Media relations gurus have been boogying nonstop to update their relationship databases in the wake of Q1 layoffs inside such media empires as AOL Time Warner, Disney/ABC and
new economy pubs Industry Standard and Business 2.0. Tectonic shifts in the media landscape are deeply impacting PR strategy and many industry players continue to
grapple with the evolving definition of what's newsworthy. A burgeoning information and news glut plus diminishing windows of opportunity inside A-list news organizations are
forcing PR pros to confront epic challenges in media relations. PR NEWS consulted numerous media experts to gauge the current state of the art.
Shrinking News Holes
Downsizing on planet journalism certainly means lost relationships for media relations practitioners, but "it's not as if you can't find a reporter who's on the correct beat,"
says Peter Himler, EVP and managing director of media relations at Burson-Marsteller, New York. But he does recognize the rise of more insidious challenges "when the news hole
becomes downsized." That is, when the root causes of media layoffs - declines in circulation and ad revenues - result in smaller feature wells and fewer editorial pages in
magazines and newspapers. For instance, there's a good chance that that Fortune story you nurtured for months may get killed if decreased ad revenues result in a smaller
book size. Downsizing also means fewer items will be channeled into online news sites, which have served up till now as overflow platforms for news that didn't make it into print
or broadcast.
Furthermore, those on PR's front lines have noticed journalists jumping the fence. It seems that in these uncertain times, PR agencies are regarded as a safe-haven; media
layoffs have catalyzed significant career crossover from journalism to PR.
"A lot of reporters are applying for jobs at PR firms right now," Himler says. "And we're talking high level people - editors we've dealt with for years at top tier
publications and TV news programs." Heads of smaller, independent firms have observed the same trend.
No Time for Substance
As for news itself, it's becoming ever more cookie-cutter as reporters are stretched thinner day by day. "I don't like to bash the media, but clearly the definition of what is
news has evolved," says Steve Rabin, SVP for media and public education at the Kaiser Family Foundation in Menlo Park, Calif. "Reporters today have less time and fewer resources
to cover the big stories." As a result, the easy story with the emotional hook inevitably gets play, while weightier material - a la the Kaiser Family Foundation's exhaustive
research into why 42 million Americans have no health insurance - gets passed over.
"At the end of the day the public simply doesn't engage with that kind of information," Rabin says. "The solutions to the problem are so technically complicated that they're no
longer conducive to everyday news," Today's journalists tend to follow public sentiment more than shape it, adds Rabin who concedes that this is not news but a revelation that
forces media strategists to look for alternate means of message delivery. This drives PR professionals to seek vertical niches in lieu of mainstream news channels, or to become
content-providers themselves
The Kaiser Foundation tackled this challenge with its November soft launch of KaiserNetwork.org, a content-rich site for policy wonks, from which it plans to Webcast roughly 20
health policy briefings this year. The group also has formal content partnerships with news outlets like MTV, BET, Nickelodeon, UPN and Univision, to which it provides health
research and educational information. The content-provider role has proven effective for the foundation, given its inherent neutrality but it's a strategy with less promise of
success for a corporation or advocacy group with a specific agenda, Rabin acknowledges.
Press Releases: Passé
Of course, finger pointing is commonplace on both sides of the ugly news equation. Journalists often can't pursue meatier stories because they spend so much time wading
through non-news muck. This chronic situation is prompting guerilla-minded PR pros to re-evaluate the efficacy of traditional press release protocol.
"I question whether PR Newswire and BusinessWire will continue to see as much demand for their services in the future -- news is usually old by the time the release is out,"
says Jason Mandell, co-founder of LaunchSquad, a San Francisco-based shop that specializes in putting pre-IPO companies on the map. "We're usually briefing analysts and reporters
up to four months in advance under embargo. You can't put out a press release on the day of your announcement and start calling people and expect anyone to care," he says.
Granted, Regulation FD, effective October 23 (PRN, Aug. 28) assures a future for press releases bearing announcements from public companies. But regardless of that
entitlement, the PR industry continues to abuse press releases as a tactical tool by failing to use them discerningly, Mandell says.
"If you're relying on press releases as a major means of generating awareness for everything," Mandell remarks, "it's like crying wolf. At some point, no one wants to hear it
anymore. The job of the PR person is to help reporters understand when there really is news."
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Public Relations VP K.C. Kavanaugh concurs, "I get this reaction of constant surprise from reporters when I pitch a good, rational story to them.
The reporter is always in shock that I actually did enough research to know that I needed to pitch him, as opposed to the guy sitting next to him," she says.
Li'l Pitchers, Great and Small
One final observation about the state of media relations: agencies are no longer shoe-ins for media projects. "They're overrated." says Mandell.
Whether due to budget cuts or the difficulties associated with choosing the right consultant agency, many corporate PR departments are bringing the media relations function
home or outsourcing to independent consultants (many of whom are dotcom refugees who've opted to hang out a shingle in lieu of rejoining the rat race). "There are tons of one-
person shops these days, which I use a lot," says Kavanaugh, whose parent company owns hotel chains such as Westin and Sheraton. "They cost a lot less than using a big agency -
and most of them are folks who previously worked for big agencies, so they've got the expertise I need."
Media Moxy
The more things change in the media world, the more they stay the same. What skills are paramount in today's media relations practitioner? According to Jim Wills, an executive
recruiter and management consultant based in Greenwich, Conn., a solid counselor is one who understands the business plan and has "the intellectual horsepower" to involve the CEO,
legal, manufacturing, marketing and HR functions in media response strategy. But it's also a person who doesn't turn up his or her nose at the tactical side.
"Media relations happens where the rubber meets the road," says Wills. You can do all the strategizing you want, but if the tactics don't get carried out properly, the strategy
doesn't matter."
Above all else, a good media guru has an impeccable nose for news and understands the media on a psychological level. Wills continues, "I'm taking about people who can sit in
on an interview and predict what the headline will be in The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times the next day. They bet on it. And they're right, more often
than not."