A PR firm recently sent round a press release pointing journalists in the direction of their Twitter feed. I don't know that I've got the mental energy to begin to explain just how misconceived an idea this is. Journalists find the idea that they should follow a PR hilarious. It's like David Walliams following that woman home. It's like returning the call of that automated message. Of course it's perfectly possible that a PR could do a good Twitter feed but the proving of it would be up to them, as it would be with anyone else. This announcement suggests that they haven't begun to realise how the media is utterly, utterly changed and that it's no longer a feeding tube down which they can dispense warm milk to a load of eager mouths beneath. We're all at pitch level now.When media events came out of a clear blue sky and made a pleasant distraction from the daily tedium it's conceivable that you might want to get the inside track on a press release. That is no longer the case since boredom was banished and we now compete in an attention economy where distraction is a permanent state. It doesn't really matter who you are, Universal Pictures or somebody trying to get a gig listing for a newly-formed indie band; you are no longer entitled to anybody's attention. Not the public's and not the media's. Whatever attention you manage to get you have to earn.
This seems to chime with the imminent withdrawal of CD promo copies. Journalists I talk to all shrug and say, "not my problem". And it isn't. I wonder how long it will be before the industry realises this.
Isn't it just as likely that the Twitter feed is primarily intended for the clients of the PR agency. Journos are more of an afterthought. If you're spending money on PR you like to see evidence of it being used (wisely).
ReplyDeleteAgreed. It's amazing to me to see media companies that still list their fax numbers on their web sites. While on the one hand you could say it's an effort to be inclusive. On the other, as with your Twitter example, it sends a clear message that they're just not getting it.
ReplyDeleteI still use faxes, not that often I admit but if you have to sign a contract or agreement and get it right back to someone it's the best way.
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