I received an interesting press release last night: “FIRST AMERICAN MUSLIM TV CHANNEL ANNOUNCED BY BRIDGES NETWORK. CHANNEL EXPECTED TO DEBUT SUMMER 2004,” blared the headline.
I figured the release was a winner. And by that I mean, I figured the press release would garner some ink. But for the time being, I’ve been proven wrong and there are some good reasons why.
Let’s begin by examining why I thought the press release would be a winner.
The substance of the release aside, the launching of a television network aimed at Muslim-Americans is big news. In the post-Sept. 11, post?-Saddam world, the Muslim community around the world is now, more than ever, in the spotlight. Al-Jazeera has become a media force in the same way CNN did after the first Gulf War. But there was something missing; an entertainment entity focused on Muslims and the positive messages of Muslim culture. The press release mentions Telemundo and Black Entertainment Television as similar companies. I figured the release was a can’t miss. Until I actually read the thing.
By my calendar, today is April 30, 2003. And the day the press release was sent was April 29, 2003. But the date on the press release reads May 1, 2003. There is no mention of the news being embargoed, so I’m not sure if someone put the wrong date on the release or whether it was sent out prematurely. But putting the wrong date on a press release is a sure way to not only cause confusion, but cause people to pause and wonder what the heck is going on.
Our next problem comes in the lead of the release:
“The expected launch date is summer 2004, pending how quickly the network can gather the 10,000 paying members necessary to demonstrate public support. According to the release, we’re a year away from seeing the launch of the “product,” and that launch will come “pending how quickly” the company can get support from its target consumer base. Ding, ding, ding! That’s the bell going off in my head that causes me to wonder how serious this business is if they need consumer support before launching. It’s not often a company says, “We’ll begin doing business, but only if we have the customers signed-up first.” Normally, a company launches a business and then markets it, using PR as one of those marketing tools. Barely into the first paragraph, I’m already questioning the legitimacy of the business.
The second paragraph lays out the “value proposition”:
“Bridges TV, which will be broadcast from Manhattan, will emphasize news stories, and talk shows, wholesome sitcoms, advice shows, children’s programming and movies about Muslim life in America. Programming will mostly be created, since an English-language genre targeting American Muslims does not exist.”
Fair enough, but the second sentence is a bit bumpy and I would have rephrased it to read, “Because of a lack of English-language programming targeting American Muslims, Bridges TV will produce the majority of its own programming.”
Paragraph three brings out the name dropping:
“The venture is spearheaded by Muzzammil S. Hassan, MBA, a bank vice-president in New York and Omar S. Amanat, founder of Tradescape, an Internet brokerage firm. Mr. Amanat sold Tradescape last year to E*Trade (NYSE: ET) for $280,000,000 (million).”
Amanat is a known entity to some journalists, so I would have moved his name up to the lead. Bring out the big guns first. You don’t order an artillery barrage after the infantry is already behind enemy lines. You have to pound home the important points first.
The press release runs into more serious problems from here on out. Paragraph four is a set-up for a lengthy quote from Amanat in paragraph five in which he explains, “I realized that the only way to undo misconceptions was to create our own media forum from which our stories and culture would be shared with the world. Other cultural groups have gained acceptance and increased understanding through the forum of media. Why can’t Muslims do the same?”
It’s a good quote, but not for a press release. The product wasn’t mentioned at all. Too much thought and no information in the quote. The quote should have laid out the goal of the network in very simple terms, reiterating the value proposition but telling what the value is this time and why it’s necessary.
The next paragraph mentions Telemundo and BET, a good idea that gives readers a comparative benchmark. But then we again get a co-founder of the company giving an unsolicited opinion that could have presented as a matter of fact.
“[Muslim Americans] think they are not accurately portrayed,” [Hassan] said. “Bridges TV gives American Muslims a voice and will depict them in everyday, real life situations.”
The quote could have been slipped in somewhere near the top in one of the product descriptions. The “why” of the who, what, where, why, how, of the press release.
The rest of the press release contains too much information and little of it is relevant. The release goes on and on, droning on at times like some Pentagon briefing. It’s not near until the end that we find out the company is only capitalized to the tune of $1 million and has about 1,000 paying subscribers for a network that hasn’t launched. These facts, undoubtedly, will lead many to question the legitimacy of the business, which is something to take into consideration.
A business is sometimes as big as it boasts to be and Bridges TV did itself no favors in its press release. On the company’s website is a list of testimonials from people ranging from Muhammad Ali to the founder of the Muslim Women’s League. If these people allowed their testimonials to be made public on a website, at least a few of them would have surely agreed to have their comments included in a press release.
The end result of the press release is that it has garnered little or no attention. This appears to have been a second attempt by the company as my research shows a few press mentions from earlier this year, but none in the “mainstream” consumer press. A shorter, more informative on some points (the mission), and less informative on some points (the funding), press release should have been put out via a press release service.
If I was working with the company, I would have suggested a conference call or press conference announcing the venture. Because there is a very real and obvious passion exhibited by the founders and the company, a forum in which the principles could explain the venture in better detail and in a more personal way would have helped the company get press.
Remember, the most important thing in life is perception. The way we perceive a business, an idea, a person or a product ultimately decides whether or not we grant it any attention. This rings true in public relations. Bridges TV may have a bright future, and I wish them the best of the luck. But this press release was a bad way to start a relationship with the media. And if the most important thing in life is perception, the second most important thing is probably relationships.
Ben Silverman is a business columnist for The New York Post
and the publisher of the soon-to-be-relaunched
DotcomScoop.com. This article is from PR Fuel, a free weekly
newsletter on public relations produced by eReleases
(http://www.ereleases.com), the leader in press release
services for small businesses. Archived articles can be
found online at: http://www.Ereleases.com/pr/prfuel.html
