PUBLIC RELATIONS, JOURNALISM & THE INTERNET: A GAME-CHANGER?

BY A LY S S A PA L LO TT I , M E G A N R U T KO W S K I & A L I TAG E R

WHAT IS PUBLIC RELATIONS?

The business of inducing the public to have

understanding for and goodwill toward a person, firm, or

institution

Merriam Webster Dictionary

THE EVOLUTION OF PR: LAST 50 YEARS

http://www.dipity.com/SEUPRclass/The_history_of_public_relations_in_the_U_S/

We will view the interactive timeline above.

Edward Bernays & Ivy Lee first coined the term “public

relations”

Originally used to promote wars,

politics, religion, and products

THE EVOLUTION OF PR: LAST 50 YEARS

PR became more

sophisticated

Government and Hollywood

supported PR

Schools & professional

associations established

Women entered field

Corporations and activists began to utilize PR

Code of ethics established

Began being used for planning & preventionrevention

THE EVOLUTION OF PR: RECENT YEARS

“A poll of 450 PRSA Counselors Academy members listed mastering social media as one of the most

important things for PR practitioners to do in 2010”-proactivereport.com

THE EVOLUTION OF PR: 1.0 VS 2.0

1 . 0• Traditional press

releases

• Pitch letters

• Directly from company to journalists & mainstream media

• Communication from sender to receiver only

2 . 0• Blogs/Microblogs

• Photosharing sites

• Bookmarking sites

• Social networks

• All multimedia

• Linkable text

• Video/audio

• Shared comments

• 2 way communication: sender to receiver, feedback from receiver

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT THE CURRENT ENVIRONMENT?

PR has taken a lead in strategic communications due to its ability to adapt to consumers’ changing values

The internet and cell phone technology have led to two way dialogues between consumers and companies

“Because of the way we all connect these days - ideas and news - good and bad – spread far faster than the word of mouth PR sought to create in the good old days”- The Nation

WHAT CAN WE EXPECT FOR THE FUTURE OF PR?

Communicating on a smaller scale, individual mindset more important than audience mindset

Customer service intertwined more with PR

Will become more proactive than reactive

Educational training will be geared more towards social media but will still touch upon traditional styles

WHAT ARE PEOPLE SAYING ABOUT TRADITIONAL TOOLS?

D E A D

• Press releases are nearly useless

• Journalists can write stories just based on snippets from PR practitioners

• The need for “Tweets” has surpassed the need for press releases

• It is said that the press release died in Summer 2010

A L I V E

• Nearly 75% of journalists enjoy email press releases if content is “high quality & well-targeted” (750 journalists in 15 countries)

• Can use social media releases and traditional releases to complement each other

• Stakeholders & investors still need information through press releases

• Not everyone is on Twitter!

THREE AREAS OF CHANGE IN PR

1. Audience Feedback• Typically, messages were sent as follows: Company PR Team

Journalist Public• Now, audiences can give feedback to companies through forums,

etc.2. Social Media• Allows companies to communicate constantly with global

audiences efficiently• All participants can participate in communication with consumers

and clients• Can control own image

3. Proactive Strategy• Companies are taking initiative to promote positive programs

rather than waiting to respond to a crisis

PR VS. JOURNALISM: THE GREAT DEBATE

Journalists think public relations practitioners “spin” stories to make their companies look better, creating a lack of trust

Public relations

people believe

journalists treat

them with

suspicion and

that they twist

their honest

words when

reporting

They must work together because they have a mutually dependent

relationship.

WHAT IS JOURNALISM?

The collection and editing of

news for presentation

through the media.

Merriam Webster Dictionary

THE EVOLUTION OF JOURNALISM: LAST 50 YEARS

The New York

TimesUSA Today

The Los Angeles TimesThe Wall Street

Journal

The Washington Post

WHAT WAS JOURNALISM TRADITIONALLY?

Journalists controlled:

- What became news

- How it would be reported

- How it would be delivered

“We write, you read.”

HOW HAS JOURNALISM EVOLVED?

WHAT IS CROWDSOURCING?

The practice of obtaining needed

services by soliciting

contributions from a large group

of people… rather than from

suppliers .

Merriam Webster Dictionary

HOW HAS THE ‘CROWD’ EVOLVED?

Robert Park characterized the crowd as an “unthinking herd.”

Mob mentality

more powerful

than individual

thought and

action

HOW DOES CROWDSOURCING WORK?

1.) The public performs general observation.

2.) The public breaks news.

3.) The public conducts

investigative work.

WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN JOURNALISM?

Move to online material being primary source

this trend would not be occurring if it were not for the growing favoritism of technology to be the main source of news and communication.

WHAT ARE 3 AREAS OF CHANGE IN JOURNALISM?

Online Material

Pay for material

Ability for public to create and report news

WHAT ARE 3 IMPLICATIONS FOR JOURNALISM?

Losing subscribers

Less reliance on major news sources

Shift in ways and medium of getting information out

WHAT IS A PAYWALL?

A website that restricts access to certain content only to

paid subscribers.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

- $15 for a four week subscription- online + app

- $20 every four weeks- online + tablet

- $35 every four weeks- ALL ACCESS20 free articles a month for free

March 28, 2010

WHAT ARE THE PROS OF THE TIMES’ PAYWALL?

Without consistent source of revenue no company can afford to give away its material for free indefinitely

Advertisers pay more for ads on a site where people pay to get on

WHAT ARE THE CONS OF THE TIMES’ PAYWALL?

People find ways to get around it“?gwh=numbers” from the URL.Users get 25 free articles per day through search engines

Unlimited access to articles when accessed through social networking sites

Few Subscribers

Lower traffic on

site

WHAT IS ASTROTURFING?

A form of advocacy in

support of a political or

corporate agenda designed

to disguise the efforts of a

political/commercial party.

The word is a derivative of AstroTurf, a synthetic brand of carpeting designed to look

like natural grass.

WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF ASTROTURFING?

The Los Angeles Times v. Microsoft

Comcast v. Big Ten Network

Lifestyle Lift v. New York State

Business Week vs. ASK Public Strategies

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF

JOURNALISM?

WORKS CITED

http://www.nytimes.com/subscriptions/Multiproduct/lp5558.html?campaignid=37Y87

http://www.reportr.net/2010/10/15/impact-crowdsourcing-journalism/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CbiMXV8U4M

http://becky-johns.com/2011/future-of-pr-sxsw/

http://mashable.com/2010/07/23/internet-journalism-survey/

http://www.hieran.com/netpr/netpr.pdf

http://www.proactivereport.com/c/pr/pr-trends-in-2010-the-future-of-pr/

www.proactivereport.com

http://www.dipity.com/SEUPRclass/The_history_of_public_relations_in_the_U_S/