities and there is a great amount of expectation placed on them. There doesn’t need to be a lot of hand-holding though out the learning process, but make sure they are ready before you turn them loose.
Becky, I thought your post was spot-on. It really is up to the PR pro to prepare the intern properly and be there to support and teach.
Thanks for your comment, Maddy. Preparation and practice seem to be key to the intern’s success (and ultimately yours and your client’s success)!
Evan, sorry you’ll miss #PRstudchat – getting on right now. I don’t think this will be a topic for today, was just suggesting it for a future topic.
Very good point Caroline. I do think there should be some initial hand-holding – to ensure the intern’s confidence and success, but you are right that post-grad interns should be “ready.”
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As a current PR intern, I would hope that my supervisors would allow me to pitch the media. The opportunity has not yet shown, but if it does, I would hope that I have earned their trust to do so properly.
If you don’t think your intern will pitch properly, then train and prepare them so next time the opportunity arises they will be prepared to do so.
One of my professors said today that people in the industry and already part of the workforce often find themselves boxed-in and thinking narrow, while those of us who are still in school and/or entering the workforce don’t know that there is “a certain way to do something” per se, so we think up new and innovative ways to go about something and often it is awesome!
Tressa,
I have never read your blog before (but will now!) and threw myself into this conversation when Bill Stoller (@PublicityGuru) tweeted a quip on this subject that sent me reeling. Now after reading your post and the subsequent comments I’m better able to put his tweet into context.
Throughout college, I completed three internships. In my third internship, after graduating from college, I worked in the media relations office of a major hospital and was expected to pull just as much weight as my seasoned professional colleagues. I had guidance and support from them and they made sure I watched and heard them pitch before putting me in the spotlight. When they did, it resulted in fantastic coverage and I left that internship with more than a name to put on my resume–I walked away with honest-to-goodness experience and mentors.
I understand what is at stake, but pros need to remember that internships aren’t just about them–they are supposed to be offering experience in exchange for effort and work. If they are being successful mentors and have armed themselves with already competent interns, they should hand over the reigns once in a while and trust that their brand or reputation won’t be at risk.
I would agree that it’s not always appropriate to have interns pitch and not all interns have the ability or stomach to do it on their own–but to say ‘never’ and discount all interns is sad. Weren’t we all interns once?
Allison, it’s great to get a current intern’s point of view. I think good PR pros can both teach and learn – it’s a 2-way street. You have a wise professor!
Andrea, thanks for reading and jumping into the conversation – both on Twitter and here. As we tweeted, while I didn’t garner NYT coverage, I can remember my first front page hit that was a direct result of my pitching – what a rush! It went a long way toward my confidence, and ultimately, the success of that and future PR campaigns. You hit the nail on the head with your final comment, “Weren’t we all interns once?” Thanks again!
I just read the post by Joan Stewart and couldn’t believe that a professional would actually make that argument. As a current intern myself if I were given the chance I would expect my supervisor to properly train me on how to handle questions from the media that they may throw at me. In addition anything I wasn’t 100% sure on I would have them direct any further questions to my supervisor. Getting to pitch to the media is an invaluable quality that I would eventually need to learn and having that experience from my internship would be a plus.
Brittany, I do understand Joan (@PublicityHound) and Bill’s (@PublicityGuru) argument; however, I tend to lean more toward Andrea’s (@Andrea_Judith) statement, “I understand what is at stake, but pros need to remember that internships aren’t just about them–they are supposed to be offering experience in exchange for effort and work.” Thanks for sharing your reaction and thoughts!
[...] week I wrote a post summarizing some recent posts on the topic of PR interns pitching the media, adding my own two [...]