It's true. So what can we do as news consumers to ensure ethical journalism remains a part of our society?
Last week I suggested those of us in the PR industry take time to
PR It Forward.
My thought is that those of us who are utilizing social media should
share our knowledge (in a non-threatening way) with our closest
journalist contacts. Show them how to use social media tools to assist
them in their daily work and help them discover brand new ways to use
it in their media professions. It is simply "good PR" for a PR pro, but
more importantly, it's taking small steps to help market social media
to more users.
Wikipedia
defines social media as an umbrella term that defines the various
activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the
construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction,
and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied
perspectives and "building" of shared meaning, as people share their
stories, and understandings.
In essence, it's using technology to communicate and interact in new
ways and share elements like text, photos, audio and videos. It's no
wonder PR is in the middle of the mix of channels adopting social media
at a rapid pace. After all, it's our job to provide journalists
everything they need to spread the word to their audience. The elements
have to be delivered, and social media is offering more avenues than
ever before. Moreover, social media opens up a new channel for our
clients and brands- a direct channel to their end consumer.
From a brand and client perspective (the ones spending the money) it's
an eye-opening opportunity to reach your consumer directly. Why rely on
a journalist to portray your client in a positive light when you can
immediately hand-deliver the news to the people who care to know about
it? Why buy an ad, when you can recruit a strong following of friends
and fans who vouch for your brand or product? It's like asking a brand
if they'd rather sell directly to consumers via their website and make
full margin, or depend on a dealer to sell the products and take their
cut before you get yours. As more companies identify niche social media
opportunities to reach their consumers, friends, and fans the amount of
money being piped into this "trendy" thing (as some skeptics refer to
it) could increase exponentially. Down goes advertising dollars, up
goes social marketing dollars.
Every company in America is already talking about how much they spend
"online", the innovative ones are talking about how they can spend more
money in social media to reach their consumers directly and in most
cases voluntarily.
From a journalist's perspective it's a frightening time. Traditional
media is being threatened more and more as people begin to find their
news in new ways and faster than ever before. Instead of a newspaper
editor or television producer writing the show, we are all writing our
own show. Instead of looking to printed publications (especially
newspapers) people are seeking their news online in a more focussed and
filtered manner.
Corporate newspapers like the
New York Times
are making big waves with new and innovative approaches to Media 2.0,
but what about the majority of smaller news organizations? When will
they wake up to social media? Some journalists are already
doing something about it,
while others dismiss the notion of a new media scape. Mainstream media
must find a way to be relevant in new media to maintain their piece of
the marketing pie. I offered up
some suggestions a while back which were widely read, but hardly commented on.
Engage, adopt and get social. There will be no better time than the present.
Journalists, bloggers, what do you think - Are there examples of newspapers
engaging in social media and succeeding? Is social media a trend or the
future of global news media?
Original post on
PitchEngine | The Growing Social Media PR Revolution