It’s great to read a PR book by a fellow journalist, and in The PR Masterclass, Alex Singleton gives some useful insights into the right way for PR professionals to approach hacks.

At first Alex, a former Daily Telegraph journalist, is scathing about PR ignorance, stating that out of 60,000 people in full-time PR jobs in the UK, perhaps only 15,000 are highly skilled. That’s a terrible statistic.

Alex offers practical sound advice about how not to offend or put off busy journalists who are not interested in your voice mail messages or press release which a PR officer has emailed them. But it is possible to attract their interest, and he explains how in his book.

It is all common sense – well, for journalists like Alex and I -  such as cutting out the corporate waffle, not calling reporters when they are on deadline and not to be boring. Also bear in mind this daunting fact – Alex estimates that 95% of press releases are ignored by journalists.

If you want to be the 5% that succeed in attracting their attention, try offering them a good story  to tell or an exclusive. Alex’s PR Masterclass will tell you more.

Like Alex I love data, but I don’t like the terrible figures he has highlighted in his book about the PR profession. Let’s improve on them – now, that’s a good story!.