Media Relations

Utah TV, Newspaper Layoffs - Amidst the Birth of New Media

2008-07-04T09:21:37-07:00

The pen (or keystroke) is mightier than the sword.

The oft used quote has a hollow ring right now. The sword is cutting deep blows at two Utah news outlets. At least several dozen employees were laid off at KTVX ABC4, and this summer, possibly more than 30 may be asked to exit their careers at the Deseret News. Trust me, much more will come.

Content is still king. Talk all you want about new media, but someone has to write the content, and someone has to like the content so that advertisers will spend money to cozy up to the content. Yes, I know there's plenty of content online. Does it serve the community and world? Or does it serve the ego of the writer?

I recently read that a TV station in California laid off many of its newsroom staff and asked the community to "cover the news." Would a car maker fire all the mechanics and expect the car buyer to assemble the vehicle at home?

Some Americans would say the traditional news media - amidst its fleeing advertisers and audience - is getting a "comeuppance" for past bad behavior. Trust me, no matter how powerful and protected you think you are, there will come a time in your life when you find yourself in a vulnerable situation, desperate for a fair-minded underpaid journalist to tell your side of a very ugly, life-changing story.

Granted, the Internet has given some very talented people their 15 minutes of fame. They may write well, and have enormous talent with video and audio. But do they have a compass? Can they be bought with a freebie, a pat on the back or the neighbors' praise?

If America's great experiment in democracy is to survive, a free press (broadcast, etc), one that doggedly tracks the actions of government and the powerful, is the only protection we have from those who could evenutally undermine freedom as we have known it.

I'm a big fan of new media, but not at the expense of those who selflessly practice the true ethics of journalism.

My fervent wish is this: That traditional media quickly finds a new business model online, AND most importantly, a new revenue stream to preserve and protect those who create content..which is still king.

Blogger Brains - Utah's Blogging for Business Conference - Your Chance to Understand

2008-05-18T11:41:19-07:00

First...please block out Friday, June 6. You won't regret it.

So you've "had it up to here" trying to understand how PR/marketing is morphing itself as social media claims main stage?

I've heard that comment and even felt that way myself (all this re-educating and trend tracking is exhausting). But things keep changing, month by month, and we cannot ignore the acceleration of new and important knowledge (well...sure we can, if we don't worry about job security.)

Wouldn't it be nice to chase those bloggers away from their laptops & cell phones and meet them face to face? You can. On Friday, June 6th in Salt Lake City, UT, there will be a real time, flesh-based meeting called Blogging for Business. This is a rare chance to do a little surgery on blogger brains...peek inside. I attended last year's and I highly recommend you give it a try.

Matthew Reinbold, who I met at last years Blogging For Business Conference (B4B), is taking a chance again, planning and coordinating another B4B on Friday June 6th, with hopes of even higher attendance than in 2007. I commend him for his efforts to give more structure to Utah's new media.

His speaker line-up is strong, and you'll have networking opportunities to find out what makes bloggers tick:

What point of view do they come from? How do they feel about PR and marketing? And when we hear the answer...and it hurts...will we run away or run to the big & bright future?

Register at: http://www.regonline.com/Checkin.asp?EventId=605773

A taste of the day (I'm really ticked...I'm out of town for this one)

1. General Motors' director of social media, Christopher Barger, presents a case study of the company's online strategy.

2. A panel discussion including New York Times featured blogger: Naked Jen (I've met the lady at a "geek dinner.") She had clothes on then.

Also, Starling Fitness' Laura Moncur, who is fighting for respect and equanimity for bloggers alongside traditional media. Be sure to ask her about the different media passes at the last Consumer Electronics Show. Ask her about the "blogger lounge." Also joining the above, Shannon Johnson, a "Mommy Blogger."

All three women will discuss "Pitching to Bloggers: What Works, What Doesn't, and What Will Get You in Trouble."

5. "How to 'Out Advertise' the Competition Without Spending a Cent," by Jason Brown, co-founder of Brown Lures.

