With the invention of email, reporters got the proverbial short end of the stick.

They are targets of many organizations who want to share information that may be of interest to the reporters and their audiences. Unfortunately, this means that reporter inboxes are filled each day with mail that they need to sort through for the few, exciting nuggets that will make the day’s news.

How can we, as public relations professionals, help reporters? It’s simple: stop spamming.

This doesn’t mean stop sending news and information that is meaningful. It means knowing their beat areas and sending relevant information. That is a PR 101 lesson. But the next lesson isn’t as easily accepted: know when to refrain from hitting “send.”

Overwhelming a reporter with massive amounts of information will get you noticed – just not in the way you’d intended.

A recent example of this involved the White House. Following President Barack Obama’s address to a joint session of Congress in early September regarding the Administration’s jobs plan, the White House sent nearly 50 emails to reporters overnight with statements of support for the proposed plan. Yes, reporters each received nearly 50 emails in about a 12-hour time period.

“The White House Press Office has vomited all over my inbox,” wrote Talking Points Memo’s Callie Schweitzer following the deluge.

It’s a great example of what not to do, and had a very poignant reaction. When your actions cause someone to associate negativity with you, the organization you’re representing or the matter at hand, you have failed in your job.

When a reporter receives information, it should be useful. I don’t know of any article that has quoted 50 sources, or even 10 sources. In fact, rarely are even five different sources quoted in one article. The White House spammed reporters by sending some 50 unique emails identifying individuals and organizations that were supportive of the Jobs Act.

It brings to mind a great quotation I’ve held onto from the 19^th century English playwright, actor and composer Sir Noel Coward: “Consider the press. Treat it with tact and courtesy. It will accept much from you if you are clever enough to win it to your side. Never fear or despise it. Coax it, charm it, interest it, stimulate it, shock it now and then if you must, make it laugh, make it cry, but above all…never, never, never bore the living hell out of it.”

And bore the media is precisely what the White House did with nearly 50 emails reiterating the same message.

If you have the desire to overwhelm the media to prove a point, reconsider your tactics. The point you may drive home could impact your credibility and reputation.

What are some other bad habits practitioners should break? What are some best practices you have for engaging the media?