The PR/journalist relationship was the main theme of a recent event hosted by the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) Rochester, N.Y. chapter. Two local media professionals and two PR professionals spoke on how the changing media landscape has ultimately impacted a relationship that has long been rife with friction.
Moderating the discussion on how bare-bones staffs, the Web and social media have contributed to greater crossover of these professions was Tom Proietti, professor of communications at Monroe Community College and St. John Fisher College, both schools in Rochester.
Answering his first question regarding a so-called “coming together” of roles was Meghan Backus, a former member of the media and currently a PR supervisor at Highland Hospital. She understands both sides of the media coin and said that when reporters come to cover a story, it’s like having her friends over. Meanwhile, Christine VanTimmeren, juggling several roles as a weekend news anchor, video journalist and producer for WHEC-TV, has now become a one-woman band. As a result, she’s looking for as much material as she can get in one place.
Zack Seward, a multimedia reporter at WXXI-AM/-FM in Rochester, noted that while he believes good PR people are those who are apt at mitigating the conflict that comes between public relations and the media, the thought of the two sides coming together goes against the grain. “I see tension in that relationship and I don’t think that we should be one entity,” he said.
But that’s not to say PR pros don’t play a valuable role. They are “great resources to get facts and numbers; you are the mouthpiece of an organization and we need that,” he said. Meanwhile, organizations like Major League Baseball are actually covering themselves better on MLB.com than other media outlets have been, noted Seward. “I think it will be interesting to see what organizations will say ‘we might do better on our own,’” he said.
But the media shouldn’t get scared that it’s being rendered obsolete just yet. Although the Web and social media have given organizations the means to do some of their own publicity, the media has the reputation and the audience that’s still needed. And for some, traditional formats are still the main vehicle for PR pros to get their news out. “It’s still really important to get stories out in the news because we’re still ramping up our social media,” said Backus.
Although some organizations may still be getting their social media strategy in gear, it has become a requirement at WHEC-TV, noted VanTimmeren, who has landed interviews and contacted PR people through Facebook and Twitter. “Everyone wants to do it [social media] right now. We may not know what we’re doing with it, or how it’s going to go, but we’re doing it,” she said. Meanwhile, both PR people and journalists are facing the same problem: finding out what the online audience wants when it comes to social media, noted Seward.
Regardless of how the media is using social media, the rules are generally changing, noted Proietti. Take something as simple as a photo. In 1980, newspapers like the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle wouldn’t accept a photo from an outside source. That rule no longer applies in a world where newsrooms have diminished.
Although the landscape has changed dramatically, some things remain the same when it comes to the PR/journalist relationship: “Successful PR people flatter you; they know what you cover, they know what you’re interested in,” said Seward. “The ‘pamper me’ element of reporters is definitely there.”
–Katrina M. Mendolera
