MEDIA RELATIONS IN

PUBLIC RELATIONS
MEDIA RELATIONS OVERVIEW

WHAT IS MEDIA RELATIONS?

It is the systematic, planned, purposeful and

mutually beneficial relationship between journalists

in the mass media and public relations practitioners
(Supa & Zoch, 2009).
Media relations is an integral part of any public
relations program
MR is done primarily by the public relations
practitioner acting as a credible source for
journalists, respecting the needs of those journalists,
and providing useful information in a timely manner

Whats the difference?

MR is a function of PR.
MR addresses the relationship that firms build up

with journalists, editors and analysts; whereas PR

expands that relationship further to a variety of
publics.
MR staff increase public awareness and
understanding of an organization's activities by
sending information to the media and by inviting the
media to see operations firsthand.

Why MR?
Media relations provides a medium through which

organizations deliver their message.

Effective MR enhances organizations image
Helps organizations in setting the agenda on what
will be said about them in the media.
Gives credibility to news about organizations since
editorials tend to be believed more than adverts.
Editorial provides scope to expand on topics and
provide more in-depth information
You can be more targeted with your communications

What is Media?
The media are extremely influential social agents.
The Media set agenda (McCombs(2000) the media

may not only tell us what to think about, they also

may tell us how and what to think about it, and
perhaps even what to do about it
The Media FRAME issues (what is important)
Traditional media
New Media

What do MR Practitioners Do?

Scheduling interviews
Developing and maintaining a media contact list
Selecting appropriate team members for interviews
Preparing selected team members for interactions

with the media

Escorting media representatives and VIPs
throughout the operational area
Issuing press releases
Gathering and verifying information

What do MR Practitioners Do?

Create a media policy and media risk management

plan.
Run events
Collating media information kits

Good media relations can contribute to longer-term

strategic objectives, such as:

improving company or brand image

higher and better media profile
changing the attitudes of target audiences (such as customers)
improving relationships with the community
increasing market share
influencing government policy at local, national or
international level
improving communications with investors and their advisers
improving industrial relations.

Tools: news release, press conference, informal

media briefing, exclusive interview, media tour,

facility visit, as well as online press office, virtual
press conference and photo call.

Lazarfeld and Katzs (quoted in Wilcox et al. 2003:

213) agenda-setting theory puts forward the idea

that the media determine what people think about.
Cultivation theory contends that what appears in the
news is a mediated reality, as events are packaged
into highlights.
Framing can also magnify the effect of media
dependency