Media Relations
"We can't quite decide if the world is growing worse, or if the reporters are just working harder." -The Houghton Line
The media are both a constituency and a conduit through which investors, employees, and consumers recieve information about and form images of a company. With the technology that we have today, companies are under constant examination from many of their constituencies. It is important for companies to have a good relationship with the media. One way to establish this relationship would be to have an experienced media relations department. Some companies cannot afford a department focusing on media relations, if that's the case there are always consultants that focus solely on media relations. As technology develops new channels for relaying information throughout our future, media relations will continue to grow. In today's news, you hardly ever see a story about something positive. It seems like the worse the news is about a company or person the more likely it is going to become a major story, whether the information is true or false.
Examples in today's society:
This example explains how media can help or hurt a company. A company can use the media for its own promotion and advertising. Wall street journal is contemplating on doing a story on Apples "all you can eat" itunes television. This television plan will consist of WSJ, CBS, and Disney adding an entire lineup of shows for just one single fee. This fee will be paid once and you are able to view any shows you want on these networks, at any time. This story will obviously help Apple tremendously and hurt local cable companies. You can read more on this here- www.theappleblog.com
Experience:
I don't have a personal experience here but I have another example where I personally saw an advertisement for a business that hurt another business. For example, I don't know if anyone is familiar with the Nuva Ring advertisements for birth control but I was watching television the other day and witnessed a law firm advertisement focusing on the side effects on Nuva Ring. The advertisement asked for people having blood clot, stoke, or heart attack from taking Nuva Ring to contact their lawfirm immediately. This is obviously an example of how an advertisement for a company can effect another company. Do you have any experiences where you saw the media help and hurt companies? An example of this advertisement is found here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9mYEoDbSqI
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Just as we have discussed in class this week, companies are constantly under the eye of the media it seems like. Not only are they constantly under this eye of scrutany, they have to worry about how the media will portray any issue that comes up. The blog mentioned about how the media turns many issues into something more than what they really were. This can be scary for the company and for the public watching these things play, because no one is getting the whole truth.
ReplyDeleteI believe that just as Trevor mentions in the blog, as the technology developes company's should really try and create good relations with the media. This way the companies will not be trying to keep things under wraps and the media will not makes things worse than what they are.
I think you did a good job by depicting the media from the view point of the public as well as the society. The main thing here to keep in mind is that usually media organizations are in the field of business. Business means deriving profit and hence these media companies except for some public ones are focussed on making profit for their stakeholders through their techniques of transferring information between the public.
ReplyDeleteAs such we have to keep this in mind that if situation arises where they have a chance to make a huge profit, they will defintely do it no matter they have to present false informations for it.
It is always suggested to keep a healthy relations with the media because it is believed if you have the media in your hand then the world is in your hand.
As they say "offense is the best defense". With the media, you always have to be ahead of the game. In most (if not all) cases, whenever journalists or special interest groups attack some giant corporation, they have something to gain. Special interest groups need donors to fund their operations. In fact, many times, they're funded by corporations who stand to benefit from their advocacy. On the other hand, the media craves the ratings from a juicy story.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEvery contraceptive method has its own side effects and I do not think that Nuva Ring advertisement is too offensive for the "targeted" company. The company which advertises for this topic may want to illustrate their dedication and profession to help the clients to fight against the health care issues. Now it is the time for Nuva Ring producers have to stand out and do some more research to prove and reduce the side effects to zero. Anyway, it is a very good example to use to suit the slogan “offensive is the best defense” and how each company manipulates media in order to survive in the industries.
ReplyDeleteThis issue also relates another issue regarding to the corporate social responsibility. It is important to make things clear about the product safety and its side effects. However, sometimes it may lead to panicking situations to the whole society if the matters or rumors are extensively advertised. Products and services are created for the social welfare. If the people in the society are resisting in using certain products or services because of improper advertising, who is going to take the consequences? Is it government, the business itself, the mass media, or the people in the society as a whole?
Sometimes, people should think as a whole picture before they act!
I agree with your opinion. It's true that "With the technology that we have today, companies are under constant examination from many of their constituencies". Companys should really try hard and create good relations with the media by which a good and positive image can be transfered to stakeholders. No comments policy simply does not work in today's world, an open door and direct communication strucure should be encouraged by businesses.
ReplyDeleteYes, it is important for companies to have a good relationship with the media. However, the media does not necessarily convey the truth and carry messages correctly what we really want to say. Therefore, we also need to have an eye for distinguishing truth from fabrications as a recipient of information. Nowadays, we can distribute our information and publish facts, ideas and opinions by the website without interference from mass media. Companies should make an effort to take advantage of it.
ReplyDeleteIts very true that the media plays a key role in shaping a company's image.Company's will always strive to have a good relationship with the media because they know that having a good relationship with the media is very helpful to them.I agree with the above comments that media will always focus on the negative side of the story....negative stories appeal more to the public and since the media is there for business purposes,such stories will pull massive profits for them.that's why they focus more on the negative stories because that what people want to hear...and the more people want to know the more they make profits.
ReplyDeleteMedia will have a key role in shaping the world. Corporations drive the media through direct funding, or commercials. So i agree with Shuichi, the media doesn't always convey the truth, they convey what will make them money. The media is a very powerful group. They can manipulate anyone's opinion. Almost all media is owned by 4 companies, who have their own agenda's. Thats why the internet is so vital for information these days, however, you can also run into non credible sources using that communication channel.
ReplyDeleteit's so true that in today's news, you hardly ever see a story about something positive. i think that's why some people say: no news is good news! however, to build a good media relationship is important since. but it seems very hard to prevent "subjectively thinking" since medias are tend to report the news from the eyes of what they see or simply based on their way of thinking, so media might not reveal the truth 100% correctly. so i think its better to compare the news with different medias before jumping into the conclusion.
ReplyDelete