Reflecting on Season One + sneak preview of S2
As Season One of It’s PR Darlings has drawn to a close and co-hosts Greer Quinn of Forward Communications and Jo Stone of Sticks and Stones PR have begun producing Season Two, the duo has paused to reflect on the highlights and why they kicked off the project in the first place.
Some of the stellar reporting the world has witnessed during the pandemic and other compounded crises has filled Greer and Jo with renewed admiration and awe for the media industry, so they were especially pleased to dust off their radio craft skills and explore this new communications platform of podcasting.
Co-host + Sticks and Stones founder Jo Stone
“Greer proposed that we do a podcast – she roped me into it – and it took 18 months and lots and lots of talking, but here we are, one season down and currently in intermission before kicking off Season Two,” Jo says.
“Greer proposed that we do a podcast – she roped me into it – and it took 18 months and lots and lots of talking, but here we are, one season down and currently in intermission before kicking off Season Two,” Jo says.
"We've learned so much. We are doing everything – editing, writing, coordinating, distributing, promoting, the lot – it’s been a huge learning curve, but we’ve really enjoyed the process and working together.”
As well as the joy of collaborating with her old ABC buddy Jo, Greer’s highlight has been engaging in meaningful conversations with journalists who, like PR professionals, are so busy telling other people’s stories, their own stories are often left unheard.
“Jo and I are constantly calling journalists to pitch them stories, so it was such a nice change of pace to actually listen to their stories and hear about their days – it felt like we were giving back to the many reporters who’ve helped us over the years,” Greer says.
Co-host + Forward Communications founder Greer Quinn
“Jo and I are constantly calling journalists to pitch them stories, so it was such a nice change of pace to actually listen to their stories and hear about their days – it felt like we were giving back to the many reporters who’ve helped us over the years,” Greer says.
The PR and podcasting pair has been blown away by the amazing feedback they’ve received for their “niche” podcast, which targets PR and communications professionals, journalists as well as companies who want to better communicate with media.
In fact, some PR agencies or in-house communications departments, as well as the media lecturers, have made the It’s PR Darlings podcast recommended listening for their team members or students.
During Season One, Greer and Jo spoke with five of the industry's best and brightest, starting with Tamra Bow, one of Channel Seven's Sunrise reporters, and such a compassionate journalist.
“Tamra very much shows up as a human being when she's reporting and her insights into what it was like working media-side during the Dreamworld crisis were particularly eye-opening,” Greer says.
“I actually think this episode is a must-listen, not only for PR professionals but also business owners, as you just never know when a crisis might strike.”
Channel Seven’s Sunrise reporter, Tamra Bow
“Dreamworld went into damage control as well. And they were taking advice from so many different sources too. But from a journalist’s perspective, you really do need someone to step straight up to the plate. And I know that those decisions can be rash and they can come out the wrong way sometimes. But from a journalist’s perspective, I know that if we're starved for information, we'll go looking for it. And you can often go to a source that might not be the best alternative that could put a negative spin on it for that company. So I think coming forward, straight away and trying to stay ahead of the media – that's so crucial in a situation like this.”
Something that people often don’t realise is the sacrifices journalists make to deliver breakfast news, as is the case with Tamra but also ABC Breakfast Host Tom Forbes.
“He talked about how important that exclusive is for breakfast radio…it really makes their lives, not only easier but sets them apart from the morning papers, which is a really fantastic tip as a PR person,” Jo says.
Tom really gave listeners an insider’s look into the mechanics of the newsroom.
“It makes sense that if you want to take advantage of the ABC's extraordinary multimedia muscle – TV, radio, online, news, programs, local and national – it's worth taking the time to package a story with multiple case studies and expert talent and give the journos advance notice so that all these moving parts can be coordinated to achieve huge media outreach,” Greer says.
Here’s what Tom Forbes says: “Exclusives are becoming more and more important…Because what we're finding is that if you can get hold of an exclusive story and you have enough time to prepare, you can roll that story out across multiple platforms.”
ABC Breakfast host, Tom Forbes
“Exclusives are becoming more and more important…Because what we're finding is that if you can get hold of an exclusive story and you have enough time to prepare, you can roll that story out across multiple platforms.”
As well as chatting to media in Season One, the Darlings explored some of the tools of the trade, speaking with David Skapinker who heads up the contact media database company, Telum Media.
“Every PR professional worth their salt needs a reliable media database,” Greer says.
David Skapinker ANZ head, Telum Media
“I think there is a reason why PR is a profession….you need skills, you need contacts, you need experience and you need to understand newsrooms.”
