Well, although new media and PR is a very interesting topic I have decided to shift the focus of my blog to Public Affairs.
The reason for this is because Public Affairs is my main focus at the moment as I have just started a module in the same topic and also because it is one of the fasting growing areas of PR. I will be looking at the ethics involved in PA and will also examine some case studies.
I am mid-way through reading "The Ultimate Spin Doctor - The Life and Fast Times of Tim Bell" by Mark Hollingsworth which is very interesting so far although as it is written chronologically it is mainly about his early career in advertising and his relationship with Saatchi and Saatchi rather than his later career in political PR advising.
I will return to review the book at a later date.
Friday, 26 January 2007
Monday, 15 January 2007
Convergence
Another PR trend that happens to be directly related to my field of work is convergence.
I first started working in the communications industry about 4.5 years ago when there was a clear divide between TV, radio and telecommunications.
Now, however, we have BT offering TV and BSkyB offering broadband. All of these changes mean that PR practioners will have to alter the way in which they work to communicate with their public.
We have numerous 24 hour news channels, websites such as You Tube, newspapers, magazines etc constantly bombarding us with information so PR people will have to focus on designing the best message and using the most appropriate method of distribution. Messages will need to become more targeted to reach the desired audience and evaluation of what works will become more important in public relations.
I first started working in the communications industry about 4.5 years ago when there was a clear divide between TV, radio and telecommunications.
Now, however, we have BT offering TV and BSkyB offering broadband. All of these changes mean that PR practioners will have to alter the way in which they work to communicate with their public.
We have numerous 24 hour news channels, websites such as You Tube, newspapers, magazines etc constantly bombarding us with information so PR people will have to focus on designing the best message and using the most appropriate method of distribution. Messages will need to become more targeted to reach the desired audience and evaluation of what works will become more important in public relations.
Sunday, 14 January 2007
Saddam Hussein
I managed to miss the media frenzy surrounding the hanging of Saddam Hussein (the joys of being in Thailand with infrequent internet and newspaper access) but returned to work to find out that the office was inundated with journalist calls (which I would have normally handled) about the coverage on UK television.
This well-written, informative article by Ray Snoddy highlights the difficulties that broadcasters face when using citizen journalism http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2132898.ece and calls into question whether there should be different rules for different types of media. I look forward to seeing how this argument develops, particularly in light of the AVMS Directive in Europe regarding the regulation of TV on the internet. http://www.out-law.com/page-7608
This well-written, informative article by Ray Snoddy highlights the difficulties that broadcasters face when using citizen journalism http://news.independent.co.uk/media/article2132898.ece and calls into question whether there should be different rules for different types of media. I look forward to seeing how this argument develops, particularly in light of the AVMS Directive in Europe regarding the regulation of TV on the internet. http://www.out-law.com/page-7608
Monday, 18 December 2006
Blogging Continued
I came across this article today by chance http://http://www.ofcom.org.uk/bulletins/comp_bull_index/comp_bull_ocases/open_all/cw_838/ and I think it adds weight to my view that blogging is certainly a new PR trend but it also highlights the importance of companies keeping up to date with their blogs.
Carphone Warehouse already have such a bad reputation for poor customer service that Charles Dunstone certainly hasn't done himself any favours!
But as for it being a no-no for Chief Executives to employ somebody else to write their blog - I simply can't see any Chief Executive having the time to spend on blogging so it will be interesting to see how this develops over the next 12 months.
Carphone Warehouse already have such a bad reputation for poor customer service that Charles Dunstone certainly hasn't done himself any favours!
But as for it being a no-no for Chief Executives to employ somebody else to write their blog - I simply can't see any Chief Executive having the time to spend on blogging so it will be interesting to see how this develops over the next 12 months.
Thursday, 7 December 2006
Citizen journalism
Citizen journalism is also something to consider when thinking about PR trends. Dan Gillmor thought it important enough to quit his day job to set up a site devoted to it http://citmedia.org/blog/.
Citizen journalism is essentially viewer accounts and pictures of events that can be considered news. They are becoming increasingly more common as technology advances and everybody has a mobile phone with decent megapixels.
In the aftermath of the July terrorist attacks in London in 2005 these pictures and witness accounts were vital for the BBC, Sky etc to be able to provide up to the minute information for the millions of TV viewers and web users watching the events unfold. And more recently there have been advertisements in the newspapers - in particular the red tops - offering to pay readers for their pictures and news stories.
While there are ethical questions to be answered, with mobile group Three entering into a partnership with ITN and Sky earlier this year to feed in viewer news clips, it seems that citizen journalism is on the increase.
