By definition, the news media are interested in news above everything else.
And it’s not always easy for PR people to come up with something that is
news — or even new. Surveys are my secret weapon in PR; they’re one of the
easiest ways to provide the news media with the news they crave. The reason
is simple: There is very little new information in the world. But a survey, by
definition, always creates new information. If you survey 1,000 business executives
and 87 percent answer yes to your survey question “Do you feel stress
on the job?”, then you have created a fact — “Eighty-seven percent of 1,000
executives surveyed by XYZ Company say that they feel stress on the job” —
that you and no one else owns.