Jo thinks this sentence from David was the “grab of the season”.
“I think David really hit the nail on the head,” Jo says.
“It helps to know how a newsroom works and having that deeper understanding of how news operates, what makes something newsworthy can really improve the relationships that we build with journalists.”
Another major high point during Season One of It’s PR Darlings was their hour-long extravaganza with the incredibly talented Trent Dalton, who despite his crazy success with his novels Boys Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies, is so humble.
“He's also so quick to acknowledge all the editors, mentors, and PR people who've supported his career and contributed to his success,” Greer says.
“I loved how he was so appreciative of the work of PR people – it's hard-going sometimes for PR people to pick up the phone and pitch to busy journos – but to hear him express that gratitude towards the PR people who've helped him over the years, was just really heart-warming for me.”
Trent Dalton, feature writer at the Weekend Australian magazine and award-winning author:
“The reason why I love doing these podcasts with you guys is because it really gives me a chance to highlight this woman named Alice Wood, who is basically the campaign manager for HarperCollins…Any success of Boy's Swallows Universe and All Our Shimmering Skies, I just owe to her. I mean, it's just quite simply a fact.”
The final guest on It’s PR Darlings Season One was the host of She's The Boss TV show and founder of the Handle Your Own PR platform, Jules Brooke.
“She certainly had some life-affirming insights into the power of PR and that glow that it can give clients,” Jo says.
Host of She's The Boss TV show and founder of the Handle Your Own PR platform, Jules Brooke.
“With PR, unlike any other type of marketing, it almost starts after you get published because of what you can do with it. So, I always say to people, push it out through your socials. The algorithms absolutely love it, so they'll push out those posts a lot further. I say, put it up on your website…I tell people to stick it out in newsletters, if they've got newsletters. They can blog about what it was like to try and get it and how thrilled they are to be in there. They can frame it and stick it up in their bricks and mortar store. There is just so much you can do with publicity…that you can't do with any other type of marketing.”
Season One has seen Jo and Greer demystify all kinds of interesting words and jargon, including, “noddie”, “exclusive” and “op-ed”. Next season will kick off with “a throw” and perhaps a little bit of “backgrounding”.
Season Two will move to a fortnightly show to give the pair, who are doing producing the podcast alongside their day jobs running their own PR agencies, some breathing space.
Season Two will feature some amazing “talent” (listen to Season One to find out what that industry jargon term means) in their guest line-up.
Listeners will find out more about one of the country's most-read news sources that they probably don't even know exists.
The Darlings will be exploring how reporting on traumatic events can impact journalists and PR operatives.
And they’ll introduce you to Australian businesses using PR to create campaigns worthy of international attention.
Mel Carerro, Marketing Manager Spell Designs:
“They decided ‘we're going to create our own editorials’, which is why they started creating content in a way that I think was a bit of a pioneer in the direct consumer online market where people weren't really creating their own photoshoots, like they were in that way.”
Andrew Drummond, Editor, Australian Associated Press:
“We're fighting the same battle that every news outlet across Australia is fighting, which is that there could be 110 terrific stories to cover on any one day, but resourcing means that we can't get to all of them.”
Daniel Doody, Live Reporter, Studio 10 and formerly ABC Bega:
“It was obviously a really tense and sensitive time [during Australia's 2019-2020 bushfires]…but we managed to really come together, really provide that information.”
It's PR Darlings is on all the socials, so get in touch if you have any ideas that you'd like to share.
REFERENCES/GUEST SOCIAL LINKS
http://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/transcripts/s4566666.htm
https://www.instagram.com/tamra_bow7/
https://www.abc.net.au/news/tom-forbes/167074
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/Trent%20Dalton
www.harpercollins.com.au/trentdalton/
https://www.telummedia.com/
https://www.handleyourownpr.com.au
https://www.julesbrooke.com/shes-the-boss
https://www.instagram.com/melcarrero_/
https://twitter.com/danieldoody101/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-drummond-15bb652b/
It’s PR Darlings is produced by Greer Quinn from Forward Communications and Jo Stone from Sticks and Stones PR.
It’s PR Darlings
Socials:
https://www.instagram.com/itsprdarlings/
https://www.facebook.com/ItsPRDarlings
https://www.linkedin.com/company/it-s-pr-darlings/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/corporate-communications/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jo-stone-youngleson-562809104/
Contacts for story ideas:
We acknowledge the traditional land owners and pay our respect to elders past and present, and all Indigenous Australian and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.