Don't let by-lines pass you by

Tweet

Pin It

If you work with the media, you need to pay close attention to by-lines.

By-lines tell you who wrote the story you are reading. The Economist has a policy of no by-lines, but that's the exception to the rule and is supposed to reflect that every article in that magazine is the work of the entire masthead.

A PR professional has to make note of what kind of stories each reporter follows or produces. We approach the Sunday morning paper a little differently than the average reader.

While this practice seems so obvious to me, a number of times I've been in conversation with a journalist and brought up a story they wrote that I remembered and found interesting.

Their reaction is often surprise. They so rarely get direct feedback from their readers. Most feedback these days appears to be via online comments--and much of that is ranting, complaining or name-calling.

So the next time you read an article and appreciate the content, information, angle or the writing style, drop the author a note. Their emails are usually at the end of each story. He or she will surely appreciate the feedback, and it may lead to a relationship with that writer too.