Feeding the Media Beast: An Easy Recipe for Great Publicity [Hardcover]

Mark E. Mathis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2002

In Feeding the Media Beast: An Easy Recipe for Great Publicity, former news anchor and reporter Mark Mathis gives publicity seekers a simple and highly practical formula to follow. Unlike other books, Feeding the Media Beast explains how to deal with journalists in a systematic way. This book establishes 12 rules that cover everything any PR person ever needs to know.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A snappy read…. a painless way to bring new, young staff up to speed…gold mine of a handout to clients…" -- O’Dwyer’s PR Daily

"Getting publicity is hard...there are ways to improve one's chances...there are valuable nuggets in ‘Feeding the Media Beast’." -- The Wall Street Journal

"Without a doubt, this is the best book on PR I’ve ever read." -- Jack Trout, author of "The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing" and "Big Brands, Big Trouble"

Witty...hilarious...smart...useful. This book should be on the reading list for anyone interested in improving their communication skills. -- ForeWord Magazine, Fall Announcements issue 2002

About the Author

Mark Mathis is a media trainer with a unique perspective. He spent nearly a decade in the television news business as a reporter/anchor. He then became a consultant to many Fortune 500 companies, such as Intel, Gateway, Victoria’s Secret Catalogue, and Sprint PCS. Mathis has hosted his own radio talk show on a 50,000-watt station. For the past three years Mathis has taught the Media Rules system to people from hundreds of organizations in virtually every business and industry—public relations, politics, education, law enforcement, advertising, manufacturing, legal, health care, non-profits, etc. Mathis’s Media Rules system is based on 17 years of experience on all sides of the publicity process. Mark Mathis currently resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 292 pages
• Publisher: Purdue University Press (July 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557532478
• ISBN-13: 978-1557532473
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,906,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mysterious Media or Predictable Publicity, October 19, 2002

By 

Rebecca Johnson "The Rebecca Review" (Washington State) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Feeding the Media Beast: An Easy Recipe for Great Publicity (Hardcover)

Mark Mathis has a wicked sense of wit and connects immediately with the reader by first building up your self-confidence and then taking you deep into the mind of the Media Beast. He dispels the myth of unpredictability and guides you through the publicity process.

Feeding the Media Beast is a extremely well organized book. First the author tells you what he is going to present to you and the proceeds to deliver a delicious array of pithy comments, witty remarks, insightful solutions, examples you can relate to, concise descriptions and snappy quotes. This book is well researched and to the point.

The text is snappy and fresh and the author often displays an uncommon perspective. He presents unique ideas on conveying information and shows you how to use this highly potent marketing machine to promote your product or idea.

I was rather impressed with how succinctly and honestly Mark Mathis describes the Media Beast and its voracious appetites. He shows you exactly how to serve up a story the beast won't be able to resist. In fact, he says it is quite predictable.

"When a Media Leader latches onto your story, big things are bound to happen."

So, how exactly do you get the Media Beast to pay attention and hunger for your
information? It seems that once you understand the nature of the beast, you can follow twelve simple rules to success.

Mark Mathis has worked as a television reporter, columnist and talk radio host. In the past few years, he has been teaching the Media Rules. These rules include the Rule of Difference, Emotion, Simplicity, Preparation, Easy, Repetition, Resource, Invention, Timing, Ego, Balance, Ambush.

You might be especially intrigued by how he answers the following questions:

1. Why do reporters seem to have a worldview that differs from the general population?
2. Why do reporters tend to support liberal positions?
3. Where do journalists come from?
4. Why is the most popular news often irrelevant to your community?
5. How do you make a reporter care about your story?
6. Are you prepared to give an interview?
7. Do you know what the Media Beast wants for dinner?
8. Is bad publicity avoidable?
9. How can you get reporters to call you for your expert opinions?
10. How do you avoid the traps even PR professionals fall into?

Mark Mathis explores all angles, highlights simple truth and elaborates with anecdotes that will often make you laugh. You will learn how to make a difference in the world, create a compelling message and utilize DES (difference, emotion and simplicity).

Feeding the Media Beast is for anyone who views the news, produces the news, wants to be in the news or has been burned by the news.

Fear the Beast no more!
Even if he is knocking at your door.

~The Rebecca Review

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The one book every small business owner should read, October 30, 2002

By 

Steven E. Gross (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Feeding the Media Beast: An Easy Recipe for Great Publicity (Hardcover)

It isn't enough in this day and age to have an interesting public relations story; it also has to be presented simply and powerfully to engage the media. If you are looking at how you can garner greater public recognition without the high costs of advertisement, this is the book to read. Mathis gives an easy to read and intriguing overview of the public relations business and how to make your own business stick out amidst the frenzy of information with which the media is constantly bombarded. It is indispensable especially if you are running your own small business.

I have been in business for myself as a photographer for over 20 years. I have spent countless hours in self-promotion trying to find more notable ways to get my story across and the media interested. After reading Mathis, I realize just how much I can still improve my method of handling the media and using it to my own advantage. Mathis provides 12 rules with a wealth of examples about companies which have used them successfully as well as companies that have failed miserably because their campaign didn't adhere to them. His extensive case stories provide significant understanding of the simple nature of public relations, the difficulty in working with it and the tremendous success possible if you master it.

Mathis' strongest advice is about preparation. Most businesses spend a lot of time in managing and developing products and services, but when it comes to public relations, companies often run blindly into the media. Mathis highlights that PR-savvy companies have a plan. Media contacts are not sporadic and blind shots in the dark, rather they are carefully planned out and include a variety and repetition of contacts. One effort is not enough; you have to contact local and national media again and again and again.

His discussion of how to prepare for media interviews provides strategic insights into what you need to do in order to get your point across and make sure that reporters report what you want. All too often people believe the media wants to hear the entire story with all the minor details to ensure that their new story is accurate. Mathis points out how you can prepare to make a story that is easy for a reporter to digest and that makes certain that your most important points aren't misquoted. These book details how you can develop hard-hitting, headline worthy statements.

I have already found ample opportunity to apply Mathis' understandings of the Public Relations Beast and believe that many others can as well.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good book to read before your first publicity campaign, August 21, 2002

By 

Joanna Daneman (Middletown, DE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Feeding the Media Beast: An Easy Recipe for Great Publicity (Hardcover)

If you are planning any kind of media campaign or publicity event, and you are inexperienced, this is a great book to read. Author Mark Mathis presents rules of encounter with the press, but in a way that makes them memorable (even if horrifying in some aspects.) In fact, the best feature of this book, to me, were the real life success and failure stories. These are things anyone can relate to. Examples: the car dealer who immediately jumped in to donate a vehicle to a family who suffered a tragedy--the day after the tragic story was published. Charity? Sure, all the way to the bank via good-will publicity.

Anyone who has had any dealings with the media knows that stories get garbled, facts are lost or worse, in error, and the press picks up on the worst or most trivial aspect of your message while tossing away the "meat." Plus our age of a 15-second attention span applies to the media; you'd better get your message out quickly and clearly or the media will roll over you on to the next soundbite.

My own recent encounter with a well-respected newspaper and an excellent reporter taught me that their angle on a story, which I thought was dead wrong, was the one that WOULD be published and my contrary facts would be pretty much ignored. I probably made quite a few mistakes I could have avoided, had I read this book.

If you intend to be feeding this "beast" you'd do well to read this book. It isn't a complete manual on publicity campaigns, but it is so entertainingly written that you will remember those important principles.