Media Relations
摘要
Media Relations is called Media Relations for a reason: Journalists, bloggers, podcasters, and influencers are key conduits to the organization’s stake(s)holders and audiences, and as is the case in all effective interactions in life, both sides should benefit. Media, traditional and digital, is an industry like any other, making a product that must be sold in a very competitive environment. This applies both externally, in the media marketplace, fighting for a share of the limited capacity of the public to consume; and internally, where several journalists are competing with colleagues at the same media outlet for space, placements, and airtime. So, in our own best interest, we should strive to give them something interesting, relevant, and compelling to their audiences, often in a well-written press release (Chap. 6)—for their readers, listeners, viewers, followers, i.e., for our stake(s)holders. In this chapter, we will remind ourselves of the challenges posed by the Brave New VUCA World (Chap. 2) before reflecting on how to manage media in this challenging setting. Having established earlier (Chap. 6) that earned media is the most valuable type in establishing credibility and building reputation, we discuss what it takes to succeed in this PESO category. Moving once again from theory to practice, a real-world media policy, crucial to staying in control, is presented. And in this context, the subsequent section then deals with media training and the art of the interview. We will next explain what it means to think like a journalist and to know the nature of a good story. In closing, this is followed by a job description of a corporate Head of Media Relations to give an insight into what this role entails.