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Will the Reporter Let Us Review the Article Before it is Published?

PR professionals in the U.S. often cringe when they hear their CEO ask that question.

But, according to the results of a survey conducted by Bianchi Public Relations’ partners in the Public Relations Global Network – PRGN – that request may NOT be so outlandish in some places, as journalistic customs vary widely based on geography.

The survey of journalists in Europe and North America showed that:

• North American journalists tend to shun any pre-publication reviews of stories derived from a CEO interview, and 18 percent saying they always allow reviews of CEO quotes and only 2 percent saying they always allow the entire story to be reviewed, yet
• European journalists overall are at least twice as likely to allow pre-publication review – with 41 percent of European journalists saying they always allow pre-publication review of CEO quotes and 21 percent always allowing review of the entire story.

And pre-publication review practices vary widely from country to country across Europe. Findings of the PRGN journalist study showed that:

• Journalists in the Ireland, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom overwhelmingly disapproved of any pre-publication review of the CEO quotes or the article;
• Journalists in Denmark, Finland, France and the Netherlands were three to four times more likely to always allow review of CEO quotes and twice as likely to allow pre-publication review of the entire article;
• 53 percent of Polish journalists indicated they always allow CEO quotes to be reviewed, yet only 9 percent said they allow pre-publication review of the entire article.
• None of the Italian journalists surveyed said they always allow review of the CEO quotes, but one-third said they would allow the entire article to be reviewed IF there was a strong relationship with the PR agency.

Knowing how agreeable an overseas journalist might be to pre-publication reviews – and when requesting such a review may be seen as an insult – can help protect your coverage and your company’s long-term media relationships.

How do you obtain this kind of insight? One way is to work with a local PR expert who has a deep understanding of the local media, market and cultural nuances, like we have available through PRGN – which has offices in 50 key markets around the globe that are run by such embedded local PR experts.

For more insight into how you can enhance CEO media interview outcomes and avoid faux pas by tapping local PR expertise, visit: http://bit.ly/18DOK4t.