Kudos for Article

Bravo! “ Meet the Press ” ( JofA, Jul.02, page 39), an article on how to build media relationships to attract attention and enhance business opportunities, was superb.

The importance for practitioners to cut through the information morass, distinguish themselves and define their areas of expertise has never been more acute. According to Dun & Bradstreet, 2,600 (net) new accounting firms opened for business in the 1990s and more than 11,000 firms are operating in the United States today.

As the article pointed out, CPAs can gain significant marketplace advantage by sharing unique and insightful business opinions that appear in print and broadcast media. And in our shorthand, media-glutted world, a universal truth of marketing exists, particularly in professional services: Quality exposure = credibility = new business.

I have spent the better part of my career as a Fortune 500 corporate spokesperson, and it’s been my experience that fundamental financial concepts are still foreign to many reporters working on the business desk. Reporters might have little or no formal business education, even at prominent national news agencies. If CPAs are used as sources more frequently, not only will they grow their business prospects, the quality of business media coverage is sure to improve.

Bill Getch
Managing Director
Getch Communications Group Inc.
Atlanta