7. "Does Your Lawyer Know You Blogged That?" An interesting look by Rand Bateman, IP Attorney and Founder of the Bateman IP Law Group. His blog here.

8. And other topics including:

"The Consumer Revolution Driving Transparency in Marketing" - Brian Critchfield, NavelMarketing
"Building Customer Evangelists" - Jake McKee, Ant's Eye View
"Engaging With the 21st Century Newspaper" - Charlie Crane, Deseret News

Plainly put: Do register, attend, learn and "let down your guard." Will somebody please record it for me so I can listen in when I'm back from my business trip?

The Daunting Daily Fishbowl. Even Your Neighbors Are Now "Citizen Reporters."

2008-04-11T09:10:11-07:00

“If the British government can’t keep Prince Harry’s presence in a war zone a secret, why do organization leaders think they can hide anything? Revealing a widespread cover-up was the dream of any journalist. Now that dream is shared by millions of citizen journalists.”

This from an article in PRSA Issues and Trends by Gerald Baron, called Building Trust in a Media Maelstrom.

Whether they like it or not, businesses, government, organizations, associations...even your late night scrap-booking club are open to a scrutiny as tiny as an atom and as huge as the universe as we know it today. Baron's article asks: "So how can trust be built in this kind of negative environment?" His excellent answer: "Remember the three drivers of the instant news world: speed, direct communication and transparency."

The next time you are are asked to keep something "out of the media," flash Baron's article in the face of the asker. Especially this part:

"Those involved in responding to the Virginia Tech incident reported more than 1000 reporters were on scene. Add to that number the tens of thousands of bloggers, passersby with cell cameras and individuals commenting on news sites who are part of the new army of 'citizen' journalists.' "

Enough said? If you are a one-person PR team, as is the case with so many companies in America, be ready for the day when the "Media Maelstrom" pays a grueling visit.

In this new media world, how do I sleep at night as a consultant? I keep a list of senior, experience-rich contractors. I know their rates, and when a client calls me in "freak out" stage, (usually at 5:00 p.m. just prior to a three-day holiday) I get on the phone and recruit a customized crisis team and have an instant budget in my head. I know I can't do it all alone. I pay well, I pay immediately on invoice, and strive to be financially generous with those who keep my life sane.

One more thought on all of the above...an excellent quote by Warren Buffet:

"If you lose money for the firm, I will be understanding. If you lose reputation for the firm, I will be ruthless."

Amen, Warren.

Prepare For the Coming New Age of PR and Advertising. It's Already Here!

2008-04-04T08:47:01-07:00

Quotes that say it all. Three comments via Paragon Media:

“Online is getting to the point where it may be more important than the 30-second TV spot.”
- Joel Ewanick VP-Marketing Hyundai Motor America

“The country’s third-largest advertiser (General Motors) is getting ready to shift fully half of its $3 billion budget into digital and one-to-one marketing within the next 3 years.”
- Advertising Age - March 17, 2008

"As television implodes, marketing chiefs are turning to the Net to create branding initiatives.”
- Wired Magazine - April, 2008

Get Rich Saving The Earth - The Greatest PR Strategy I've Ever Heard

2008-03-30T16:20:55-07:00

Yes, it sounds strange. I sat in a room of 75 people at Sundance Resort in Utah last weekend. Robert Redford, who casually and unexpectedly strolled in, introduced his friend, Fred Krupp, who has written a just-released book: Earth: The Sequel.

Krupp, who is President of the long surviving Environmental Defense Fund, gave me amazing hope for the future of the planet by using the ultimate PR approach...."If you don't want to be green to save the earth, then do it for the money."

I've only just "paged" through his book, but some of his statements truly thrilled me. I haven't heard this kind of optimism in decades.

Utah, my home state, will surely wince if the government puts restrictions on coal power. But those who fear, or depend on coal for their own personal survival, will find this a reasonable read.

