Lecture 5

Question 1

What are media relations?

Answer 1

“Media relations is the systematic, planned,
purposeful and mutually beneficial
relationship between a public relations
practitioner and a mass media journalist (Supa, 2014)”

Question 2

Why are media relations important?

Answer 2

• brand recognition
• gain attention for new products or services
• tell your side of the story (on an issue)
• influence the coverage of an issue (or organisational crisis)
• minimize media attention to your organisation

Question 3

How do countries differ in media landscape?

Answer 3

• Commercialization (how much of the media is run for profit?)
• Reach (how many people the media actually reach)
• Diversity (how many different viewpoints and types of outlets exist.)
• Partisanship / Independence (to what extent is the media politically biased or indepndent?)
• Media Culture (the norms, traditions, and expectations around journalism and reporting.)

Question 4

How to get media attention?

Answer 4

You can only get media coverage if your story passes the selection process of a journalist or editor (the gatekeeper)
To get through this gate, your story must:
* Fit with the outlet’s identity/purpose
* Have news value (gatekeeper must find it news worthy)

Question 5

Why are most information subsidies ignored and what increases the news value of press release?

Answer 5

Most will be ignored because:
* too much competition
* no to little news value
* no fit with news outlet identity

Increase news value press release, should contain:
* Contreversy
* Surprise
* Negative news
* Well known companies

Question 6

How is the relationship with media explained?

Answer 6

• “Mutual dependency”
• “Teneous (weak) relationship at best”
• Herbert Gans (1980): “the relationship between
  (PR) source and journalist is reciprocal (mutual)”, but who
  is leading the tango?

Question 7

What is Agenda Setting?

Answer 7

Media don’t decide what people think, but decide what people think about.
* Level 1 (issue): what topics matter?
* Level 2 (attribute): what details matter? (substaintial: data, numbers, facts; evaluative: emotional, opinion-based)

Question 8

What is agenda building?

Answer 8

Agenda building is how communicators try to influence what gets covered.

Question 9

How did social media influence the media landscape?

Answer 9

The press and media relations with newspaper/magazines has dropped from most important to least important in the last 15 years, while social media and social networks has gone from least to most important.

Question 10

What can you do with social media?

Answer 10

• Social media listening/analytics
• Web analytics
• Social media management
• Content creation
• Search engine optimalization
• Customer relationships
• Influencer identification
• Influencer management

Social Media enable social
networks to interact faster, and
increase network dynamics.

Enable PR to communicate
with instead of to stakeholders.

Enable PR to communicate
with stakeholders much more
directly.

Question 11

How to build credibility on social media?

Answer 11

• Social Media enable real two-way symetric communication;
• Social Media also stimulate expectations towards organizations.
• How to build credibility via Social Media?
  1. Personal interaction (humanizing communication);
  2. Expertise
  3. Welcoming language
  4. Trustworthyness

Question 12

Does social media make news media irrelevant?

Answer 12

No! (Vögler & Eisenegger, 2021; Van der Meer 2018)

• Hybrid media relations
• Multi-channel strategic communication
• Increased complexity
• Increased two-way symmetrical communication
• Less (?) control, but more influence…