The crisis in the PR field has clearly translated to the world of media and publishing. With dozens of magazines and local papers folding each month, and publications like Forbes, USA Today, NY Times, Cosmo, Conde Nast, and other giants announcing layoffs, it’s no wonder why PR practitioners have to change their approach to creating and sending out news. Relationships established with writers and long lasting editors are fizzling. Most reporters and editors either move onto freelancing writing positions, or early retirement. The news process is in jeopardy, with stories backlogged from previous writers that are waiting to be published for months, tons of story ideas are left of the shelf, and following up has become a nightmare. Adding social media to the mix, news is everywhere, but is it really news? How is this crisis changing the dynamic of the otherwise mutually beneficial relationship between PR people and the almighty press? Is it still almighty with the presence of Twitter and Facebook and other outlets waiting to be born?
I am concerned about news credibility, PR ethics and yellow journalism as the economy continues to affect the future of the media.
Tags: media crisis, Media Relations, news, PR, publishing
What is yellow journalism?
Indeed, hotels are managing their own news publishing more and more, especially through the use of social media . The use of a a third party publication is becoming rare. I understand your questioning and I also wonder how feasible it is for a hotel to be one’s own source?…
What remains then is peer review, and again: how reliable is it?
Thanks for the comment, Melanie! Indeed custom publishing is going through its own crisis. While I think hotels can (and should) be creative enough to identify news stories for their guests, the need for an actual publication is deteriorating, because - aside from cost - it lacks the immediate two-way communication flow that social media have clearly popularized.
And I think that’s where the issues of credibility and resourcefullness both in print and on the web - along with random comments from random audiences - come to play.