Fred's speech was witty, he was respectful of current energy providers, did not strive to instill fear, nor did he speak too emotionally about nature’s challenges. He talked like a businessman, discussing a new and cleaner future. He challenged all entrepreneurs and current businesses to become the next Bill Gates or William Buffet, via help from the government through the Cap and Trade System (read all about it...in his book).

Fred predicted, with what he cautiously said was a “90 percent” certainty, that the federal government will, within 18-24 months, have a global warming policy in place, explaining that all three presidential candidates had one in their platform. I laughed heartily when he said, “If you don’t want to be green to save the earth, then do it for the money.”

This is my second "energy crisis." I was young in the 1970's during the oil embargo, and have felt forever afraid of the direction we've taken since that scare. I would like to thank Fred Krupp, his organization and his publisher for putting the ultimate "spin" (I hate that word but here, it works) on going green. He is right. Money motivates. In this book, he and Miriam Horn show us the money. Now all we need is a leader who admits the earth is warming and unites a fractured society to stand bravely behind strong incentives to reinvent energy.

Information "Reruns" ? "Steep Drop in First-rate Journalism?"

2008-03-26T15:42:58-07:00

You can feel it under your feet....like a long earthquake aftershock. Excitement mixed with mild nausea. Big, big change happening each and every day. Just going online makes my heart race.

Newspapers and bloggers are converging. It's happening fast - both exciting and eerie. Lean-staffed newsrooms are producing the content that everyone needs....but the vehicles that transport the content throughout the Web are the ones who are either making the money or have the potential to make it... not the traditional newspapers or news outlets.

And then there's a big fracture in the definition of: What is news, what is truth and what are the new ethics?

Forbes now has a network of 400 blogs, lending its name and credibility to this new frontier, and plans to sell ads to go with it. Also, today's PRSA Issues and Trends paints the picture of our information future.

"America is about to enter a fractured, chaotic era of news, characterized by the superior community conversations made possible by blogs, and also by a steep drop in first-rate journalism. As a piece in the current issue of The New Yorker points out, the result will be clusters of communities with their own ideas of 'news' and 'truths,' and the loss of a single national narrative and agreed-upon sets of facts by which to conduct our policies."

The old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times," has manifested in our time and at this moment. Don't misunderstand. I love & crave change. But content creators give us the guts of the information world. Even if they are willing to provide it for free now, the day will come when they must pay their bills, and must put food in their mouths. We should regard and respect content producers or we are all doomed to information reruns online.

Thanks to fellow blogger Matt Reinbold for passing this along, let me conclude with this picture that paints a thousand words:

2008 Report on the State of the Media - Grim?

2008-03-19T08:52:15-07:00

Those of us in media relations are certainly rooting for all of our local newspapers to survive. A column by John C. Dvorak in today's PC Magazine doesn't paint a very good picture:

"There are too many papers selling the same news. The yearly report on the news media is out, and there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. That is, the news world is at the end of the tunnel, and the train is headed rapidly toward it.

During the current downturn, I wonder whether one single paper has said, 'It looks like our subscriber base is dwindling, and the young people are not reading the paper. It's time we beefed up coverage. We have to find more writers and editors and put them to work to improve our product.'

Exactly when did cheapening the product and making it worse become the way to do things in the U.S.A.?

'Hey, our cars are crap. Let's make them worse!'

'Good thinking, Benson! Give yourself a raise!'

'Hey our airplanes are crashing left and right and people are not buying them anymore. Let's see if we can make them cheaper! That will solve our problems!'

What am I not getting?" (End of column excerpt).

I'm no expert on the industry, but I do believe the days of mass media covering a single breaking story are over. Each news outlet needs to stand on its own with unique content - and a healthy staffing of reporters to generate it. Now is not the time to cut staff. Now is the time to rally, hang in there, and treat your reporters with respect, because content is still "king." Hold on. The scary future will soon be clearer - don't panic. Don't hang onto a street sign during the hurricane. Seek out the eye of it, rest calmly and realize that you can't make profits all the time. Life is a cycle and so is business. I see the light at the end of the tunnel. I believe the good newspapers...those who serve the public and care about content more than profit will ultimately survive the strong winds of change.

