Comments on: PR interns shouldn’t pitch the media on your behalf

By: Joan

Joan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:20:27 +0000

Brittany, go back and read the four reasons I listed for not giving interns this important task.

Yes, companies should have faith in their interns to do a good job. But companies should not put their reputations on the line and take the chance that an intern won’t deliver by giving them an assignment that’s too difficult for many professional PR people.

The consequences can damage the company’s brand and its relationship with the media.

By: Brittany James

Brittany James — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 04:23:45 +0000

Wow I must say that I’m surprised by this article by a professional. I’m currently a senior in college with my first real PR internship and yeah I’m doing media lists, media clips and mailings. However I feel that if an intern were to be shown how to pitch to the media properly with guidance they can be very capable of handling the task. Isn’t it the point of an internship to not just do the grunt work but to also get a learning experience from the weeks spent at their internship. Honestly it doesn’t show that you’re too lazy to send out the pitch but rather you have faith in your interns to handle such a huge task. And last, I’m not sure about not having proper phone manners because at the age of 21/22 most students have developed this skill. Personally I worked for a global company where I had to use the phone and was perfectly capable talking to brokers. I think you should reevaluate the whole interns pitching to the media idea.

By: Should PR Interns Pitch The Media? « Fresh Ideas

Should PR Interns Pitch The Media? « Fresh Ideas — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:16:31 +0000

[...] this year, I read a blog post by Joan Stewart (aka the Publicity Hound) where she gave four reasons why interns should never be [...]

By: What did you get out of that PR internship? « Co-Communications

What did you get out of that PR internship? « Co-Communications — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:14:36 +0000

[...] your supervisor might give you follow-up calls or maybe even pitching to do. There are a lot of debates surrounding this (and I can’t say I completely disagree), but interns did follow-up calls at each [...]

By: Joan Stewart

Joan Stewart — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 11:39:54 +0000

It’s also worth mentioning that companies should not use interns to represent their brand in social media. Great social media guidelines for compoanies at http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/30/social-media-guidelines-intelligent-technology-oreilly.html

By: Paula Werne, Holiday World Theme Park

Paula Werne, Holiday World Theme Park — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 19:18:30 +0000

Amen, sister!

Pitching is indeed an art form. Sloughing it off to the lowest on the totem pole will bring deserved results. Plus it’s unfair to the poor intern; don’t let them learn lessons the hard way at your company’s expense!

http://HolidayWorld.com
Twitter: @HolidayWorld
http://Facebook.com/HolidayWorld

By: Don't Let Interns Pitch Your Story

Don't Let Interns Pitch Your Story — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 17:15:34 +0000

[...] recently read a great post suggesting that you shouldn’t use interns to pitch the media. The post references a recent Forbes.com article on do-it-yourself PR tactics that suggests using [...]

By: Jeanne Hurlbert

Jeanne Hurlbert — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 04:02:16 +0000

Well said. College students are far from qualified to serve as spokespersons.

By: Mary Shafer

Mary Shafer — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 19:46:30 +0000

Couldn’t agree more. And you left out the BEST thing to use interns for: the grunt work of media and contact list building and data entry!

By: Shannon Nicholson

Shannon Nicholson — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:38:12 +0000

Joan, I love your “rant” articles best of all. Pitching is an art. Phone skills are an art. Combining the two is definitely an art. As you said, I wouldn’t let a medical student operate on me!