Working with the media

- How organizations and institutions are integral sources in gathering information by

journalists.
- The chapter will examine the media systems that influence PR and then turn to the
main form of ‘exchange theory’ used to explore and explain the PR–Media
relationship.

Media environments:
- PR practitioners are increasingly employing or commissioning journalists to produce
that content. This trend sometimes is described as brand journalism, as
organizations draw on journalistic skills of creating stories, distributed through their
own communication channels that attract the attention of the target public.

Exchange theories: the information subsidy

- Exchange theories assume individuals or groups interact with each other by one side
giving something and the other receiving it. In sociology, people can be rational
pursuers of their goals who regularly exchange valuable resources with others if the
transaction is believed to help move towards attaining those goals. For these social
exchanges to: become regular interactions, they need to constitute a mutually
rewarding process for both sides (Blau 1964).

- The significance is that the information subsidy provides a framework for exploring
how PR can reduce the amount of time it takes for journalists to identify topics and
research stories; in exchange, the journalist’s media outlet supplies public attention
to the information and messages that the PR practitioner would wish them to see
(Fengler and Ruß-Mohl 2008).

- ‘Public relations practitioners use information subsidies to systematize their attempts,

on behalf of the organizations and institutions for which they work, to influence media
content and the opinions of those who rely upon the media for information

- Some PR departments, such as government departments (ministries) or global

corporations, publish huge amounts of information, with new exchanges taking place
with journalists on an hourly basis

- PR departments who handle the publication of a large amount of information will, as

much as possible, time announcements to maximum effect. Sometimes this will be to
ensure maximum media coverage for an important or positive event; on other
occasions, practitioners might release stories as a ‘firebreak’ to divert attention away
from other perhaps embarrassing stories. Equally, they will also sometimes pre-empt
 Sunday newspaper exclusives by releasing the story themselves on Friday or
Saturday.

- Message coordination is another strategy: sometimes in the fear that different

employees or representatives will provide journalists with conflicting viewpoints, the
PR team will use internal communications to ensure anyone who speaks to the
media is emphasizing the desired message or narrative.

- The more a journalist is dependent on the information subsidy provided by PR, then
in theory the more there is scope for PR departments to implement proactive, or what
some might consider aggressive, news management strategies.

- In media relations, PR seeks to provide information to journalists which fits with their
concepts of what makes something newsworthy; in public affairs, PR will translate
information to show how it helps policy-makers understand and solve problems
facing society, with the prospect of PR departments gaining a competitive advantage
over their rivals if successful

- This practice includes PR news releases being published in exchange for paid
advertisements in the same media outlet or direct payments to a journalist by a news
source (Tsetsura 2008).

Media systems:
- Inclusiveness of the press market – the importance of differences in terms of how far
the press is only read by local elites, or if they reach a broad audience with an
emphasis on reaching working class and female readers.

- Political parallelism – this is an indicator to compare to what extent journalists see

themselves as being close to and supportive of political parties. In turn, how far do
they allow this support to influence their reporting? This dimension includes the
extent of political bias in news reporting and the degree to which audiences choose
to consume media that fit with their own political preferences.

- Journalistic professionalism – this dimension includes indicators of professionalism.

For example, the degree to which journalists are autonomous – able to report
independently of forces inside or outside of their news organization, i.e. politicians,
advertisers, and media owners – as well as the degree of common ethical standards
and orientation to serving the public interest.

- Role of the state – this more complex dimension centers on the extent and ways in
different countries that the state attempts to intervene and influence the media. The
state can intervene by supporting public service broadcasters such as the BBC, or it
can attempt to help newspapers by providing subsidies. The state might censor and
prevent critical reporting of leaders or their political parties. Many states have rules to
prevent rich individuals or corporations from owning too many newspapers or TV
stations.
How PR can make news reporting faster and cheaper:
- The provision of information, statistics, and fact-checking for journalists: When
researching a story, journalists need to find out or reassure themselves about the
latest facts and research the issue at hand. Often through inter-personal
communications, they receive advice and data from PR practitioners. The
relationship works if the journalist believes the PR practitioner will provide reliable
information and is a legitimate source of expertise on the topic.

- Picture and events: All forms of media, including traditional printed newspapers,
place a high value on securing striking visual images. Strong visuals help tell the
story but can also help increase newsstand sales or lengthen the time an online
visitor spends on their website. Hiring professional photographers or bringing lots of
people together for a public event is costly in terms of both time and money. PR
practitioners know any event that produces quality, perhaps quirky, picture
opportunities will have a good chance of securing coverage in target media.

- Real-life case studies: One highly time-consuming task for journalists is to find real
people who have been affected by the issue in their stories. Not only that, they need
to find real people who will agree to be quoted or filmed talking about this issue. The
task becomes harder as people will be naturally reluctant to talk publicly about some
issues such as personal, financial, or health problems. This explains why PR
practitioners, in advance of issuing a news release or organizing a publicity event,
will work hard on identifying people who are prepared to talk to the media.

- Ideas for stories: PR can also subsidize the creative process of forward planning
future media content. In her 1999 study, Curtin found that, even if they didn’t use any
of their text, journalists were heavily reliant on looking at news releases sent to them
by PR practitioners for ideas for new stories or features (Curtin 1999). This process
also takes place in interpersonal communications between practitioners and certain
journalists who speak on a regular basis. These form opportunities to float or pitch
story ideas to the journalist. This process widens involvement in the forward planning
process and would be a significant cost to the media organization if they had to pay
for this creative advice coming from PR.

- Interviews and quotes: A typically structured news story will include quotes from
relevant people, including senior leaders in organizations involved in the event. PR
speeds up the process of asking for a quote in response to an issue or story by
supplying and distributing these quotes. Many organizational news releases consist
just of a quote from a senior figure responding to a news event. Longer-form
interviews are also a regular media format and the process of finding and organizing
these interviews can be simplified and accelerated by PR practitioners.
Agenda setting and framing:

Agenda setting:
- Agenda setting attracted interest and became credible because there appeared to
be a strong link between issues that were prominent in news media and how
audiences ranked the importance of issues that faced society

- media content does not successfully tell audiences what to think, but can be
stunningly successful in telling audiences what to think about. But, as we will see, the
power to influence what audiences think about, in the right circumstances, will also
impact what they believe should happen about that issue.