Funny Headlines

2008-03-16T11:12:19-07:00

A local Utah reporter (Dan Harrie) and The Columbia Journalism Review are responsible for helping me collect some funny headlines over the years. I'd like to share them with you. If they offend, my apologies in advance :)

Advertising Must Adapt

2008-03-13T10:19:10-07:00

It isn't about telling people about your product anymore. It is about entertaining and engaging them. If you do, they'll do the advertising for you. A great example in Ad Age today about Tide's Super Bowl ad success.

"... that's why the most liked, most memorable ads usually are stories about the audience. How else could Procter & Gamble's Tide brand engage the mostly male 2008 Super Bowl audience? It certainly didn't spend 30 seconds explaining the innovative features of its stain-removal product. Instead, its commercial, "Talking Stain," portrayed a clearly identifiable situation among men: an older man interviewing a younger man who has a coffee stain on his dress shirt. As the hapless candidate discusses his interpersonal skills, he's shouted down by the loud, gibbering stain. At the end of the commercial, the stain is erased -- and silenced -- by the Tide to Go product.

By the end of Super Bowl Sunday, the ad had driven more than 30,000 unique visitors to mytalkingstain.com. Some visitors just read about the product there; others created more than 5,500 customized ads. The spot also received more than 100,000 views on YouTube that day and has had more than 1.5 million views since."

Full article here

The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR

2008-03-12T07:54:42-07:00

Via The FirmVoice , the latest chart from BurrellsLuce showing PR employment spiking, advertising jobs down. Amazing...

While we're on the topic, the NY Times bestselling author of The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR, Laura Ries, is the keynote address at an upcoming PRSA Spring Conference in Salt Lake City, UT on Thursday, March 20. Panel sessions afterwards include:

1. How technology is changing traditional communications channels and what you should do about it.

2. Managing Microtrends: Targeting your communications.

3. Networking reception.

I hope to see you there. Register here for The New DNA of Communications Development conference.

From the program:

Workshop Schedule

Noon Registration and Lunch

12:30 pm Laura Ries Keynote Address

New York Times best selling author of The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR and The Origin of Brands, How Product Evolution Creates Endless Possibilities

Ries will discuss a startling and crucial development in marketing: the shift from advertising–oriented marketing to PR–oriented marketing. Today's brands are born with publicity, not advertising. The Body Shop, Starbucks, Wal–Mart, Beanie Babies, Oracle and Yahoo!, have all been built with virtually no advertising. With case histories and a step–by–step plan for creating buzz in the PR era, Ries will talk about how to give up the cherished big–bang approach in favor of a slow build–up. She will explain how and why publicity should assume the major role in product launches, with advertising solidifying brands rather than creating them. Her address will be an essential primer on brand–building in the public relations era.

1:45 p.m. Media Panel

How is new technology is changing the way media collect and report the news?

NEWSPAPER

Charlie Craine, Director of Interactive Media, Deseret Morning News

RADIO

Alice Webber, Corporate Relations, KUER FM 90

TELEVISION

Tanya Vea, News Director, KUTV 2 News

INTERACTIVE

Matthew Reinbold, Creative Principle, Vox Pop Design

3 p.m. Microtrends Panel

How to target strategic messages to specific audiences?

GENERATIONAL Rob Brough, Vice President Communications, Zions Bank

GENDER Katie Sullivan, PhD, University of Utah

CULTURAL Venessa Di Palma Wright, DPR Comm

INTEREST Susan Walton, PhD, Brigham Young University

4 pm Networking Reception

www.slcprsa.org/events

Hosted by the Marriott City Center Hotel, 220 S. State Street in Salt Lake City

Questions? Contact Jason Mathis, jason.mathis@imail.org