Download Chapter 6 Media Relations: Shaping the News

Chapter 6
Media Relations: Shaping the News
Connection to PR
Symbiotic Relationship
Uncontrolled Media
Resources for Creating News Stories
PR-Media Connection in the U.S.
• 1900s journalists became public relations
professionals.
• Move from newspaper to PR.
• Example is Ivy Lee.
Media Connection Lingers
• The Princeton Review describes public
relations as follows: “A public relations
specialist is an image shaper. Their job is to
generate positive publicity for their client and
enhance their reputation.”
Dangers of the Media-PR Connection
• PR is equated with publicity.
• PR becomes known as spin:
– Highlights positives through publicity
– Tries to hide the negatives
Media and PR in Perspective
•
•
•
•
Media are important public for PR.
Media relations is narrower than PR.
PR deals with a wider array of publics.
We should not confuse the part for the whole.
Media Relation as Skill
• Entry level practitioners must be versed in
media relations:
– Write news releases
– Construct media lists
Means to an Ends
• Media relations helps to achieve larger
organizational goals.
• The positive media coverage is means to
achieving other organizational goals.
• Larger organizational goals can include:
– Reputation building
– Product launch and promotion
– Creating interest in an issue (issues management)
Symbiotic Relationships
with Journalists
• Symbiotic is when two organisms live in close
association for a long period of time.
• PR and journalists have over 100 years
together.
More on Symbiotic Relations
• At least one of the organisms benefits from
the relationship.
Forms of Symbiotic Relationships
• Commensalism: one side benefits but other is
unharmed.
• Parasitism: one side benefits and other is
harmed.
• Mutualism: both benefit from relationship.
• So which is the PR-journalism relationship?
Mutualism or Parasitism
• News media are able to create stories at a
lower cost , an information subsidy (benefit).
• PR receives positive stories about the
organization (benefit).
• Critics see the relationship as parasitism:
– PR is controlling news media for its own ends
– PR is corrupting the news
Dynamics of Media Relations
• PR person has certain information to place in
the news media.
• PR person crafts message (e.g., news release)
and sends it to the news outlet.
• News media representatives decide whether
or not to use the information.
• If the information is used, news media
representatives decide how to frame the
information.
Uncontrolled Media
• News media controls if the information is used
and how it will be used.
• Effective media relations requires:
– Catching the media’s attention
– Shaping how the information is framed
Frame
• A frame is the information selected for the
story and framing refers to the process of
developing frames.
• Organizations want frames that support their
larger objectives.
– Positive story about a new product
– Favorable portrayal of new CEO
Resources for
Creating News Story
News Values
News Peg
Celebrities
News Values or Newsworthiness
• Timeliness: must be recent.
• Impact: does or can affect many people.
• Audience interests: appeals to audience for
that outlet—their values and types of stories.
• Conflict/oddity: people are drawn to
deviations from the norm, this includes
conflict.
News Values or Newsworthiness
• Drama: a good story has the narrative form of
conflict, problem, and denouement.
• Human interest: the allure of ordinary people
in unusual situations or with unusual
experiences.
News Peg
• An event or issue that is already being covered
by the media.
• Practitioners can connect their information to
the news peg.
Celebrities
• Well known people increases the news value.
• Audiences are obsessed with celebrities.
• Connecting a celebrity to publicity information
increases the likelihood it will appear in the
media.
Beyond News Values
• Must present publicity materials in the proper
format.
• Must understand how to target media outlets.
• Must understand how to properly distribute
publicity materials.
Risks
• Publicity materials are not used.
• Publicity materials are not used as intended.
Why Bother with Media Relations?
• Publics do receive a lot of information from
the media.
• Media agenda tells people what is important.
• How that information is framed has an effect
on publics.
– Shape reputations
– Influence support for issues
Filters in the Propaganda Model
• Large corporations owning and operating the
media for profit.
• Dependency on advertisers for revenue.
• Dependence on government and corporate
sources.
• Negative responses to media content.
• Enemies/anti-communism (Herman and
Chomsky, 1987).
Reflection Points
• Do all organizations and groups deserve the
right to engage in publicity?
• Do some groups or individuals have an
advantage for shaping media content?
• How do you feel about the propaganda
model?
Reflection Points
• How has the use of video news releases
(VNRs) hurt public relations?
• Are the problems related to VNRs fair to PR?
• What is the relevance of front groups to media
relations?
• What can transparency add to discussions
about media relations?