For some clients, achieving coverage in the FT is still the most constant request and a crucial measure of success for a lot of corporate campaigns.

Looking at today’s paper though makes you wonder why though.

The main paper doesn’t have a single positive story until page 14 with the exception of a pr survey on page 3 that prob cost a fair amount in research fees and achieved a small column of about 25O words.

With headlines in the main paper dominated by words a such as danger, fraud, bribe, trouble and crisis (and companies and markets is no better) it left me feeling relieved that none of my clients are featured.

Whilst the ft reaches a crucial audience for many organisations, the job for PRs of getting positive news covered by relevant and respected outlets is getting increasingly tougher.

The basics don’t cut it now, one story does not fit all and knowing your media (online, offline, telly, blogs or whatever) is more important than ever before. With this much access to journalists’ likes and dislikes, lazily targeted or mismatched PR pitches are totally inexcusable. All it takes is a decent amount of groundwork and a bit of thought.

As a client selecting an agency in today’s climate, I would be demanding a senior but switched on team; really creative and intelligent ideas; a willingness to try new stuff and an outstanding contact book. It is a competitive market and those that try harder, go the extra mile and deliver over and above what is expected for both media and clients will be the ones who end up winning.