I probably should start this column by mentioning that the columnist known as Media Coverage (or as I like to call him, "me") is in no position to receive any of the soon to be mentioned favors, goodies, or underhanded PR tricks. It's too bad, because this columnist now has a natural, undiscovered talent for writing through a rose-colored word processor.

Squeezing fluff pieces (those most favored up-with-gaming articles) out of enthusiast press journos should be the most important class at PR University (followed closely by Hair Care 101 and Practical Theory in Positive but Entirely Elusive Answers to Difficult Questions). However, it seems that few PR folks have mastered this talent.

Those who have the skill are to be revered. I remember some of the all-time greats. They'd show up with games that stunk so bad that it burned our eyes. Yet, by the time they had made their Jedi-like pitch, the staffers were wrestling for the opportunity to write a positive preview for the next issue. I still wonder how they always managed to get that done.

So, I went back through my old experiences and talked to a couple of old PR friends who've moved on and got a couple of their secrets. Darn it if some of these tricks hadn't worked on me at one time or another. Here are a few that really worked and a few that didn't.

Years ago, one of my favorite game makers would make a yearly visit and bring my entire publication a huge sushi lunch. I say that they were one of my favorite game companies not because they made my favorite games, but rather because they would bring me sushi once a year.

Sushi is, in fact, both delicious and far too expensive for the normal enthusiast press journo lunch. Also, for some reason, lunch does not feel anything like a bribe. It's tasty, not extravagant and over too quickly for questions of impropriety to raise their ugly head.

Whatever the case, during this period of free lunches I rarely heard a negative word in enthusiast press publication's about the lunch-bringer's dull-as-real-life fishing games.

Journo's will do anything for exclusive info. When a journo is sent to get a game story, the goal is always to get exclusive info so that the article will shine. Especially in print, that exclusivity edge is dramatically important.

One of my favorite PR people often would use exclusive bits of info as bait to get coverage. The pitch would always be subtle. "I've got some cool exclusive info on this game; I just want to give it to someone who cares enough about this franchise to give it a fair shake." You'd be surprised at how tempting it is to bite on that.

Getting quid-pro-quo without having to explicitly spell it out is a low-investment way to get good coverage.

Great PR people (or at least the ones this narcissist considered great), always read (or at least pretend to read) the columns written by their target journos. Throwaway lines such as "I loved what you did with the Centipede IV preview - that was brilliant" make us praise-needy writers think that the PR person will be reading our articles in the future.

This complimentary reminder usually gives a writer extra incentive to make the preview interesting and for all but the most conflict-centric editors it also means that they'll take it easy on the PR guru's next preview. There's no sense in making a fan angry.

They get the final crack at the stories. This also means that they can dramatically change the tone of a preview or review with a couple of covert edits. It's good to make friends with those in power. Of course, none of this would happen on purpose, but subconscious editing tipping the tone for or against a game happens all the time.

Back in my tenure as Junior Editor Who Always Showed up for Work Late, I noted often that my Senior Editor could take the edge off a too-harsh preview, with a short snip or two. For me, that was tantamount to Vikings sacking my beautiful (but badly spelled) prose. For the game that was rescued from a merciless textual whipping, this was a glorious reprieve.

They're just happy to be noticed and they're the ones who have to handle the bad games. They'll do anything be noticed and eventually get their names on the good mailing lists. It doesn't take a lot of effort to make a big impression.

Plus, someday they may be senior staffers.

I'm being painfully honest here. Despite all of my journalistic ideals, I think I would still find it difficult to silence my subconscious and write a completely negative preview on a game that was responsible for getting me flown to Hawaii. (Of course, that's why it's up to publications to make their own rules on this.) But for those pubs that don't have rules, Hawaii, Europe, or any sort of professional sports playoff game usually results in a happy article writer subconscious.

Recently, I cracked open an ancient e-mail inbox and looked up an old PR friend. When I sorted by name and date I discovered something terrifying. Almost all of the emails from my friend came around the same time on the same day of the week. I had been "calendarized" and I didn't even know it.

All it takes is a simple, friendly email once a week to develop a workable PR-journo relationship. Once this is established it makes it much tougher for any editor to write a negative piece about an "old buddy's" latest game. At the very least, it will make the editor far more open to writing about the game's high points.

"I've got some info next month on Upcoming Big Game That Everyone Wants, but I want to save it for a publication that appreciates Crappy Game That No One Cares About. Any takers?"

If this is sold in a friendly, non-sleazy way, I've found that the technique is surprisingly effective.

It's just too obvious as a bribe. Personally, I've honestly never seen anyone get motivated to give a game the benefit of the doubt because they were sent an excellent tschoke. Yes, videogame journos love the free trinkets, but they just don't seem to have the same effect as other tactics on this list.

In fact, I've noticed that many journos tend to write a little tougher to prove to the rest of the staff that they have not been influenced by that beautiful Bomberman-themed iPod sitting on their desk.

Journos hate PR people who take their complaints directly to a higher-up on the publication. We used to call them "Scalpers" - as in "she went over my head so many times I got athletes' scalp." These kind of overhead confrontations leave everyone angry far longer than direct conflicts.

Anyone who has worked in this industry knows that journos hold grudges, and they hold them for a long time. Even though it may be more effective in the short term to go directly to a boss, dealing with the issue with the writer of the article first can save a long, long period in which that PR person's games will absolutely NEVER get the benefit of the doubt.

Any questions? If so, e-mail Media Coverage, and let him know.

Media Coverage is an opinion column. The opinions expressed in this column are solely the opinions of the columnist and are not necessarily the opinions of GameDaily.com.