In his new book, It's the Media, Stupid! PR without the BS, longtime public relations professional and INK Inc PR CEO Dick Grove pulls back the curtain of an often-misunderstood industry with a unique and often humorous take on how to gain positive press coverage without selling your soul.
In straight-forward language, Grove shares campaign stories pulled from his more than 50 years of industry experience intended to provide publicists, entrepreneurs and the curious general public with an insider's perspective on how to succeed. Grove stresses that PR pros need to move away from the puffery and over-the-top hype and return to the basics of thinking like a journalist if they want to be successful in today's highly competitive world of catching the media's attention.
"PR's gotten way too full of itself over the last few years," says Grove whose career includes being an industry pioneer with the creation of a remote workforce PR firm and unique pay-for-performance client model. "We've become a world of consultants and spinners behind a façade of digital marketing where the story takes a back seat to a hyperbolic social media post."
In an era of both real and falsely perceived "fake news," Grove feels it's more important than ever that those wanting publicity recognize a need for the truth and work to serve their media colleagues who share that goal. "At its base level, our job is to provide newsworthy, fact-based information to the press that helps them tell a story and serve their audience. What that requires is integrity, a thirst for facts and knowledge and an ability to communicate in a coherent, thought-provoking manner."
While Grove is quick to point out that the profession isn't rocket science, but it does require a skill set that the general public typically isn't aware of. And one of the key skills he feels should be in every publicist's quiver is a sense of humor. "Without a sense of humor and perspective, this career can eat people up," says Grove. "So 'PR without the BS' is meant to convey that with the right mix of honesty, diligence and humor, PR can be a great career choice with the potential of making a difference."