So what does this mean for PR? Well it's not good news. With newspapers able to go directly to readers for news stories it means there is less opportunity for PR people to get their news into the papers. PR practitioners will need to work harder and look at ways in playing these citizen journalists at their own game http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2006/02/10_flickr_hacks.html.
Citizen journalism is essentially viewer accounts and pictures of events that can be considered news. They are becoming increasingly more common as technology advances and everybody has a mobile phone with decent megapixels.
In the aftermath of the July terrorist attacks in London in 2005 these pictures and witness accounts were vital for the BBC, Sky etc to be able to provide up to the minute information for the millions of TV viewers and web users watching the events unfold. And more recently there have been advertisements in the newspapers - in particular the red tops - offering to pay readers for their pictures and news stories.
While there are ethical questions to be answered, with mobile group Three entering into a partnership with ITN and Sky earlier this year to feed in viewer news clips, it seems that citizen journalism is on the increase.
So what does this mean for PR? Well it's not good news. With newspapers able to go directly to readers for news stories it means there is less opportunity for PR people to get their news into the papers. PR practitioners will need to work harder and look at ways in playing these citizen journalists at their own game http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2006/02/10_flickr_hacks.html.
Sunday, 3 December 2006
RSS Feeds
Keeping up with websites can be time consuming. RSS feeds are a relatively new feature which lets people keep up to date with the latest information on their favourite sites without having to take the trouble to visit them all.
An RSS feed is a summary of the latest additions to a website and your PC lets you know when new feed becomes available. You can then click through and visit the website and read the full version.
No-one is really sure what RSS stands for but the most people agree on Really Simple Syndication.
RSS is also an international standard, and is rapidly growing in popularity. It is becoming more popular because it makes keeping up to date with the sites you like quick and easy.
More and more organisations are utilising RSS as a PR tool as it means if people choose to receive an RSS feed from their site then they are more likely to see their latest news release or report. There are some in the PR industry who see this as a negative impact on the PR industry. But I think it means that PR people will have to focus more on niche markets rather than the mainstream so they will maybe have to work harder and smarter but it won't put them out of business entirely.
An RSS feed is a summary of the latest additions to a website and your PC lets you know when new feed becomes available. You can then click through and visit the website and read the full version.
No-one is really sure what RSS stands for but the most people agree on Really Simple Syndication.
RSS is also an international standard, and is rapidly growing in popularity. It is becoming more popular because it makes keeping up to date with the sites you like quick and easy.
More and more organisations are utilising RSS as a PR tool as it means if people choose to receive an RSS feed from their site then they are more likely to see their latest news release or report. There are some in the PR industry who see this as a negative impact on the PR industry. But I think it means that PR people will have to focus more on niche markets rather than the mainstream so they will maybe have to work harder and smarter but it won't put them out of business entirely.
Monday, 27 November 2006
Blogging
There are approximately 57 million blogs according to recent figures by Technorati (http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000443.html). Given that this figure by far exceeds newspaper circulations it makes sense that PR people are jumping on this technological bandwagon to try and gain more exposure for their clients.
So what are the benefits of blogging? And will it spell the end for traditional media?
Blogging enables companies to inform and educate their audiences and to be able to manage issues as they arise. They are great for creating dialogues with potential customers as well as a good way of gleaning consumer insights about your company. It also cuts out the middle-man who is able to question and change what you say – the journalist.
However, it does only take one person with a complaint or a grudge against your company and before you know it you have lots of angry customers on your hands. These complaints don’t just disappear either. Lots of hits means good search engine optimisation and complaints can hang around on the internet for a very long time.
As newspaper circulation figures fall and computer usage – especially amongst young people – rises, can we expect to start seeing newspapers folding? The latest newspaper ABC figures certainly go some way in supporting this (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,1782,00.html) and it will be worth keeping an eye on the Technorati figures to see how this trend progresses.
So what are the benefits of blogging? And will it spell the end for traditional media?
Blogging enables companies to inform and educate their audiences and to be able to manage issues as they arise. They are great for creating dialogues with potential customers as well as a good way of gleaning consumer insights about your company. It also cuts out the middle-man who is able to question and change what you say – the journalist.
However, it does only take one person with a complaint or a grudge against your company and before you know it you have lots of angry customers on your hands. These complaints don’t just disappear either. Lots of hits means good search engine optimisation and complaints can hang around on the internet for a very long time.
As newspaper circulation figures fall and computer usage – especially amongst young people – rises, can we expect to start seeing newspapers folding? The latest newspaper ABC figures certainly go some way in supporting this (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/section/0,,1782,00.html) and it will be worth keeping an eye on the Technorati figures to see how this trend progresses.
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