I was a tech journalist and an analyst for many years and there is one point that is implied, but not mentioned explicitly:
* If you can talk knowledgably and interestingly about the the industry and a bit of technology, apart from your specific products do so - if asked. Journalists are always on the look out for knowledgable people who can tell them little bits of information about what is going on in their patch. It is fairly easy to build up a decent rapport with an journalist if you're a domain expert.
This one was not mentioned at all:
* Know the journalist. Not all journalists are created equal, so find out a bit about what he/she has written previously. Is (s)he a tech geek? interested in the business side? After user case-stories? Where are they in terms of experience - a new staff writer who would welcome a bit of hand-holding in the technology, or an old lag who knows the industry backwards?
Knowing this can make all the difference.
In terms of showing copy, I never did. But if you have someone who you think is a bit wobbly on some aspects of the story it does no harm to say: "If you want me to have a quick look through once your done and check the detail, it's not a problem".
Regarding the advice: "journalists are generally not out to trick you or trip you up." Well actually some of us are, a bit. Particularly when presented with a glossy, to-good-to-be-true presentation, the natural inclination is to look for problems. We don't (well I didn't) like writing puff pieces. So we'll use our smarts to say "well what about this?".
Try to be straight forward when answering these kind of questions: Someone saying: "yes, you're right that is a potential problem, we are looking at it and in the meantime there's a workaround that - while not elegant - does the trick" ALWAYS works better than blushing, getting aggressive or whatever.
Finally - don't try power hand-shakes. During the '80s bloody U.S. execs always turned hand-shakes into an arm wrestling match. Occassionally, I just used to say: "ouch" it always put them off their stride wonderfully.
* If you can talk knowledgably and interestingly about the the industry and a bit of technology, apart from your specific products do so - if asked. Journalists are always on the look out for knowledgable people who can tell them little bits of information about what is going on in their patch. It is fairly easy to build up a decent rapport with an journalist if you're a domain expert.
This one was not mentioned at all:
* Know the journalist. Not all journalists are created equal, so find out a bit about what he/she has written previously. Is (s)he a tech geek? interested in the business side? After user case-stories? Where are they in terms of experience - a new staff writer who would welcome a bit of hand-holding in the technology, or an old lag who knows the industry backwards?
Knowing this can make all the difference.
In terms of showing copy, I never did. But if you have someone who you think is a bit wobbly on some aspects of the story it does no harm to say: "If you want me to have a quick look through once your done and check the detail, it's not a problem".
Regarding the advice: "journalists are generally not out to trick you or trip you up." Well actually some of us are, a bit. Particularly when presented with a glossy, to-good-to-be-true presentation, the natural inclination is to look for problems. We don't (well I didn't) like writing puff pieces. So we'll use our smarts to say "well what about this?".
Try to be straight forward when answering these kind of questions: Someone saying: "yes, you're right that is a potential problem, we are looking at it and in the meantime there's a workaround that - while not elegant - does the trick" ALWAYS works better than blushing, getting aggressive or whatever.
Finally - don't try power hand-shakes. During the '80s bloody U.S. execs always turned hand-shakes into an arm wrestling match. Occassionally, I just used to say: "ouch" it always put them off their stride wonderfully.