Is Hard News Dead? What Comms Pros Need to Know About How Media is Thinking
Readers and advertisers edging away from mainstream news is giving PRs other opportunities.
The media landscape is changing at pace – and keeping up with the latest developments and moves will give every comms expert an advantage over their rivals. Every week take a look at the media business from mainstream and ‘legacy’ media to cutting edge tech and the latest trends and developments – and how you can use that know-how.
It’s been another week of hard news dominating the headlines at the moment. The rollercoaster of Iran and war in the Middle East, the psychodrama around the Prime Minister’s involvement in the appointment of Peter Mandelson as the UK’s ambassador in Washington and the report into the tragic killings in Southport are hard to escape.
As I have discussed, it can seem difficult to get coverage for your clients and causes when such momentous events are going on – although hopefully our tips help a little.
I’ve been pondering more about the issue over the last seven days and I thought it was worth expanding on – and asking if it is actually the case that hard news is dead (or at least dormant) for many publishers and operators.
I know, I know, that might seem counterintuitive – the press is full of coverage of serious, sometimes downright scary and depressing news, you will rightly say.
But the truth is that hard news is not where the media is making its money. These big issues do need coverage, but the number of people who are picking up papers, watching news bulletins, listening to the Today programme etc is undoubtedly on a steep slide.
And it’s not just about readers and viewers deserting mainstream media.
The trend for businesses who advertise in the media to be brand safe is going nowhere – and in fact the demands are more influential than ever (so much so that it is not unheard of for major advertisers to pull front page promotions if a splash is not agreeable to them).
On a list of stories both online and in print that advertisers do not want to be associated with are war and humanitarian disaster (particularly, I am afraid, when it is a long way from home), horrendous murders, anything connected to paedophiles, culture wars such as we have seen over trans rights, grim court cases and migration. There may well be more but you get the gist.
All of which begs the question, what are the stories and features that are getting attention from readers and advertisers? And where are the public going to consume their media?
