Public Relations and Media Industries: Collaboration, Agenda Setting, and Framing

Media liaison is about relationship management, providing information to media outlets to influence editorial coverage positively.
It aims to positively influence how an organization is represented and perceived.
Contemporary PR sees media liaison as a service, offering accurate and reliable information.
Tactics include media releases, pitches, interviews, media kits, online newsrooms, and video news releases.
It's a cornerstone of Grunig's publicity model where PR relies on media to communicate messages.
Traditionally, PR departments were called press officers, indicating their role in providing information to print media.

Media can be considered tertiary or intervening publics: they influence those who have a direct interest (primary and secondary publics).
The media can be targeted to reach ultimate target publics.
In some situations, media can be secondary or primary publics, like influencing important media figures.
This is evident in opinion columns where journalists/presenters are primary or secondary publics.

A difficult relationship exists due to perceptions of PR and media stereotypes.
PR is often seen as spin or puff, one-sided and unbalanced.
Many PR practitioners were ex-journalists, though this is changing with more communication-based courses.
Journalists historically viewed PR with suspicion.
Ethical PR is about providing information, acting as another source for journalists.
Academic research emphasizes the need for collaborative and mutually beneficial relationships.

Technology and citizen journalism challenge the role of media.
Rise of PR professionals as content creators.
Media influences what we think about (agenda setting).
Media liaison remains a key strategy; practitioners need strong media liaison skills.

Owned media: Communication tools controlled by an organization (website, social media, videos, magazines, online newsrooms).
Organizations have complete control over content and distribution.
Paid media: Advertising, advertorials, product placement.
Controlled form of coverage where the organization pays for media space/endorsement.
Earned media: Free media coverage in the form of editorial (newspaper/magazine articles, radio news, TV news).
Earned coverage is more credible and cost-effective than paid advertising.
Editorial coverage is seen as third-party endorsement.
PR practitioners can influence earned media, but the final story is out of their control.
There's no guarantee news will reach the target publics, be read, understood, accepted, or acted upon.
The news-gathering process is complex; stories must pass through many "hoops."

Walter Lippman (1920s): media impacts public opinion.
Shaw and Macomb (1970s): media directs what people think about, not what to think.
Media influences what we think about each day, setting our personal agenda.
Growth of social media challenges traditional media's agenda-setting role.
McNamara: Legacy media (newspapers, TV news) still play a strong agenda-setting role.
News converges from traditional, online, social, owned, and earned media.
Effective media relations means working with the correct journalists and media platforms.
Identify journalists covering relevant areas, get to know them, and provide appropriate information.

Identify relevant media outlets.
Understand their news values.
Know their audience (readers, viewers, etc.).
Ensure synergy between the organization, its publics, and the media outlet.
Understand how newsrooms work, think like a journalist, know terminology, and identify gatekeepers.
Appreciate media deadlines.

Framing: placing a news story in a specific context to construct meaning.
Certain aspects are highlighted, others downplayed.
Different media outlets frame stories differently based on news values, editorial agenda, and audience expectations.
PR practitioners use framing to meet client/organization objectives and media criteria.
Tie stories to current events, issues, or seasonal factors.

News definitions vary by media outlet.
PR practitioners advise on what is newsworthy.
Media outlets use news values to decide which stories to cover.
PR practitioners must adhere to and reflect the news values of targeted organizations.

Media outlets seek newsworthy stories relevant to their audience.
Mahoney: Up to 75% of journalists use PR as a source for stories.
Around half of Australian print media articles are driven by PR content.
Journalists find news through independent research, discussions, and individual sources.
Many story ideas come from PR professionals.
PR practitioners are a legitimate source of information.
Media convergence means journalists need to create more content.
The 24-hour news cycle demands constant content; PR provides story ideas and content.
Critics suggest media outlets are too quick to accept PR content without interrogation, which raises ethical concerns.

Gatekeepers decide what stories are covered and who covers them.
They are often the first point of contact.
Choose the right gatekeeper when approaching a media organization (e.g., news editor or producer for TV, not the news presenter).