Summary Corporate Communication B
CH8: Media Relations
Media relations involves managing communication and relationships with the
media; all the writers, editors and producers who contribute and control what
appears in the print, broadcast and online news media.
Journalism and news organizations
The news media involve a variety of organizations, with the production and
dissemination of news content through various media as a core operational
process. The production of news content typically involves two levels: (1)
journalists, who on an individual basis consult sources and write news stories;
and (2) other parties within the news organization (e.g., copy-editors), who,
based upon their news routines, edit stories before they make it into print. This
distinction between journalists and news routines is important for corporate
communication professionals because it illustrates the variety of influences on
the production of news content and points to the limited degree of control that
journalists producing stories about organizations actually have on the whole
process, including the final printed words that make up the news story.
At the level of news routines, there are many other people involved in the
writing process who affect the story, such as the fact checker, who verifies that
the names of people, organizations and places mentioned are all spelled
correctly. For example, an internet blog written by an individual journalist is
subject to less rigorous scrutiny and further editing than an article published in a
daily newspaper.
For journalists themselves, the pressure of writing for a news desk (newspaper)
is sometimes experienced as a hindrance in their work and produces conflict
with their professional ideals of objectivity fairness and impartiality. Many
journalists share a set of values based on seeking information and maintaining a
measure of independence from all organizations, including their own.
News routines within a media organization may also reflect a certain ideology or
political orientation that is shared by journalists and editors of that organization.
For example, The New York Times has been characterized as “the editor’s paper”
and The Washington Post as the “reporter’s paper”, referring to the levels of
bureaucracy that exist in them. Similarly, articles in The Guardian newspaper are
generally in sympathy with the middle-ground, liberal to left-wing end of the
political spectrum.
Ideology matters in terms of how organizations are covered in the news media
and whether this will largely consist of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news coverage.
News and corporate reputation
In general, media coverage of an organization can have a strong influence on the
corporate reputation of that organization. Ranging from reports on annual
results to investigations of corporate issues, media coverage often has an
‘amplifying’ effect on a company’s reputation when ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news is
, reported. Media coverage has an impact in terms of highlighting an issue or
increasing the already held positive or negative view of an organization.
This amplifying effect has often been studied through the lens of agenda-setting
theory. This theory was traditionally developed in mass communication and
public opinion research but has recently been extended to the domain of
corporate reputation. The agenda-setting hypothesis underlying the theory is
that the frequency with which the media report on a public or political issue
determines that issue’s salience in the minds of the general public. In other
words, ‘The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what
to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.
The basic idea behind agenda-setting theory is that news media communicate a
wealth of information when they report on organizations, politics, the economy
or issues of social and human concern. In doing so, they also signal to their
viewers, readers or audience what issues are salient about these topics. Over
time, and though repeated mention of the same issues, these issues may become
lodged in the public’s mind. The public will use the input from the media to
decide which issues are important. The news media ‘set’ the public agenda.
Agenda-setting theory distinguishes two levels of agenda setting. The first level
relates to the salience of an organization, and the second level deals with the
attributes or associations related to that organization.
Taking Shell as an example, first-level agenda setting occurs when Shell is the
first oil company to come to mind for members of the general public because
Shell receives more media attention than other petroleum companies.
The media report on certain organizations and in doing so enhance the public’s
awareness of an organization and certain aspects and characteristics about that
organization. Second-level agenda setting is apparent when the public associates
Shell primarily with a particular issue (e.g., renewable energy) that has received
much attention in the news during a particular period.
A study by May-May Meijer confirmed the same agenda-setting effects of media
coverage. She also extended these results by testing the hypothesis that the
higher the salience of an issue associated with a company in media coverage, the
better the reputation of the company that is seen to ‘own’ that issue.
Another researcher found evidence suggesting that the higher the level of media
favorability, the higher the level of an organization’s performance. While the
media does not directly impact upon an organization’s performance (the media
are an intermediary between organizations and stakeholder opinions and
actions), this finding has one central implication for corporate communication
professionals: they should seek to cultivate positive evaluations by the media
through releasing well-placed stories that report on organizational actions (e.g.,
charitable giving, CSR initiatives) or significant newsworthy events.
The news media often also rely upon large and well known organizations for
their information subsidies, and there is evidence to support the claim that only
companies with significant corporate reputations – whether good or bad – are
used as sources of information. This has significant implication for the media’s
role as a watchdog, when only certain organizations are monitored and covered
in the news and other organizations are simply ignored and stay outside the
public eye.
