During Golf Tournaments in the tropics we see journalists looming about. We can also see alligators looming about! Have you ever wondered what these two species have in common? In order to survive an alligator has his basic instincts. Similarly, a journalist is also always on the prowl and needs that next story...

What constitutes the growth of good media relations? That is a crucial question in this field. But what is the answer...? Sports businesses, big or small, need various levels of coverage by major media outlets. So what builds great media relations? What is the key to success... a free media lunch every week in order to captivate your journalists? We don't think so.

For more than a decade we have forged a path allowing us to experience successful media relations. As an agency, we are always in the middle of the athletes and the media. We base our relations on respect! Respecting the work of the reporters, respecting the work of the sports organizations. They both have their jobs to do.

Day in and day out our thinking is based on the following mindset: Use your basic instinct, with the foundation being respect – It is difficult to explain in words as it has become an innate skill. Here are some fundamentals...

Be consistent

We don't have to ask the question, ”What came first?..the chicken or the egg?” As sports organizations, YOU create the show. All stories are based on YOUR actions. Working as a reporter is a stressful job and one of the challenges is that you must rely on the communication of the club.

My tip – make yourself reliable. Go with a certain amount of stories that you can provide on a regular basis. Don't overdue things at the start. For example, if you are planning to send out an injury report every Monday you have to make sure that you can provide it ongoingly (at least for the whole season) – every single Monday. The journalists will anticipate that information every Monday. It's included in their working process and they depend on you consistency.

Set a goal that you can handle, even if it seems to be small. Plan it and follow through without fail

Give everyone the same chance

In the ever-changing media world the resources of media outlets are getting scarcer. As in every industry sector, including the daily newspaper you may have grown up with, every penny counts. But that's not the only thing that counts. By giving everybody the same chance – whether they are a huge company with a lot of editors or a one-man sports blog – your total audience will be bigger.

There will always be journalists who are unable to come to your venue for various reasons.

• no budget for all events
• no time due to other events
• too far to travel
• illness/absence of journalists
• other unforeseen reasons

With our clients we guarantee every media outlet, all over the world, the same opportunity to make a great story – even if they can't attend the event. With a high valuable content pool and our own developed Pressroom solution we deliver options to make the work of the journalists easier.

Journalists can choose from various content choices such as free photos, quotes as audio, video and text to build their own stories.

My tip – provide usable media content and your story doesn't depend on the media outlets' resources.

Feed the alligators

Like alligators, journalists are always hungry – that's a given. And without food, they can become dangerous.

Give out as many stories as possible. In sports there are good stories around every corner. Don't wait until another journalist makes the discovery. Be first. Could that be difficult? No, because you are the source.

My tip – find the story first and share it with all media.

Journalists don't have to be your best friends, but you have to feed them.