INSTRUMENTS AND CHANNELS 331z The more positive (negative) that media coverage is for a particular attribute, the more positively (negatively)
members of the public will perceive that attribute.
z The agenda of substantive and affective attributes associated with a company in business news coverage primes
the public’s attitude and opinion about the company; if the news coverage is positive (negative) about an important
characteristic of the company or its activities, the whole company will benefit (suffer) from it.
z Organised efforts to communicate a corporate agenda will result in a significant degree of correspondence
between the attribute agenda of the company and the news media.
The last point is particularly important for media PR. Media PR can indeed make a difference. Company news
releases are estimated to influence as much as between 25% and 80% of news content. A substantial number
(some say more than 50%) of the news stories in newspapers are substantially based on press releases. One study
found that among the entire population of Fortune 500 companies, those with substantial press rooms on the Web
were ranked much higher on the Fortune list.^21 It is also worth noting that a news story in the general news section
of a newspaper is often more friendly and positive than a similar story in the business section. News media have a
fascination with celebrities and elites: 45% of a company’s reputation can be attributed to the CEO. Consequently,
PR activity aiming at news coverage devoted to the company should be separated from PR campaigns focusing
upon the CEO.Financial public relations
Meetings, newsletters and corporate advertising can also be directed towards fi nancial publics.
But even more important are the annual and fi nancial reports giving bankers and potential
investors the necessary information on the basis of which a sound fi nancial reputation can be
developed.Media public relations
Th e purpose of media PR is to generate publicity and, in that way, reach other important
audiences. Publicity results from the fact that the media cover events that have some news
value, or write articles on issues that are company-related. Unless something special happens –
normally unexpected and not so positive for the company – the media are not going to write
or report positive news about the company. Usually, professional PR activity is necessary to
draw the attention of the media.
Th e instruments of media PR are press kits a n d press releases , and their audio-visual
counterparts Video News Releases (VNRs) and Radio News Releases (RNRs). A press kit is a
set of documents, containing photos, reports and a press release, which is sent to journalists or
presented at a press conference. A press release is a document that contains the material that the
company would like to see covered in the press. VNRs and RNRs are audio-visual news releases
put on video or audio tape and sent to TV or radio stations free of charge for unrestricted
use.^22 Th ey are composed in such a way that excerpts can be broadcast immediately, thereby
ensuring that the message reaches the audience undistorted. Many checklists have been
proposed on how to write and present a good press release or a good newspaper article in
general. Th e essentials are summarised in Table 10.4.
By means of press conferences and interviews the company can comment on the issues
that it considers important and try to present them as ‘news’. However, in this over-informed
society, not many things are ‘news’. Companies should avoid falling into the ‘marketing myopia’
trap concerning the news value of ‘important’ company events. What is news to a certain
medium depends on the characteristics of the message and the medium itself, and on the way
the news is presented. Table 10.5 lists some rules of good media relations.M10_PELS3221_05_SE_C10.indd 331M10_PELS3221_05_SE_C10.indd 331 6/5/13 3:26 PM6/5/13 3:26 PM