Journalists and public relations practitioners have always been known to have an antagonistic relationship with one another. Thus it is important for public relations practitioners not to aggravate the already adversarial relationship. Instead it is crucial for them to win over journalists, most definitely not by bribing them, but by gaining their trust and making their jobs easier.
They can do so by writing press releases in such a way that the news point is at the top. It is important for PR practitioners to remember that they should avoid being too promotional. To do so, a PR personnel will have to think the way a journalist thinks. What is the news value in this? Who are the people involved? When did it happen or when will it take place? Why is this important? How is it going to take place? etc. By thinking and planning along the line of how journalists function, the success rate of getting a media event coverage is much higher. Nitty-gritty details such as the place to hold the convention etc have to be taken into consideration.
Overall this chapter has caused me to realise that at the heart of public relations, it is the ability to cultivate good relationships with people-journalists, the internal and external publics, that is important. Fundamentally, public relations is about achieving an organization's goals while meeting the needs of others involved. PR practitioners are the middle-men involved in balancing and meeting these needs.
1 comment:
It is somewhat true that
"Journalists and public relations practitioners have always been known to have an antagonistic relationship with one another."
However, we cannot deny the fact that PR and journalists have to work together in order for PR to publicise their news and for journalists to obtain first-hand information.
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