November 23, 2005


PRs still to grasp longer news cycle

Should WWW plus PR equal confusion?

The question was so straightforward that is was surprising: what should be covered in the media section of a corporate website?

Although the request came from an online journalist developing the site, it revived many disappointments with PRs generally.

Not long ago, a journalist needing information about a particular organization would be frantically scurrying about a newsroom, lifting piles of old newspapers, moving week-old dirty mugs and plates, and even – in desperation - heading for the dusty tranquility of the library to try to find the well-thumbed latest edition of the once-invaluable Hollis PR Annual.

Now, such searches are easy – requiring no more than the few seconds it takes to hit “control+n” to open a new browser window before waltzing into the cyberspace universe that is Google.

So, what should PRs put onto corporate sites?

From my experience, having online versions of press releases as well as corporate information about such organisations is very useful, so is having open information about "partnerships", sponsorship deals and the corporate structure, accountability and so on.

All the information that is in the public domain - such as annual reports, charity commission returns and so on - should be there somewhere. It may not be used much, but it can be very useful, especially for those who are trying to write outside office hours.

Having handouts available too is good: you'd be amazed how much it improves "your message". Either the lazy or those facing deadline pressures will happily - and often unquestioningly - copy-and-paste handouts, simply topping-and-tailing them themselves.

Simply visible html-coded files are easiest to use; everyone can run a mouse over the relevant sections and copy what they want. If files saved in pdf or doc formats are can be opened universally, then copy-and-paste facilities are not so standard. The cost of licences means some basic office software systems have not been upgraded for several years.

For newspaper and magazine journalists, simply portrayed facts and figures can be exceedingly useful for sidebars.

Lists of those who may be quoted are very useful too - simply for checking spelling. Anyone who has worked in broadcasting quickly learns that radio has become the last refuge of journalists who cannot spell. Television is improving, because journalists there have to spell names correctly on captions, while their oral colleagues get away with phonetic approximations.

"Copyright waived" images and high-resolution versions of logos can help layout subs, TV graphic designers and similar individuals out of all sorts of scrapes.

Finally, having an out-of-hours press office contact that is actually available can be the difference between a story being used and something being spiked. I lost count of stories that I abandoned while working late shifts because the press office had closed at six and no one was answering what phone numbers were available.

The alternative was to "empty desk" the piece with the tag: "No one was available for comment...."

Should it be necessary to state the obvious? Yes, here it does.

While so much news production has become a 24-hour operation, the working hours of many PRs seem to have shortened – to the detriment of the profession and their clients.

Get it right online – and slowly, but surely, public perceptions could and should improve.