"Being able to break through a consolidated media industry requires skill," Dukas Linden Public Relations president Seth Linden tells Doug Simon.

"There are more than enough guests who are willing to be on Zoom at any time. So, you've got to have a really strong, effective pitch and a client that is willing to be a solid spokesperson and is willing to be accessible to journalists."

Linden also says "making sure that the story is right and that the spokespeople are well messaged, well coached, but also responsive to reporter’s needs" is key. To be able to do that, he says PR pros must "be aware of the news cycle and really know reporters and what they're looking for."

A recent D S Simon Media study showed that "being bombarded" was the top complaint journalists made about PR people, and Linden says that a good way for communicators to nip that in the bud is to be well informed about "the shows and the producers" as well as "being mindful and respectful of producers' time."

With the shrinking number of media outlets, "effective media outreach is becoming more important for clients... To have earned media where you have the credibility of an actual real news organization talking about what you're doing, I think that counts for more than it did ten years ago in many respects."

One spot where Linden sees opportunity is in local media. "There are more possibilities for key spokespeople from different parts of the country to be on a local network in a very seamless way. And many organizations, they want to be known in their hometown, even if they're nationals."

However, he also says being in a central location also has a lot of power. "I think, frankly, being headquartered in New York matters. If you're in the financial services, PR business and reporters will sit down if you've got good sources, that that is becoming more apparent again."

Another important tip: "read, read, read everything you can." Linden tells Simon that "I have found sometimes that client relationships or reporter relationships have been built based on something that we mutually read or a movie that we saw."

In summing up, Linden says that getting media interest "really is about making sure that you're precise with the way that you're reaching journalists. You have to read their work. You have to know the nuances of what they're doing. And it doesn't mean just reading one story. It means reading many stories and understanding how people are quoted and how they're positioned."

View all of the interviews in the “PR's Top Pros Talk” series. Subscribe to get notified when new episodes are available.

Interested in taking part? Contact Doug Simon at [email protected]

D S Simon Media helps clients get their stories on television through satellite media tours and by producing and distributing content to the media. The company also produces live social media events.