Reflecting on Season One + sneak preview of Season Two

04/11/21 • 18 min

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.

“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.

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.”

Here’s what Tamra Bow had to say: “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.”

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 explains: “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.”

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