While text-based media such as email and Web sites have become standard tools in the PR arsenal, only 15% of counselors are Webcasting, according to the latest research by
PR NEWS and Edelman's StrategyOne. One reason the industry may be slow to adapt, posits Medialink president Laurence Moskowitz, is that its practitioners harbor an innate
aversion to video - a tendency that could become problematic as multimedia technologies proliferate. We asked Moskowitz to describe the digital communications landscape of the
near future and PR's role in it:
PRN: You've been at the forefront of some pretty significant advances in the PR business - first making broadcast more accessible in the 1980s, and most recently
shepherding industry-wide adoption of new services such as streaming media distribution. Which technologies, in your opinion, will have the most profound impact on media
relations in the next five years?
Moskowitz: The Web, the Web, and television. Statistics continue, unabated, that the traditional newspaper industry is in a continued state of decline. And there is no
entity other than network television that can aggregate an audience of 20 million simultaneously. The Web, however, has captured not one, but a half dozen holy grails that were
never within the grasp of TV.
PRN: And they are?
Moskowitz: Number one, the Web is there when you want it. Whether you missed a live streaming event, or logged on in the middle of event, or wanted to see it a week
later, it's there, on demand. Who says we have to be home by 6 p.m. for a newscast?
Number two, the wall between work and play has eroded, so we play at work and we work at home. Now the undisputed power of video can penetrate the office. And what was
formerly only accessible to you at work - let's say, for instance, a Bloomberg terminal or Dow Jones in real time - can now be available at home with the same robustness.
Holy Grail number three is 'Web through WAP' - which means that whatever you see on your PC, you can now see on your personal device, whether it's a phone, PDA or wristwatch.
So we've even eliminated the commute as a barrier.
PRN: Will these new channels be easier to crack (in a PR sense) than traditional print or broadcast?
Moskowitz: The Internet doesn't have the same ivory tower gatekeeper element that TV had. Before, getting news on network TV required meeting a very high standard in
terms of news value, [production] quality and getting over journalistic ethical and behavioral hurdles. All of this was magnified by the fact that there were only 24 minutes in a
newscast.
The Web, on the other hand, is unlimited. It has a deadline every minute and needs it all - text, pictures, graphics, audio and video. Fundamentally, the rules have not
changed. Important news still gets placed on important media. Well-produced and clever, creative campaigns see the light of day. And the mechanics have not really changed. TV
and the Web both require technological expertise. It's very easy, for example, to send a VHS tape to a TV station, but virtually impossible for that tape to ever see air. It's
similarly easy to post a press release on your Web site, and similarly unlikely that it will ever be propagated online. The 'gatekeeper' role has been diminished on the Web by
economics, and that means the media filter has big, open pores in it. But they're not necessarily the pores you want or need.
PRN: So you're not among the believers who say the Web will ultimately negate the need for the filter of journalism?
Moskowitz: Absolutely not. The role of the journalist has and probably will always be secure. Whether [surfers] are professionals seeking business information, or the
general public seeking general information, they still [crave] perspective. And the all-important editing function that journalism provides. Less is more. Today, the
avalanche of information is heavier than ever, which means interpreters are crucial and will continue to be.
PRN: How will the skill sets of media relations counselors have to change as a result of these new technologies?
Moskowitz: If you look at the backgrounds of the majority of senior PR managers - on the corporate side and in agencies worldwide - somewhere north of 75% came out of
newspapers or traditional print media. The industry historically has not been technology-friendly. Just 10 years ago, broadcast terms such as b-roll and uplink were off-putting
for many [practitioners]. This will change. The PR person of this century will have to be first visual, second aural and third a writer. Also, PR people are going to have to
find better ways to measure the effectiveness of their work.
PRN: But wouldn't you say the PR profession is making strides in the measurement arena?
Moskowitz: In some circles, but not others. I'll tell you a true story. About six months ago, a large Fortune 500 company wanted to demonstrate for our research group
their state of the art media measurement system. They brought us into a room filled with boxes and shelves of press clippings. They had a scale and they weighed each box
of releases. I'm not kidding. So one has to question whether the PR community has adequate research to most effectively do its job.
PRN: How will other standard PR practices change as Web technology matures?
Moskowitz: Webcasting is a technique and tool that will be absolutely as common as paper. We've already gone from tape machines to voice mail to wireless cellular
voicemail. It stands to reason that certain communications are better shown than told. Video is going to become the next big thing. Video on your PDA, your phone, and
five or six simultaneous video screens on your PC - it'll be analogous to Bloomberg. They've already proven that we can multitask. So you'll maybe have CNN in one corner of your
screen, a baby monitor or front door security system in another corner, a colleague across the way in a third corner, and you'll be watching a company presentation on the main
screen. Prices for these technologies will continue to fall.
PRN: Will print cease to exist?
Moskowitz: No, video won't be the end all and be all. Email has proven that text is still extremely efficient.
PRN: What about television as we know it?
Moskowitz: We ain't seen television's next trick yet, and that's digital and interactive. Soon we will be able to watch the Ford channel all day, all the time. Or
Merrill Lynch, all day, all the time.
PRN: Why would you want to?
Moskowitz: Maybe you're a customer and you're in the market for a car. Or you want to see what you should be doing about your 401K today. Let's tune in and see what
their analyst has to say about this company or that company.
A lot of companies are beginning to work on multiple platform streaming - on the Web, to your PDA, and on TV with a click of your remote. This will be TV's next big burst,
which we're seeing in Europe already (they are three years ahead of us). The old boy still has a lot of new tricks left in him.
Laurence Moskowitz
Laurence Moskowitz kicked off his career as a reporter for UPI, and now is president, chief executive and chairman of the board of Medialink, which he founded in 1986.
Medialink specializes in video and audio production and distribution, Webcasting services, press release distribution, still photography, news monitoring and analysis. 212/682-
8300. http://www.medialink.com