MEDIA RELATIONS IN PUBLIC RELATIONS

The concept terms of Public Relations (PR) and Media Relations (MR) are used interchangeably. Media Relations refers to the relationship that an institution or firm develops with journalists- the media or press. Public Relations extends the partnership to the general public. Public Relations can therefore be said to be the father of Media Relations.

Media relations involves collaborating with and acting in a strategic partnership with the media with the sole purpose of informing the public about an organization’s mission, policies, practices and expectations in a positive, coherent and credible fashion.

Media relations takes on several forms in most institutions from publicity to crisis management. However, the key for today’s practitioner is to move beyond the crisis management-damage control or damage management to a strategic planner who is ahead of the game. In most cases, a company’s media relations activities are managed through a marketing department, public affairs, external affairs or communications department.

Within this group, sits one person who deals with all enquiries from the press and manages all the efforts to generate attention from the press for positive stories to be published on behalf of the company. They are most often called the director of media relations and are also the spokesperson of the company. In Media Relations practice, there are two types of programmes and they are Passive MR Programme and the Active MR Programme.

The passive MR Programme means that your organisation has for some reason decided not to seek the attention of the public eye- the organisation has decided to be media shy. This lets reporters off your back, except in a crisis situation; suitable for private companies since they are not required by law to disclose their earnings or other vital financial data. For example, all listed companies on the Ghana Stock Exchange are expected to publish their results (quarterly financial earnings).   

Active MR Programme looks at organizations that aren't media shy or have decided to seek the attention of the public eye. Mostly practiced by organizations on the stock market and mandated to publish their quarterly financial earnings. Stanbic Bank and Ghana Commercial Bank are some examples.

Organisations plan, implement and measure (PIM) their relationship with the media. This is not about taking journalists out for lunch every day, tweeting every five minutes and scheduling your subject matter specialists on all radio stations.

For one to be a successful MR specialist, he or she must be cooperative, accessible, direct, an authority, a resource, fair, a strategist, a team player, an educator and an advocate. Your comments and views are welcome in the comment section below. And for further consultation or questions, please email to elcommglobal@gmail.com.