In two previous columns, we talked about how quality management attracts Publicity, or PR. Nearly every business is constantly trying to attract the attention with the media. What brings the media to some company’s door? That’s what each public relations man or woman would love to know. For that is what PR folks get paid to obtain for their clients.
Quality management is certainly a key motivation in attracting a reporter’s attention. This helps persuade the reporter or a radio/TV producer that the proposed interview is not planning to be with someone who has “nothing to say” or just rehashing a cliché or tired, old story. The higher the title and also the much better known a company, the greater the “impingement” a PR pitch (that’s what publicity individuals use to sell a reporter) impacts upon a member from the media. If someone through the publicity department at Microsoft calls Fortune magazine to ask about profiling Bill Gates, the pitch will have main impingement value. Handful of names have this kind of clout, either personally or corporately.
In any event, the senior editor from the major magazine will still inquire about the story angle. The editor will want to know, “What are we heading to talk about?” Ultimately, it’s the outstanding story that sells magazines or newspapers, not just the big name. Not all such stories involve a huge name speaking or spouting his thoughts for the day. Generally, far better stories evolve when there is a strong newsworthy angle. Let’s look at two recent stories – one which involves a uranium business and one more one about a coalbed methane (CBM) business, which we’ve covered in this column.
On Thursday, Pacific Asia China Power (PACE) was featured inside the Financing section of Canada’s Globe and Mail newspaper. Headlined “High-Energy Performer,” the opening sentences told us why the reporter was interested: “PACE holds contracts to help China Marketplaces explore for and produce its coalbed methane (CBM) resources – fuel China Marketplaces needs to help satisfy its energy demands.”
The big story, which drew the newspaper to Pacific Asia China Vitality, was Chinese marketplaces. PACE piggybacked that story due to the fact the organization may be helping to offer a legitimate solution towards the country’s power mix. Component with the huge story may be the possible size from the recoverable gas, estimated in the technical report by Sproule International being as large as 11.2 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Individuals two items enhanced the reporter’s interest in PACE. Chinese marketplaces needs alternative energy sources, for instance CBM, to improve their vitality mix – from a near total dependence upon coal. And, PACE has a potentially huge resource, which could final a good number of many years. Such a gas resource could be sufficiently large to make an impact on China Marketplaces. After all, Chinese marketplaces has proven reserves of slightly much more than 30 trillion cubic feet. One more 11 trillion cubic feet, should the prospective be proven up, would represent a significant increase of available gas in a very large country. By itself, this could later develop into a major international power story, reported upon by a great number of news media. Another impingement about the reporter is possessing the satisfaction of reporting upon a excellent story, nicely prior to others write the story.
Chatter in the newsroom:
“Did you hear about PACE’s gas discovery in China, Bob?”
Bob’s Reply: “Oh that one. Yeah, I wrote about it eight months ago!”
Consequently, you will find multiple impingement points in this story. Each “draw,” or a reason to attract eyeballs towards the story, is another point the story must score, for the reporter and his editor, to overcome the hurdles of being featured in the major publication. China Marketplaces is really a draw. The size from the PACE coalbed methane gas resource can be a draw. The potential impact upon China’s power mix is a draw. Writing about it just before the rest with the pack jumps about the bandwagon? That’s a draw, too. In this case, four draws sufficiently attracted media coverage for this small CBM development organization.
Sometimes, the timing is just perfect, and the overpowering “big story” accidentally introduces a lucky guy onto the world’s stage. On the exact same Thursday, the PACE story was carried within the Globe and Mail, the Chief Executive of a tiny Canadian uranium organization impinged on a Russian news service reporter in Hong Kong. Such was the excellent fortune for Craig Lindsay, a Certified Financial Analyst, who has spent a lot more than 16 years in corporate finance, investment banking and enterprise development, according for the website of Magnum Uranium, for which he now serves as Chief Executive.
While Magnum has a marketplace capitalization of about $15 million, and Lindsay is neither a geologist nor engineer, RIA Novosti news agency touted him like a “well-known power expert.” Admittedly, Lindsay gave an excellent speech in the Hong Kong Club for foreign correspondents. Cleverly, he announced, “Uranium may be the next oil,” during his speech. As several other industry experts have predicted, Lindsay also forecast uranium “may hit $50/pound by the end from the year.” So numerous are now announcing this it is likely to become a self-fulfilling prophesy.
What elevated Lindsay’s publicity was not what he said in his speech. Most of his commentary may be currently been reported in numerous publications, including in our columns. (What reporters truly hate is rehashing old news to give someone publicity!) It was to whom Lindsay was speaking, and particularly the “timing” as to when it was said. Here is how Craig Lindsay got his “15 minutes of fame.”
About six hours earlier, the really same Russian news agency reported that Russia and Kazakhstan had signed a uranium offer worth $1 billion. The photos of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev appeared as the photo op which goes with such truly huge stories. This was a main event involving two extremely big names, and among the biggest names and countries inside the uranium sector. This was also Russia’s very first contract to import uranium; Kazakhstan may be the world’s third biggest uranium producer. All of that is “big news.”
The clever Russian freelance reporter, who attended the Lindsay speech in Hong Kong, most likely text-messaged or emailed his editor by Blackberry, tried to piggyback the Russian-Kazak story with his own story. Yes, that’s how timing works. As soon like a main event takes location, other journalists rush to piggyback the event with “their” story. The Russian reporter scored points with his editor and got his story filed (slang for published).
Two cunning gentlemen, the Russian stringer (slang for freelance reporter), and Craig Lindsay (whose name was spelled Kreig Lindsay inside the post), each accomplished their purposes. Mr. Lindsay got his company to the world’s spotlight. The Russian stringer got an excellent story. The reporter threw up a softball question, for which Mr. Lindsay supplied the desired answer.
What was the question the reporter asked Lindsay? That’s fairly obvious from what the reporter published in his write-up. Here is a clip in the Moscow News post:
Foreign investors are ready to invest in Russia’s uranium industry, if Moscow wants this to happen and establishes a necessary legal base,” Lindsay said. “I believe that Russia is one of several most promising directions for this type of investments, it is an undeveloped industry, full of chances. My business will be the initial to come to Russia, if the necessary conditions are created,” he added.
Nowhere in Lindsay’s speech did Magnum Uranium’s Chief Executive discuss investing in Russia. However, the reporter NEEDED a excellent quote. It had to tie-in with “investing in Russia for uranium development.” Lindsay accommodated. He didn’t commit to investing in Russia, but he kept the door open. Magnum Uranium recently announced the acquisition of a 1,080-acre land package in Converse County, Wyoming. The company is also exploring for uranium in each Wyoming and also the Athabasca Basin. Its finances are most likely currently stretched from each exploration and acquisition activities. Magnum’s marketplace capitalization would possibly be insufficient to launch investments into Russia, at this time.
However, Lindsay did a great job acquiring his business this caliber of publicity. And he got the uranium sector excellent publicity. He capitalized upon an impinging story – a story that did show up for the world’s radar – by correctly supplying an answer the Russian journalist was trying to prod out of him.
This really is the essence of how journalists and publicity-seekers work with each other. If the PR person gives the journalist the story angle he is trying to find inside of the larger story, chances are it will appear in print. Piggybacking a “main event” is probably the most common way to increase one’s impingement value to a reporter. And by being a cunning interviewee for his Russian reporter, Craig Lindsay just got Magnum Uranium into this column as nicely!
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