Dow Jones Tries to Help PR Pros’ Pitches

Though short on the details, Dow Jones recently released Dow Jones Media Relations Manager, which is intended to be a souped-up version of Cision (our guess/opinion).  The database will provide the standard names of writers on beats that any other database should provide, but what’s enticing is that the DJMRM also ties reporters to the companies, industries, people and keywords they cover.

This development will help PR people because any narrowing of the search for journalists covering your pitch is an improvement.  The database will seemingly cut down on some of the research that PR people do.  However, we’d strongly caution PR pros that they need to continue to research what their pitchees (does anyone use this term? is it a term?) write about.  A database, no matter how detailed, is no replacement for human understanding and research.

Our cynical speculation is that part of the impetus for the development of the database is to cut down on mistargeted pitches that Dow Jones’ writers receive from PR folks.

Either way, the DJMRM seems to be a step in the right direction as it moves closer to having a content analysis component of its database.

On a related note, we’d love to see the communications plan for the rollout of the product….