Week 4: Media Relations

I think the two key points of this week's readings are that media outlets can be used as a means by PR practitioners to reach target audiences, and that the practitioner must plan their PR strategy and tactic based on how the media type functions.

Certain print media such as magazines for example, have a "lead time" of two to three months, sometimes even more. For example, a company intending to publish an article in the December Christmas issue of a magazine, must start planning it from around the July period to increase their chances of getting their feature placed in the December issue. This "working ahead of time" schedule applies to other "faster" media as well, such as television and radio. Knowing the deadlines of the different media types is essential in order to increase the company's chances of exposure.

Some media outlets represent specific communities or target audiences (eg. Teenage magazine is targeted towards Singaporean teenagers). Companies can research and use these media outlets in order to reach out to the specific type of demographic that they wish to target, increasing the likelihood of their PR strategy receiving the attention that they want.

The readings made me think more about the importance of relationships between media and PR practitioners. Having good relations with media outlets, and the individuals working for the media (eg. journalists, editors, broadcasters), is useful for any organisation as it greatly increases their chances of public exposure and consumption by different audience groups.