chapter9

This is PR 11th Edition Newsom, Turk and Kruckeberg

Chapter 9

Communication Channels and Media


Objectives• To appreciate the range of communication channels and

media in the 21st Century, consider the implications for public relations and examine how innovations in communication technology offer potential public relations opportunities, for example, in relationship building

• To recognize distinctions between advertising and public relations messages and the channels and media that are appropriate for each type of communication

• To understand the need for and use of strategies in preparing publicity messages

• To develop a sensitivity about the unique strengths and weaknesses that each type of message and medium has for public relations message dissemination


Channels

• Public or private paths for messages• To and from various publics• Media that convey messages in those

channels


Public vs. Private Channels

• Public channels dominated by mass or specialized media available to anyone who subscribes, tunes in

• Private channels more commonly directed to a particular chosen audience

• Channels frequently categorized as print or electronic, internal or external, controlled or uncontrolled


Choosing the Medium

• Based on objective, audience, message content, timeliness and budget

• Generally a mix of media is used• Degree of control is usually a factor• Production costs and cost effectiveness

also need to be considered


Selecting the Proper Medium• What audience are you trying to reach, and how receptive is

it to each medium?• When do you need to reach this audience, and by what date

does it need to receive a message to respond to it?• Which medium reaches the broadest segment of your

target/priority audience at the lowest cost?• How much do you need to spend, and how much can you

afford to spend?• Which medium has the highest credibility with your audience

and at what cost?• Which medium can you count on to deliver the message

within the necessary time constraints?• Should a single medium be used, or multiple?


Advertising vs. Publicity

• Major distinction is economic• Advertising is paid, purchased space or time in

broadcast or print media, and now on the Web– May be a medium’s own space used to promote

its own programs or messages– May be space donated to a nonprofit cause

• Publicity is news about a client, organization, product or service that appears in the time or space the media use for information, news, programming


Advertising Used in PR Practice

• House ads• Public service announcements (PSA)• Institutional ads (advertorials, infomercials,

advocacy ads)


Commercial Advertising by Nonprofits

• Sometimes pay for space rather than just using donated space

• Advantage of paying is greater control over timing, placement and content


Global Advertising Considerations

• Difficult to adapt advertising pitch from local to global market

• Language, culture, tone must be tailored for each locale and audience


Advertising in Other Forms

• Specialty advertising• Podcasts• Cooperative advertising• Advertising by professionals (lawyers, etc.)• Advertising in foreign languages spoken by

intended audiences


Advertising as Controlled and Uncontrolled Communication

• Controlled advertising (paid)– Advertiser has nearly total control over

message, context (size, shape, etc.), timing– Advertiser has access to extensive media

research on audience• Uncontrolled advertising (donated, PSA)

– Advertiser controls content but not timing– Audience reach, coverage not certain


Advertising’s Uncontrollable Problems

• Good ideas are imitated• Free, PSA ads are often placed in

undesirable locations, time slots• There are campaigns that attack the

competition• There is the myth of “one size fits all”

advertising across borders, cultures


What is Publicity?

• Information carried as editorial content in a medium

• Often news, but can be promotional• News media depend on PR people to

provide news they want, need and will use• “News subsidies” from PR people to

journalists


Publicity Tools

• Publications– Organizational– Industry– Trade or association

• Sponsored magazines• Newsletters (internal or external)• Handbooks (usually for employees)


Publicity Tools (cont.)

• Film/video (sponsored films, corporate videos, internal videos)

• Feature fillers• Cable and digital media (teletext, intranet)• Speeches, meetings• Product or logo placements in films, on

merchandise• Corporate books, museums, exhibits


Controlled Publicity

• Controlled media– Company, industry, trade and association

publications under an editor’s control– If you’re the editor, they are controlled– If you’re submitting, but are not the editor,

they’re uncontrolled• Magazines, brochures, newsletters, videos

you produce for your organization or a client are controlled


Uncontrolled Publicity

• News releases: you may control until they are in the hands of an editor, but then they are uncontrolled

• Tip sheets, fact sheets, queries: you lose control once they are in the hands of the media


Direct Publicity to Audiences

• Prepared for dissemination directly to desired public/audience– Organizational publications– Annual report the “signature” piece

produced by an organization– Electronic communication such as

intranet, videos, closed-circuit TV


Publicity Through Mass Media

• Uncontrolled: used at the discretion of news editors

• Print publicity: news releases, coverage of an event, interviews

• Use of e-mail for distribution


Bad vs. No Publicity

• Bad publicity: attributed to errors by management, poor planning, bad policies

• No publicity: attributable to ineffective PR staffer


Six Rules for Publicity• Make sure the information is appropriate to the medium in

content and style and is timely• Check all facts carefully for accuracy, and double-check for

missing information• Provide name and contact information of PR person for

journalists to contact if they have questions• Include appropriate photographs and identify people and the

organization with names, addresses and phone numbers• Never call to find out why a news story or photo was not

used• Don’t request clippings if a news story or photo is published


Media Relations Tips

• Don’t forget alternative media• Observe local customs in interacting with

journalists• Prepare separate, specific materials for

broadcast (which takes considerable knowledge of broadcast media)

• In addition to spot news, consider documentaries, talk shows and news features for TV


Media Relations Tips (cont.)

• Consider the hybrid media of direct mail, email,etc. where the recency, frequency and cost are significant factors in deciding whether to use

• Consider new digital media, from touch-screen kiosks to websites to search engines, that can be the “right” media for certain audiences


Pros and Cons of Interactive/Digital Media

• Publics can be defined and targeted more precisely

• Digital media lend themselves to reliable monitoring and evaluating

• Their instantly global nature makes spreading rumors and falsehoods easy

• Organizations are easily attacked by rogue sites

chapter9

Documents

edition newsom

advertising pitch

economic advertising

pr people tojournaliststhis

pr people toprovide

media use

promotional news media

controlled publicity