Why PR just doesn’t need journalists anymore

 

Tweet Written by Danny Whatmough

There’s an rare article about PR in today’s Independent, which lifts the lid on the ‘new PR’:

PRs, who once had to go through the prism of journalism to convey their messages to a mass audience, are increasingly confident in circumventing traditional media altogether. In generating their own video and text-based digital content on behalf of clients, they are not only taking the bread from the table of a weakened advertising sector but encroaching onto the old territory of television and press companies.

Despite much of the article reading like an advert for Edelman (this line for example: “Other PR companies acknowledge the boldness of Edelman’s play”), it nicely recaps the position that PR finds itself in and the potential opportunity that many of us feel exists.

I bang on about this potential opportunity the industry has to really take control in this democratised and fragmented media world we find ourselves in. At a time when brands are quickly waking up to the fact that the ‘push’ marketing of yesterday just doesn’t cut it anymore and that creating intimate relationships directly with end users is not only possible, but is quickly becoming vital for brands.

It’s an exciting time.

                
          
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  • Kerrymg

    Think you've got two words the wrong way round in your title there, should it not read 'why PR doesn't just need journalists anymore'?

    There's also an argument that PR never needed just journalists, they are just one group of stakeholders, or influencers that we worked with. yes, their influence potentially is on the wane, but in a democratized media world, a lot of people will still look to names they know, like the BBC and Bloomberg to give them information they feel they is reliable and trustworthy.

    perhaps but there are many interesting discussions to be had about

  • http://www.dannywhatmough.com/ Danny Whatmough

    Thanks for the comment Kerry. The title is, of course, deliberately provocative ;)

    I guess the point I'm really trying to make is that too many PR agencies etc. have been blinkered by media relations as their sole activity. That is now a shortsighted view. As you say though, it's not either/or.

  • Kerrymg

    hmm, dunno if it is PR agencies are of have been that blinkered. I think that its the outsider view of PR agencies, we all know that it can be difficult to explain what it is we do, and the PRs talk to journalists is an easy concept to hang on to.

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About

This is my story. I've always been fascinated by the internet. My first passion was music and I studied a music degree at Birmingham University. But once graduated I quickly went back to the web working as a digital marketer. I also ran a web startup for a few years. In the need of a new challenge, I turned to the world of PR and now work as an Account Director at EML Wildfire. My interest is primarily looking at how PR professionals can make the most of the web and digital marketing. This blog contains my thoughts and things I find inspirational.

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