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Although I have not worked in racing, I have been a media relations practicioner for 21 years in both entertainment and politics, and have placed print, broadcast and electronic (internet) stories all over the globe....
All of you have given excellent advice...and your background as a journalist (plus the fact that there are teams that know you and your work) will be a huge plus for you, Liz...racing is more of a "people and relationships" business than any other that I am familiar with (according to people that I know in the industry...
I have found that a couple of items not mentioned above, but important ones, would help you as well....they sure have helped me....
1. Access to the "people behind the operation" as Liz mentioned in the Knowledge and information reply is critical...as journalists get to know you and your key people, they will like them in many cases, which will lead to more placements and stories....at some point when I have more time, I'll share specific ideas that I would bring to the racing world....and don't be afraid to look outside the box for opportunities to place stories....you'd be amazed at how I have gotten stories on (as an example) a conductor as part of a feature on "NFL Countdown" on ESPN...a great 3 min. hit that really put my Orchestra on an award winning national show...
2. If I ran a race team, I would NEVER use a Corporate or Sponsor PR person, or a PR Service....Sponsor types care most about how many mentions their company gets, and not about your specific focus or mission as an organization, and PR Services serve more than one master...get your own person to work for you....but be sure to take care of their needs and work WITH their PR people...but you as a PR practicioner should be in control and at the wheel when it comes to the team's PR efforts...
3. This one is critical: Everything you do or write or release should be done within a context of journalistic newsworthiness...and it is vital that you understand not only the "who" various respective reporters reach, but also "how" they reach them, and in what writing style, context or "flavor" they publish, broadcast or post their information...are they a comfortable, feature type??? a Hard News type???? a cutting edge type????....how visual is their medium???? among many other thins...there are lots of actors you weigh here for your pitches and the specific approuches you use...
Target your messages and pitches to specific outlets (news or features) within the context that is of interest to their readers, listeners or viewers....that is how you score hits and get placements...and be sure that they understand that you are there to help them get what they need before their deadlines...they will appreciate you and the fact that you will got the extra mile for them, and they will come back to you for future stories...
FInally...put your self in the reporter's or the editor's shoes in everything you do..."Publicists" do not make it over the long haul in this business...the people who understand the needs of the various media, their different approaches to coverage, and how to serve them to make their jobs easier and give them good, solid newsworthy info or interesting and colorful feature opportunities are the peole who make it in PR...
I must be doing something right...I've been at it a long time and I have boxes of newsclips, audio tapes and VHS tapes of coverage I have obtained...
Hope this helps!!!!
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