Week 7
I think the important points to remember from this week's readings were that when publicising a campaign or event or a client it is integral to have a consistent relationship with media outlets. As Johnston states in this weeks reading,
“At any level, dealing with the media is an integral part of much public relations activity, and its impact should never be under-estimated.” (p260)
Because if a public relations practitioner under-estimates the power of the media they may ultimately destroy what they set out to achieve by disregarding important outlets for publicity. In Australia the media is condensed into three media monopolies, Fairfax, Murdoch and Packer. Thus when considering promoting nationally, influential media contacts in these three monopolies will drastically enhance your opportunities for reaching a wider audience and thus aid in your promotion. Though, in the current technological climate it has become more and more frequent that public relation practitioners are looking to reach niche audiences, and thus target the promotion at a certain demographic.
When sending out information to media outlets it is important to present the material in a manner that will make it easy for the journalist to include it in their publication. Thus when sending media releases and media kits public relation practitioners must be considerate of the type of publication and what will grab the journalists’ attention. For example, sending a printed media release to a television station with no attached pictures or video will significantly diminish the chances of being aired because the television is a visual medium and basic text is not interesting enough in most cases.
The readings made me think more about public relations theory/practice in that these days the options for presenting information and promoting a campaign or event are endless, hence finding the right way to reach your audience is hence becoming an important public relations skill.
Also they made me think about how public relations practice is very much about the management of relationships and the maintenance that is involved with keeping a consistent relationship with important media journalists and publications. After all, the good reputation of a public relations practitioner is hard to rebuild after it has been tainted by betrayal.
1 comment:
Your blog for this week was very detailed, covering many important aspects of the readings for this week. The quote that you contained within your blog from Johnston was well placed, reflecting the importance of media outlets to public relations practitioners and their campaigns. I think that many people do under estimate the importance of the media in an effective public relations campaign, and your blog reinforced this notion.
I also agree with your point “When sending out information to media outlets it is important to present the material in a manner that will make it easy for the journalists to include it in their publication”. This point is crucial for public relations practitioners to understand, as if they present information that is hard for the journalist to present to their audience, they are much less likely to include and publish it.
I think your reflection on the readings for this week were really insightful and well planned.
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