Journalists vs Social media
Are journalists still alive?
Traditional media is owned by
journalists. They select which stories to run and when it should run. They would not tell you whether they have selected your story or not. The public relations practitioner has to evaluate the story by going through the publication that is suppose to have his/her article.
The need for Journalists
Journalists are able to make use of their
editing techniques to ensure that the article the
public relations practitioner has written suits the publication and its readers. However, what may suit the publication or the readers may not suit the public relations practitioners and the organisation they respresent. Companies get furious if they are not satisfied with the message sent to the public. Therefore, it is advisable to write your article in a way that there is no room for an editor to add or subtract anything. At some point the public relations practitioner has to write an article to suit the journalists's requirements and not according to the way they want it. Journalists have more power when the articles is on their hands or when there is bad publicity-have a good relationship with journalists and have them on your media list to keep them up-to-date with your company news before they find other resources. Watch the video below to see how an article is edited.
The turn to web 2.0
This web generation has not only changed the way in which we communicate to people around the world but it has also changed the way businesses get their messages across and how they do business. Through the use of the internet we are able to make use of search engines and be part of communities on social networks. One is able to find a job on-line by making use of
gumtree or
careers24. Businesses are now able to post most of the things they could have published on print media on their websites or on any social media channels.
The following are what businesses can post on their websites:
- Company history
- Newsletters or electronic magazines
- Vacant posts
- Sponsorships
- Their community development activities
- Policies
- Management and employees profile
- Announcements
- Media releases
- Reviews Watch the video below to see how you can create your own website
The world of Social Media
According to
Thomas H Bivins in the book "
public relations writing" about 56% of the people make use of social networks. The fact that more than half of the public are using social networks, makes it the best platform to get your message across. The middleman that used to stand between public relations practitioners and their public has been cut off and the money used to advertise their products or services has been saved too.
"The internet is not keeping everyone informed because of lack of access,misinformation and disinformation"
There are certain information that people make up such as some information on
encyclopaedia or the
Ask( ask and get an answer but the answers are from ordinary internet users or non experts). There are people who still depend on print media because they probably don't have access to the internet or it is much easier to read on print than on your laptop, According to
Jakob Nielsen "web readers read 25% slower than print readers".
Do we still need journalists if social media can do more? Leave your comments below.
