PR and Media — More Unites than Divides
By Lolyne Ongeri
PR and media have traditionally been wary of each other. As digital and social channels continue to disrupt both industries, their goals are becoming more and more aligned.
Practitioners on both sides of the table are now being measured by their ability to create and share compelling stories that inform, educate, inspire — and most importantly — entertain.
This has been the golden rule in the newsroom for decades. Corporate and brand communicators are catching up fast, as their stories and content are being assessed like never before across social media.
At one of Levanter’s recent editorial board meetings, we had an update from some experienced journalists. It was a great opportunity for both parties to reflect on how print newsrooms are looking during the COVID-19 pandemic, and how to maximize working relationships for the greatest impact.
But to do that we need to understand what each party wants.
The Papers’ Make-Up
Most media divide their newspapers in the following ways: 80 percent is dedicated to politics and the pressing issues impacting society today, 10 percent business stories, and 10 percent sports and entertainment.
Most of the stories from our PR clients usually appear under the business and societal impact stories. Media houses have had to trim costs and even reduce staff, like most businesses affected by the pandemic.
PR practitioners must now work twice or thrice as hard. Unfortunately, it is still the case many of the press releases sent to the newsroom end up in the discard pile. So, how do you get journalists’ attention?
Authentic Content
The newsroom is still interested in captivating stories from businesses. But at the same time, they must be a good fit, as not every piece makes it to the paper. Good articles still must be original, backed up with facts, and informing, educating, or entertaining.
Evolving PR Tactics
PR practitioners must continuously learn and adapt. How we pitched stories ten years ago is different from where we are now. We must keep up with the trending topics, breaking news, and what is important to the news consumer and see how it can be tied into a story.
PR practitioners still need to give short informed pitches by phone. At Levanter, we always aim to pre-pitch a story under embargo to journalists that we know are following that sector. The ‘send all’ to a generic media list will not cut the mustard.
Understand the Hot Buttons
The print media are also increasingly cause-driven. In an era of instant news dissemination via social media, this enables them to create more thoughtful content and a point of difference. For example, some media houses have created columns and print spaces for climate change.
Why? There is a lot of talk on how badly the planet is doing due to greenhouse emissions, and what can be done to reduce this. Countries and companies are raising targets for cutting carbon emissions that seemed ambitious when the Paris Agreement was forged six years ago.
As such, media houses predict that there will be capital pouring into this initiative with some going as far as to say that investment and job creation in the renewable energy sector will help economies emerge from the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. PR practitioners can leverage this too.
Embrace the Unexpected
There has always been a bit of a conflict where PR people complain that the media takes stories in an unwanted direction, while the media says they are being pitched, boring and non-newsworthy stories. So, they are keen to take a story in a direction that was not anticipated. We call it the ‘expected unexpected’.
It is the job of the PR practitioner to anticipate this, through pre-pitching. They can then be ready to provide an interview or additional angle to different media houses to create a different, but aligned slant to the story.
PR and media need still each other. With consistent communication and mutual respect, both PR practitioners and the media can survive and thrive in this new world.
