In a post by Cnet blogger Charles Cooper, the topic of the general use and distribution of a PR news release was discussed. His viewpoint is highlighted below and is interesting food for thought:
How should one measure the value of corporate PR against the coverage it subsequently engenders? A few years ago, that question never would have merited more than a moment's consideration. Here was the way things worked: Flacks sent out releases, the press decided what was important, and readers read what was deemed newsworthy. End of "story."
That's ancient history. During the course of any 24-hour news cycle, PR releases often rank higher on news aggregation pages like TechMeme than do professionally reported articles or blog items. I began noticing the shift about a year ago, and it's only becoming more pronounced.
The value of news is never going to go away, but the definition has changed. Laura Sturaitis, a senior vice president over at Business Wire, told me that in the last couple of years, her firm has pushed its clients to gussy up their press releases by including video or photos with text. It also has encouraged the use of bolding and bullet points, with an eye toward helping releases compete more successfully against other Web pages, when it comes to readers' attention.
"This is stuff that people like to read online," she said. "We're not talking about the content, but the format...so the page becomes a portal or mini Web page to other kinds of information. This is a new way to tell a story."
Maybe it's not a question screaming to get put on the docket of the Oxford Union, but let's not kid ourselves. Definitions are morphing, and there's a risk of blurring the line between press releases and news. Or, I should add, a theoretical risk.
With people getting more information from more different sources than ever before, the reading public is smart enough to discern the difference. The company is not the final word. Instead, it's the start of an ongoing conversation. I can't speak for most of you, but I think we can agree that the more voices, the better.
***
If you're still wondering why the media world is getting turned on its head, consider the following anecdote.
A few years back, representatives from the Industry Standard, Wired, and Upside were invited to a public-relations gathering to talk about how they decide what to cover. After they finished their prepared remarks, a young woman in the audience stood up to ask a question.
"You talk a lot about tricks and tips on what we should do," she said. "But I've done all that and I still can't get you to cover my clients."
The reporter from Upside recognized the opening and rammed a Mack Truck right through it. "Ma'am," he replied, "you need better clients."
So much for winning hearts and minds.
When I heard that story, I bolted upright. Talk about tone-deaf arrogance. Would it surprise anyone if that woman is still seething today? So it is that she may take belated pleasure in knowing how the PR industry has since found ways to go around the gatekeepers.
On Thursday, I put up a post commenting on how raw PR releases increasingly rank higher on feeds and Web aggregation sites than reports from professional reporters and bloggers. In the subsequent 24 hours, my in-box filled up with messages from public-relations pros weighing in on my blog. The Reader's Digest version? I don't know the half of it.
"The truth is that there are fewer and fewer of you guys," said a veteran PR-meister I know who works for one of the bigger technology companies. "You can't call the same reporter and expect him to do five stories on your company in the same month. So we have to have other ways to get out that information."
"Search engine optimization and other tools we have are better than they used to be and we're just taking advantage of the technology," this person continued. "We can go direct to audiences and bypass the filters--like the media--and have it picked up."
No comments:
Post a Comment