While expensive co

What happens when your MQ, or what I call Media Intelligence drops?

Does this fall over time or because of your actions or behaviours.

I believe poor decisions can lead to actions and behavious that decrease your MQ.

This in turn impacts on your reputation.

Think low MQ people and the names Paul Wolfowitz from the World Bank, Ben Cousins from the West Coast Eagles and Paris Hilton come to mind because of their recent actions that have eroded goodwill with their stakeholders or fans.

Understanding how the media works is vital in gaining successful coverage for your organization and raising your MQ.

What does the media want and how can you increase you chances in obtaining coverage?

Here is part two of the three part series on increasing your MQ.

Interviewer: Do sending pictures with media releases help get publicity?

Thomas Murrell: Yes, you can add them and they are useful for web releases and print but a waste of time for TV and radio. Don't show your ignorance of how electronic media works by making this blunder.

My rule of thumb is to add a line at the end of the media release for print and web that says "pictures can be provided on request".

There are exceptions of course. Take for example the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) which has both a radio and TV network and now an extensive oline news portal where they publish pictures because a visual image both in print and online can add to the impact of a story.

Of course you can also send a Video News Release (VNR) to a TV station.

While expensive compared to the cost of a traditional news release, they allow you to provide information the TV station may not have the resources to collect themselves.

An example would be a remote minesite or even computer generated graphics for a new stadium, transport development or oil and gas project.

Any element that is graphically appealing that could add value to the story.