SiteYou ask, we answer: Should I use quotes from a press release in my pitch?
Denise asks, “I’m starting to comb press releases from my local university to find story ideas. Is it ok to use the quotes from the release in your query to magazine editors? Isn’t that why the PR guys are sending out this information? I would of course do my own interview after landing an assignment.”
Denise, other freelancers will disagree with me, but I’m reluctant to do this. PR people are absolutely fine with journalists pulling the quotes from their releases: obviously, it’s why they’ve released them into the world and they’re thrilled to get the ink. Editors, however, aren’t as keen on the practice, unless they’re working for publications that reprint press releases. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know you’re just writing a story pitch, but what if two other writers pitch to your editor using the quotes off the press release? The editor’s going to be scratching his head — or worse, he’ll have seen the same press release, and wonder why not a one of you got off your butts to pull an original quote from the source.
So that’s what I’d do — call the press contact, ask for a quick interview with the expert, and get that custom-tailored quote for my pitch. In fact, it’s my rule of thumb: I use press releases as a backgrounder and don’t quote anyone unless I heard the words come out of their own mouth (or if the words arrived in a personal e-mail or through IMing). It’ll take you a few extra minutes of time, and you’ll stand out from the pack … in a good way.
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3 Responses to “You ask, we answer: Should I use quotes from a press release in my pitch?”
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Star
Said this on May 30th, 2008 at 2:15pm:Why would one put quotes in a pitch? Presumably you have not interviewed the person yet, right?
DianaBurrell
Said this on May 30th, 2008 at 3:31pm:I interview people for my pitch letters a lot, especially if I’m pitching a complex story or pitching to a new-to-me editor and I want to show them I can report.
Kristen
Said this on June 2nd, 2008 at 7:37pm:I don’t use quotes in my pitch. I would say stats are okay but quotes in a pitch wouldn’t be needed. And yes, they’re more for journalists.