The Internet has changed the way PR operates, but it has not eliminated the importance of traditional media: the broadcast networks and print publications that continue to trumpet the nation’s business and public policy agenda. While e-mail may now be the first line of contact between journalists and PR pros, the real work (as noted above) happens on the phone.
The new curve ball in this game is the blogospherethe informal but vast community of online commentators and opinion makersthat is increasingly influencing what the mainstream media considers news. These quasi-journalists are playing more of a role, even if they lack proper credentials, because traditional media is now reading them. As the lines separating mainstream and Internet media continue to blur, it becomes more complicated to determine how to reach people who matter to clients.
For instance, we still follow the tradition that it is best to put news out at the beginning of the week, but that is really more habit than necessity. The tradition stems from when weeklies went to press, but that is less critical now to disseminating a message. As if to underscore this flux, we are watching rates for TV and radio advertising go down and rates for online advertising go up.
One problem with the Internet is that it publishes corporate news verbatim. That may seem like a strange complaint coming from a PR person. We certainly appreciate the direct channel to various audiences, and we relish the ability to provide content to various sites on a regular basisa practice that was less common when a printing press or broadcast outlet figured into the equation. But unfiltered corporate news can diminish the importance of the editorial function. If stories lose the credibility/reliability that independent journalism provides, who is to say what’s newsworthy? Editors play an important role in creating an informed society, and it’s vital that journalism retain its place in this culture. That said, journalism as we have known it is changing. Not to sound anachronistic, but I believe PR as a discipline is very much invested in a system that has worked well for years.
