The most important media type

The proliferation of news organizations over the last 10 years or so has led to an ongoing debate among PR practitioners: which media types are really important? Is it important to consider all media types for all campaigns? If you only have enough resources for a limited communications program, which media types are expendable?

The cruel truth is that you absolutely do have to consider all media types as you plan each communications campaign or activity. In some industries, there are fewer news organizations that will cover your company, product or client, which narrows the field. For example, there are not too many radio shows that focus on wireless routers, but the list of those who might cover the business implications, the bottom-line impact, of using a wireless router is much longer.

Some PR professionals, especially those who are ex-TV or newspaper journalists, will tell you that one medium or another is inherently more important, that information on broadcast journalists is nice and all, but really it's the print journalists who matter. They're wrong.
PR is all about reaching the right people with the right message at the right time to influence them to do what you want them to do. You might have the best product since sliced bread and a message that is clear and hits home with your target audience, but if that message is never heard, what good is it?

Media relations is neither an art nor a science; it is both. The science involves geography, demographics, circulation, reader- or viewership and tracking metrics. The art includes understanding nuances such as perceived authority in an industry and the intricacies of local, regional, national and international media.

Which Journalists are Interested in Your News? Picking the Right Stars from the Media Universe

Once you've identified why your product, service or cause is newsworthy, you should pinpoint which journalists are interested in your news.

There are three components to making this determination:

Defining the universe of media opportunities The media universe comprises online and offline news organizations. The offline world includes print outlets (newspapers, magazines, newsletters, journals) and broadcast (television and radio). Offline media varies in terms of frequency of publication (daily, weekly, monthly) and target market (consumers, business, specific industry or trade).

The online world can be divided into media you create yourself and those other people create that solicit contributions and publish original content. Both categories include Web sites, mailing lists, discussion areas, and chat rooms.

Finding relevant details about target media You'll want to cast a wide net to gather information about specific media outlets potentially interested in what you have to offer from among the general categories described above.

You can purchase a directory such as MediaMap Online with detailed profile information for worldwide broadcast, print, and Internet media as well as additional communications management tools, or a more rudimentary directory of basic contact information from companies such as Bacon's or Burrelles.

Alternately, you can create your own lists for every client.

Regardless of how you go about building your list, it's always advisable to read the publications (or Web sites) and view/listen to the broadcast media you are thinking of targeting. Reporters often complain that people who contact them (particularly public relations practitioners) are unfamiliar with their work. Doing your homework before making initial contact with a reporter increases the chances that (1) you've identified an appropriate venue for your material; and (2) you know the individual reporter's likes/dislikes and requirements of the publication/broadcast outlet he/she works for.

Pinpointing opportunities at target media outletsThere are numerous ways to "get ink" in a newspaper or magazine, or to snare coverage on a television or radio station.
At print outlets, types of coverage include:
news stories about your organization or cause;
being quoted by a reporter writing a story whose subject is not necessarily your organization or cause;
content you prepare and contribute on a one-time basis, such as articles, letters to the editor, and photos or images;
content you prepare and contribute on a regular basis, such as a column; listings of events in calendar sections; and personnel announcements.
At broadcast media outlets, options consist of:
news stories about your organization or cause;
being quoted by a reporter preparing a story on a related subject;
for non-profit organizations, free event listings (and public service announcements) aired by broadcast media.

The Internet offers a combination of all of the aforementioned options, plus a venue for you to publish multimedia content on a broad range of topics related to your organization or cause.
The key task in all cases is to identify the individual responsible for preparing content, or accepting submissions.