At yesterday’s Momentum Summit, I had the good fortune of finding a spot at Scott Kirsner’s table during the lunch/round-table sessions.  For the few left in New England who aren’t familiar with him, Scott Kirsner is an accomplished journalist/author with a new book,  Fans, Friends and Followers, a Boston Globe Column, Innovation Economy, and several of New England’s best start-up events to his credit.

Scott was incredibly accessible and shared some open and honest advice for start-ups looking to establish relationships with journalists.  Here are some of the highlights from that discussion (please note that these are not direct quotes, but my own summation — woe to them that misquotes a journalist!)

1. Be open!

Many start-ups border on paranoia when it comes to sharing their story during the more delicate stages of their development. They often cite proprietary or competitive concerns to justify this reticence. Yet, telling their story early and often can actually help safeguard an idea and ensure that the right people receive full credit for it.

2. Be seen!

Walking up to a reporter and introducing yourself at a local event is one of the best ways of attracting their attention. Journalists receive a flood of emails, faxes, phone calls and twitter DMs a day.  Being able to associate a face and a remembered conversation with one of those communications is often enough to separate it from the flood.

3. Be an unselfish resource!

People, particularly in start-ups, can be fantastic resources for journalists.  No one knows more about what’s going on in your category than you.  If you find an interesting fact, hear a unique story or discover a noteworthy trend, (even if it isn’t about you or your company) give a journalist the heads up.

4. Create a dialogue, not a press release!

Press releases might help your company’s SEO and can result in short published briefs/updates, but they can be a bit of a turn-off to a more in-depth journalist.  A press release is instant notification that several journalists have just received the exact same information. All of the time, money and energy spent writing and sending that release to 20 reporters would’ve been better spent by starting a meaningful dialogue with one (that actually references the information’s relevance to a reporter’s current focus).

5. Never make this call!

“Hi, this is Blank from Blank Company, I was just calling to see if you got our press release.” Yes, the reporter received it and would certainly have called you themselves, if the information had been of emergent concern or newsworthy.

Yesterday’s Momentum Summit was a great event and provided value in both speaker line-up and opportunities to connect with successful veterans in the start-up space.  Thank you to Scott Kirsner, the speakers, interviewers and all of the volunteers who made it possible.  If you missed the event, Jason Evanish of Greenhorn Connect did a great job of capturing the content in a live blog post or search #mosum on twitter.