PRSA - St. Louis welcomed three editors of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch to the Sheraton Clayton Plaza Hotel. Christine Bertelson (Editorial Page), Donna Korando (Commentary) and Ray Gunter (Letters) presented their perspectives on their own jobs and their publication's philosophy before fielding questions from meeting attendees. The trio of editors addressed many aspects of the relationship between the journalism and PR, mostly concerning how better communication can benefit both sides, and what makes a pitch successful. Here are some tidbits from the Nov. 19 luncheon:

Christine Bertelson, Editorial Page Editor

The relationship between the views of the editorial, news and management departments of the newspaper produces the editorial opinions; in other words, views expressed are reached through an agreement between those departments.
Closer contact with public relations and public information sources results in better articles and well-informed commentary. A need for this contact exists.
E-mail attachments are not the best way to send information; plain text is better. It saves time and avoids formatting difficulties.
Errors or questions about reporter contacts? Call Christine’s assistant, Robin Weisenborn. (314-340-8386)
Ellen Soeteber, the publication's latest Editor prefers the "old-fashioned news style," with focused beats, better internal communication, new hires.
The newspaper receives more news from national groups than from local groups, but uses more from local groups.

Donna Korando – Commentary Page Editor

The commentary page is not an echo of the editorial page. Commentary serves the reader by providing a variety of opinions.
Querying by e-mail or phone to see if the editor/reporter is interested saves time for everyone. Because of the volume of information, contact prior to sending a release.
When actually sending the release, e-mail works most efficiently.
Commentary Length: Under 700 words, PLEASE.
Pay attention to deadlines!
Writing should be concise and compelling, involving an issue pertinent to the community.
Follow-ups are not taboo. Calling is best.
There is a need to hear from smaller and less vocal community groups, such as younger generations and ethnic populations.
Commentary page has a balance of expert opinions and opinions from others in the community.

Ray Gunter – Letters Editor

Brevity is important – letters should be 200 to 250 words, upper limit 400.
Do not respond to previous letters; instead, state your viewpoint in such a way that it can be understood without the other letter.
No writer can appear more often than every 60 days.