It's common knowledge that journalists like stories. The funniest thing in all these modern means of communications is that [let's say] some journalists don't like to create their own stories and prefer to get something 'ready-to-print'. I don't know why it happens. When I used to be the journalist myself, I had a passion for story-seeking, matching and comparing facts, building the context which made my articles bright. Today it looks like storytelling becomes a task for PR-specialists. I consider it to be a good way to build a good PR. But you can judge for yourselves.
Once one of my clients decided to make a charity action. So he bought the violin made by famous master. Honestly, that was a really old instrument, and surely it was very expensive.
I've got three photos of that violin - front, profile and back. Actually they were more alike with military badges pictures, and I thought they really were something official. But there was no any shadow of any story on those pictures.
Do soldiers have any emotions in their documents? Do they have there any memories of their families, or children, or pets, or whatever? So that violin had only those three photos, mad price and pretty name. Oh, yes, also there was a year of creation and master's name.
Don't consider me to be a little girl, I tried to learn more about that instrument from my client. "There must be a story", I insisted, "it's SO old and SO European". But the thing was, that it was just a decision - to buy a good instrument for the local orchestra. And the previous owner preferred to stay anonymous. He insisted.
I asked a couple journalists if they were interested in such a kind of news - famous businessman bought the precious violin to let good musicians play on good instrument, and to let people listen to music in high natural quality.
"C'mon, Nat, that is just advertising of your client", the reporter said. "I believe the instrument casts all those millions, but my editor, you know ... Is there any story about that violin? Somebody famous who played it, some well-known owner?"
Nobody was interested neither in my client, nor in the cosmic price of his purchase. Everybody wanted the story, but the story itself had to be written first.
I went by the shortest way - by Google. It didn't give me any answer to the violin's name. Other searching systems were useless also. The evening was winking into my window, but I couldn't give up, feeling the Story playing that web-hide-and-seek with me.
OK, I asked Google about the master's name and the date of violin's creation. Lucky me! I've got the right name of my hero. But actually the story grew up only for the couple of auctions and one Royal orchestra marked as one of previous owners.
At least, that was better than nothing. But still not enough. I opened wiki, historical guides, bios of the master and a musician whose name was given to the violin after all. I traced back that name between three countries, found his teacher and orchestras where he used to play before the start of his pedagogical carrier. Was it an amazing coincidence that once that teacher played for Russian empress and another time - for French King? Could he play my violin there?
I thought about wars and revolutions which took place in different parts of Europe during the centuries of the violin's life. I've found the workshop where the instrument was restored, and sent the request about it.
The workshop answered me next day [what a wonderful people]. The story was born - perfect, royal, legendary, romantic, heroic. We made the release and sent it everybody.
"How could you do such a thing with me", the lazy reporter screamed in my phone next day after sending. "There existed a story, and you didn't tell me that!"
Well, what could I say? The project got TVs, newspapers, radio and web. And I organized the special interview for my client and that journalist - I had to compensate my 'faute terrible' :)
Once one of my clients decided to make a charity action. So he bought the violin made by famous master. Honestly, that was a really old instrument, and surely it was very expensive.
I've got three photos of that violin - front, profile and back. Actually they were more alike with military badges pictures, and I thought they really were something official. But there was no any shadow of any story on those pictures.
Do soldiers have any emotions in their documents? Do they have there any memories of their families, or children, or pets, or whatever? So that violin had only those three photos, mad price and pretty name. Oh, yes, also there was a year of creation and master's name.
Don't consider me to be a little girl, I tried to learn more about that instrument from my client. "There must be a story", I insisted, "it's SO old and SO European". But the thing was, that it was just a decision - to buy a good instrument for the local orchestra. And the previous owner preferred to stay anonymous. He insisted.
I asked a couple journalists if they were interested in such a kind of news - famous businessman bought the precious violin to let good musicians play on good instrument, and to let people listen to music in high natural quality.
"C'mon, Nat, that is just advertising of your client", the reporter said. "I believe the instrument casts all those millions, but my editor, you know ... Is there any story about that violin? Somebody famous who played it, some well-known owner?"
Nobody was interested neither in my client, nor in the cosmic price of his purchase. Everybody wanted the story, but the story itself had to be written first.
I went by the shortest way - by Google. It didn't give me any answer to the violin's name. Other searching systems were useless also. The evening was winking into my window, but I couldn't give up, feeling the Story playing that web-hide-and-seek with me.
OK, I asked Google about the master's name and the date of violin's creation. Lucky me! I've got the right name of my hero. But actually the story grew up only for the couple of auctions and one Royal orchestra marked as one of previous owners.
At least, that was better than nothing. But still not enough. I opened wiki, historical guides, bios of the master and a musician whose name was given to the violin after all. I traced back that name between three countries, found his teacher and orchestras where he used to play before the start of his pedagogical carrier. Was it an amazing coincidence that once that teacher played for Russian empress and another time - for French King? Could he play my violin there?
I thought about wars and revolutions which took place in different parts of Europe during the centuries of the violin's life. I've found the workshop where the instrument was restored, and sent the request about it.
The workshop answered me next day [what a wonderful people]. The story was born - perfect, royal, legendary, romantic, heroic. We made the release and sent it everybody.
"How could you do such a thing with me", the lazy reporter screamed in my phone next day after sending. "There existed a story, and you didn't tell me that!"
Well, what could I say? The project got TVs, newspapers, radio and web. And I organized the special interview for my client and that journalist - I had to compensate my 'faute terrible' :)
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