Comments on: If Your Audience is the Journalist … http://www.marcomblog.com/2005/07/22/if-your-audience-is-the-journalist/ Marcom - Marketing Communications :: PR/Marcom Pros Mentoring Students Thu, 20 Nov 2008 15:35:31 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.2 By: Jessica http://www.marcomblog.com/2005/07/22/if-your-audience-is-the-journalist/#comment-953 Jessica Tue, 06 Sep 2005 20:59:41 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2005/07/22/if-your-audience-is-the-journalist/#comment-953 I agree that blogs can be a valuable tool in communicating with journalists, and consequently forming better relations with journalists. Like Marie, I have been taught to write for journalists, following strict guidelines in format and style. But from those same classes, I have learned of the negative view of the public relations field held by journalism professionals. My professors would occasionally make comments about the tendency of public relations practitioners to cover up the truth. As members of the journalism field, they were proud to be uncovering the truth. Maybe having blogs and posting comments on journalism blog sites could help our credibility. Maybe then, they would see the value in our field and take public relations professionals more seriously. I disagree with Marie when she says that blogs have the potential to be used solely as a promotional gimmick. There is so much more to the public relations field than publicizing. In my opinion, the job of a public relations practitioner is more about the relating aspect of the field. For example, last year I interviewed Jennifer Ryan, an Auburn University public relations alumnus, for my feature writing class. As part of her job at Lee County Red Cross, Ryan is responsible for media relations. She told me about a time in the organization when they were under great financial crisis. To pull the organization out of debt, Ryan contacted the local newspaper about their situation. An article was published in the Easter Sunday paper, and the community responded with an overwhelming amount of support. Ryan told me that if she hadn't taken efforts to let the journalists, and ultimately the community, know about their situation, the organization would have been forced to close its doors. If Ryan had been part of a blogging community, maybe the journalists would have known sooner. Just something to think about. I agree that blogs can be a valuable tool in communicating with journalists, and consequently forming better relations with journalists. Like Marie, I have been taught to write for journalists, following strict guidelines in format and style. But from those same classes, I have learned of the negative view of the public relations field held by journalism professionals. My professors would occasionally make comments about the tendency of public relations practitioners to cover up the truth. As members of the journalism field, they were proud to be uncovering the truth.

Maybe having blogs and posting comments on journalism blog sites could help our credibility. Maybe then, they would see the value in our field and take public relations professionals more seriously.

I disagree with Marie when she says that blogs have the potential to be used solely as a promotional gimmick. There is so much more to the public relations field than publicizing. In my opinion, the job of a public relations practitioner is more about the relating aspect of the field. For example, last year I interviewed Jennifer Ryan, an Auburn University public relations alumnus, for my feature writing class. As part of her job at Lee County Red Cross, Ryan is responsible for media relations.

She told me about a time in the organization when they were under great financial crisis. To pull the organization out of debt, Ryan contacted the local newspaper about their situation. An article was published in the Easter Sunday paper, and the community responded with an overwhelming amount of support. Ryan told me that if she hadn’t taken efforts to let the journalists, and ultimately the community, know about their situation, the organization would have been forced to close its doors.

If Ryan had been part of a blogging community, maybe the journalists would have known sooner. Just something to think about.

]]> By: Marie Lanier http://www.marcomblog.com/2005/07/22/if-your-audience-is-the-journalist/#comment-878 Marie Lanier Mon, 22 Aug 2005 16:23:59 +0000 http://www.marcomblog.com/2005/07/22/if-your-audience-is-the-journalist/#comment-878 That is an interesting statistic to see, especially when I read in a blog online and found more of the statistics (I wasn’t able to find the actual survey, though). I hadn't thought of journalists using blogs to find news before. I know that on some news sites, they do blog as a way of reporting news or going further in depth with opinions and articles (such as those found on foxnews.com) In my journalism classes, we have learned to write for the journalist, so that they will be able to use our information without having to perform edits or find more information, and in my PR classes, we have been taught to approach the media from an angle that is pertinent to them. Currently in our campus PRCA (Public Relations Council of Alabama) chapter, the executive officers have been discussing ways to approach organizations and businesses to find projects to work on. Because it seems that as PR students, we are catering to journalists so often, I forget that they also must seek news and information to perform their jobs. I wonder do they find particular blogs and regularly check them for newsworthy posts, or do they mostly use the blogs when researching for an article. Although I like blogs and can see their benefits, will they just be used as a promotion and publicity gimmick until something new arises or the public gets bombarded with too many blogs and not enough time to use all of them? And we still must remember that many Americans do not have regular Internet access. That is an interesting statistic to see, especially when I read in a blog online and found more of the statistics (I wasn’t able to find the actual survey, though). I hadn’t thought of journalists using blogs to find news before. I know that on some news sites, they do blog as a way of reporting news or going further in depth with opinions and articles (such as those found on foxnews.com)

In my journalism classes, we have learned to write for the journalist, so that they will be able to use our information without having to perform edits or find more information, and in my PR classes, we have been taught to approach the media from an angle that is pertinent to them.

Currently in our campus PRCA (Public Relations Council of Alabama) chapter, the executive officers have been discussing ways to approach organizations and businesses to find projects to work on. Because it seems that as PR students, we are catering to journalists so often, I forget that they also must seek news and information to perform their jobs.

I wonder do they find particular blogs and regularly check them for newsworthy posts, or do they mostly use the blogs when researching for an article.

Although I like blogs and can see their benefits, will they just be used as a promotion and publicity gimmick until something new arises or the public gets bombarded with too many blogs and not enough time to use all of them? And we still must remember that many Americans do not have regular Internet access.

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