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A
recent article in Ragan's Media Relations Report
noted the new opportunities and potential pitfalls of
pursuing PR through Weblogs.
In
the article, Trylon Communications President Lloyd
Trufelman made several points regarding the emergence of
blogs in media relations. Trufelman compared the
Internet to AM radio as an outlet for people to
influence opinion and introduce topics of interest.
Saying you don't pay attention to blogs, he noted, is
like saying you don't pay attention to the newspaper.
The
article's subhead - describing Weblogs as a new source
for news for PR pros as well as a possible new headache
- said it all. An important point of fact is that news
travels faster than ever. Trying to contain a news story
today is akin to capturing lightning in a bottle - it
just won't work.
For
example, within minutes after Trent Lott made his
infamous comment regarding Strom Thurmond, reports were
circulating on the Web and the news quickly spread like
wildfire. In fact, some journalists were online within
seconds as they were at the event itself and reporting
live.
What
if Lott's PR people had been monitoring the blogs of
these influential media members? Could they have tried
to spin the story while it was still in its infancy? At
the very least, could they have better anticipated the
reporting to come in the rest of the media?
Many
traditional media members are now using blogs as tip
sheets. It is suspected that this is how the Senator's
comments became national news fodder. For media
relations professionals, blogs can be an early warning
system, providing insight into opinions and trends
before they reach conventional media.
The
article suggested that PR pros pitch blogs proactively.
As suggested previously (link here to "pitching
blogs article"), this can be effective but must be
done very carefully. If you don't understand blogs, it
is an area to stay away from.
As
communications systems and tools evolve, it is
imperative that professionals stay current on trends and
technologies. To be effective in a media, you must first
understand it. |
