By Tom Kirkham
Debate is rife in workplaces up and down the land regarding the plan of action for tomorrow (June 15th), when England take on Trinidad & Tobago in the World Cup. In some cases, the discussion will focus on whether people can sneak out early to make the five o'clock kick off in the pub; in our office, it's more a question of 'where's the television going to go?'. Not that the JK faithful are a bunch of slackers - it's just that none of us fancy scoring a PR own goal by ringing journalists at a time when, like the rest of the nation, they've probably got more important things to concentrate on.
Of course, this is a perennial problem for PRs throughout the rest of the year too - there are times when a journalist just doesn't want to hear from you. In fact, for that growing band of journalists apparently spending their entire working lives exclusively on email, it could be argued that all times appear to be out of bounds.
It's a real minefield - if you call someone at the 'wrong' time, it could literally be the last time they pick up the phone to you. Of course, herein lies a problem - PRs are not generally employed on the basis of their psychic abilities. While press days and deadlines can be easily established (though can become surprisingly fluid if a journalist doesn't want to speak to you), it's considerably more difficult to anticipate headaches, marital problems or last minute holidays to Antigua. The sensation when you call up a reporter to find out that it's 2am where they are does not bear repeating.
The key to success is combining common sense with a good knowledge of the journalist and the publication they write for. If you can get it right a few times, it's a great relationship-builder, and is likely to get you off the hook if you ever slip up in the future. So come tomorrow, we'll be giving journalists a 90 minute rest, and sitting down instead to watch the match, beers held proudly aloft... in the sure knowledge that as soon as it gets underway, the phone will ring, and it'll be "Hey guys, how you doin'... What? You mean there's a soccer game on???"
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