The changing environment in publishing, reporting, and journalism have shifted they way we communicate to our audience as marketing communications pros.

It could be because, traditionally, nearly 90% of content filtered through media outlets was provided by PR sources anyway.  It may be because, these days, everyone is a reporter of some sort with blogs and self-promoted text.  Or, it might be due to the social media direct-to-consumer revolution that has changed the process of information creation, and content distribution. 

The point is, both the publishing and PR fields still need great writers, and we need great reporters to add credibility to the stories we pitch.  Credibility and high quality content is going through its own crisis right now; so called “experts” and “gurus”  post free, SEO loaded text, making it difficult for the public to distinguish accurate from non-accurate information. 

Media relations is falling into the endangered PR skill set.  While the practice of PR will always remain alive, albeit ever changing, media relations must survive as a tactic for strategic communications.  Five years ago, you could call or email a story idea to a reporter, and gradually build a relationship to place newsworthy stories.  Now, those reporters are laid off doing something else, and we’re left with fewer reporters and outlets to contact.  Those reporters who have survived don’t have much time for many story ideas, because they are so backlogged with other stories.  We’ve ended up pitching bloggers and consumers directly on Facebook, Twitter, and the like.   This tremendous shift in the PR process is an issue that affects most industries across the globe.

If something isn’t done to filter content in a way that factors in credibility and accuracy, this crisis will fully implode… changing not only the manner in which we write, read, and receive content (whether it’s news and/or infotainment), but I expect it will also influence the way the public interprets that content.

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