How Covid-19 has affected the way PR professionals engage with media

Before, it was easier for PR professionals to interact with reporters for the purpose of generating publicity in newspapers (print or online) or even to motivate for interviews on radio or TV for our clients. This, we would do by merely sending an email to a journalist with a newsworthy story and follow up with a call to ensure that they received it and that they will consider publishing it.

The difficult part was always to motivate to journalists that the story was newsworthy, and that the audience of that media house needed to hear about the developments of a particular company.

In the past, if a story was newsworthy and we as PR professionals had good relationships with the journalist writing the story – then it would make it into the newspaper. The story was in the past always published on merit, but it was always important for us to know that a newsworthy story had to have consequence and impact – without that it did not make it into the news.

I was fortunate enough to be taught early on in my career by my mentors - those I regard as PR/Media Gurus: Rams Mabote and Patrick Wadula; and I am forever grateful for the tough love and the coaching and mentorship.

Grooming the next generation of young PR professionals

Miranda Lusiba  7 Jun 2021

These days, however, a lot of factors determine whether stories make it to news outlets or not, and it is very important for young PR professionals to understand the new dynamics so that they can try and adapt to the new normal. These factors include:

• Newspapers have even gotten thinner because of the lack of advertising by private or public companies – this is due to the volatile economy brought on by Covid-19 and the lockdowns that affected business operations.

• The lack of advertising has affected the financial status of many media houses to the extent that this has unfortunately led some of our media contacts being retrenched, which has meant that we needed to form new relationships with the few that are left behind. Other media houses have sadly had to close down.

• The few journalists that are now left behind now have too much on their plates, as they are taking on more assignments than they used to.

• The economic situation has caused a lot of media houses to be desperate for advertising to ensure survival – this has also led to more controversial stories making headlines than positive ones. This is because controversial stories unfortunately sell papers, not the positive ones.

• Journalists who cover daily news used to have editorial or diary meetings in the mornings with their news editors or producers to discuss stories to be prioritised for the day but because people are now working from home – this is close to impossible.

• Journalists now compile a list of stories that they want to prioritise and email them to their news editors/producers to consider publishing on that day, and then wait to hear what the verdict is. Reporters now do not have the luxury of motivating as to why positive stories should be published.

Speaking to some journalists to find out why our good stories are not making it in the newspapers any more – a lot of journalists raised the issues I have mentioned above. However, they consistently stressed the fact that ongoing relationships with media and constant contact with them still helps to get the story of an organisation or client into the news outlet.

So, to young PR professionals out there, if there is anything that you take from this column, it should be the importance of ongoing relationships with media so that you can always know what makes a good story. This was hammered to us old school PR professional early on in our careers and it seems like nothing much has changed since then.