The media landscape has changed let’s face it, and for the PR practitioner who’s job depends on good relations with the media, there are some hard truths that they must face in order to consistently secure coverage, gain favour in the newsroom, and promote their own news.
On Thursday 29th June, 2017, Mrs. Shelly Dass- Clarke, media veteran and head of news at Guardian Media Limited (GML) delivered some of these truths to a group of communications professionals in the public sector, eager to learn more about the internal agenda of media houses. What makes the media carry another story over yours, or focus on the controversial angle instead of the one they were invited to cover? It may all boil down to what’s sexy trumping what’s not!
Here are the hard truths about the media that she delivered:
If it’s trending, it’s aired!
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you probably were first alerted through social media that lead singer of Kes the Band, Kees Dieffenthaller cut off his locs in favour of a new curly hairdo. This “news” eventually made it to the websites and social media pages of traditional news organizations because it was current, there was great buzz about it, and because it was wildly shared.
According to Dass-Clarke, she receives data metrics daily at noon and again at the end of the day that informs them of what is trending, what is being shared and what the conversations are about. A review of this data then leads to decisions regarding what news stories get carried. Dass-Clarke admits that gone are the days when editors sit on high thrones and dictates what makes the news. The digital platforms do.
For communications professionals this means that if you invited the media to attend a function that competes with a more appealing or trending story, chances are it will not be covered.
If it’s long and boring it’s booted!
Gone are the days of simply sending a press release that states the who, when, why, what and how of the story and expecting news coverage. The news room wants the bottom line, so get to the point quickly and craft your releases in creative ways that immediately grab attention, Dass-Clarke advises.
She also advises persons to practice submitting NIBs (News in Brief) to the newsroom. With a brief of the major news, the media house immediately gets the key figures, timelines,expenditure and more without having to sift through much fluff. Dass-Clarke once received a press release that was exactly three lines in length and while this does not work each time, where possible provide a summary of the major facts.
Similarly, avoid submitting video of entire speeches or press conferences to the newsroom. Time is limited and again the mission is to get to the point. As such Dass-Clarke advises persons to get their key spokespersons to learn to deliver presentations/speeches in sound bites. Editors are more receptive to receiving these, and it increases your chances of making it to broadcast news.
You have to make it fit!
What makes the news is what’s hot for the day, and things are no longer one-dimensional. The truth is that we all get our news on social media and in that regards Dass-Clarke stated that her media organization now has a news crew and a content crew. The content crew is responsible for doing live streaming, gathering video clips and other every day stories that will also make the organization trend, and receive tons of views and shares. “Random nonsense makes people smile,” she says adding that you now have to make the news fit different markets, different niches and strike a balance.
The media won’t always get it right
In its effort to be more creative with how they cover news and to be the first to carry the story on their websites/social media, the media will sometimes make mistakes. Dass-Clarke admits that news reporting based on social media stories does exist and while journalists have a duty to balance their stories and to do fact-checking, this isn’t always the case.
When mistakes do occur ask for corrections and make sure there is equal coverage. If their report was the cover story, then the correction should be on page three. If a story breaks that is from an opposing view, cites no sources or unauthorized sources that negatively impact your organization, immediately send a press release with a strong headline. Use a NIB to do so stating what was said is inaccurate and why. State your facts- they will run it.
Low hanging fruits get picked
There is such a thing as lazy journalism, Dass-Clarke admits, and it usually takes the form of a request for the speech or the event photos. When a story needs to be done however, it can also take the shape of using the voice or the opinion of the person who is at the time willing and available for the interview, or the low hanging fruit. According to Dass-Clarke the one who is always in your face gets the story! So while your CEO or spokesperson is too busy to answer the call or respond to the text from a journalist, the hard truth is he/she will move on to the person who will.
Media grab at the first one to jump in with an opinion on the topic. Who responds to media calls and questions first, gets the story. This unfortunately leaves communications professionals scrambling to respond and get equal coverage of their story.
Fake media relationships won’t do
We’ve all had to beg a reporter for a favour, either to attend an event when staff is short in the newsroom, to run the photographs we just sent, and a number of things in between. And when times get really pressing, it pays to have someone you can call on who isn’t just the reporter guy you turn to, but also someone you’ve developed a real relationship with. A reporter you’ve built a true relationship with will do the extra bit to help you and your organization out when needed. Like squeezing your story into the newscast or the print publication, or if those deadlines have passed, posting it up as a story on their website or social media pages. According to Dass-Clarke, it takes a lot of humility to ask reporters for help but ask! Additionally don’t rely on the relationship you have with one media house or one reporter, build your contacts across the board and sell them all your stories.
With knowledge of these hard truths that Dass-Clarke has equipped us with, it is imperative that Communications and Public Relations professionals adapt, re-learn, and find new and creative measures to grab the media’s attention.