CH8: Media Relations
Media relations involves managing communication and relationships with the
media; all the writers, editors and producers who contribute and control what
appears in the print, broadcast and online news media.
Journalism and news organizations
The news media involve a variety of organizations, with the production and
dissemination of news content through various media as a core operational
process. The production of news content typically involves two levels: (1)
journalists, who on an individual basis consult sources and write news stories;
and (2) other parties within the news organization (e.g., copy-editors), who,
based upon their news routines, edit stories before they make it into print. This
distinction between journalists and news routines is important for corporate
communication professionals because it illustrates the variety of influences on
the production of news content and points to the limited degree of control that
journalists producing stories about organizations actually have on the whole
process, including the final printed words that make up the news story.
At the level of news routines, there are many other people involved in the
writing process who affect the story, such as the fact checker, who verifies that
the names of people, organizations and places mentioned are all spelled
correctly. For example, an internet blog written by an individual journalist is
subject to less rigorous scrutiny and further editing than an article published in a
daily newspaper.
For journalists themselves, the pressure of writing for a news desk (newspaper)
is sometimes experienced as a hindrance in their work and produces conflict
with their professional ideals of objectivity fairness and impartiality. Many
journalists share a set of values based on seeking information and maintaining a
measure of independence from all organizations, including their own.
News routines within a media organization may also reflect a certain ideology or
political orientation that is shared by journalists and editors of that organization.
For example, The New York Times has been characterized as “the editor’s paper”
and The Washington Post as the “reporter’s paper”, referring to the levels of
bureaucracy that exist in them. Similarly, articles in The Guardian newspaper are
generally in sympathy with the middle-ground, liberal to left-wing end of the
political spectrum.
Ideology matters in terms of how organizations are covered in the news media
and whether this will largely consist of ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news coverage.
News and corporate reputation
In general, media coverage of an organization can have a strong influence on the
corporate reputation of that organization. Ranging from reports on annual
results to investigations of corporate issues, media coverage often has an
‘amplifying’ effect on a company’s reputation when ‘good’ or ‘bad’ news is
, reported. Media coverage has an impact in terms of highlighting an issue or
increasing the already held positive or negative view of an organization.
This amplifying effect has often been studied through the lens of agenda-setting
theory. This theory was traditionally developed in mass communication and
public opinion research but has recently been extended to the domain of
corporate reputation. The agenda-setting hypothesis underlying the theory is
that the frequency with which the media report on a public or political issue
determines that issue’s salience in the minds of the general public. In other
words, ‘The press may not be successful much of the time in telling people what
to think, but it is stunningly successful in telling its readers what to think about.
The basic idea behind agenda-setting theory is that news media communicate a
wealth of information when they report on organizations, politics, the economy
or issues of social and human concern. In doing so, they also signal to their
viewers, readers or audience what issues are salient about these topics. Over
time, and though repeated mention of the same issues, these issues may become
lodged in the public’s mind. The public will use the input from the media to
decide which issues are important. The news media ‘set’ the public agenda.
Agenda-setting theory distinguishes two levels of agenda setting. The first level
relates to the salience of an organization, and the second level deals with the
attributes or associations related to that organization.
Taking Shell as an example, first-level agenda setting occurs when Shell is the
first oil company to come to mind for members of the general public because
Shell receives more media attention than other petroleum companies.
The media report on certain organizations and in doing so enhance the public’s
awareness of an organization and certain aspects and characteristics about that
organization. Second-level agenda setting is apparent when the public associates
Shell primarily with a particular issue (e.g., renewable energy) that has received
much attention in the news during a particular period.
A study by May-May Meijer confirmed the same agenda-setting effects of media
coverage. She also extended these results by testing the hypothesis that the
higher the salience of an issue associated with a company in media coverage, the
better the reputation of the company that is seen to ‘own’ that issue.
Another researcher found evidence suggesting that the higher the level of media
favorability, the higher the level of an organization’s performance. While the
media does not directly impact upon an organization’s performance (the media
are an intermediary between organizations and stakeholder opinions and
actions), this finding has one central implication for corporate communication
professionals: they should seek to cultivate positive evaluations by the media
through releasing well-placed stories that report on organizational actions (e.g.,
charitable giving, CSR initiatives) or significant newsworthy events.
The news media often also rely upon large and well known organizations for
their information subsidies, and there is evidence to support the claim that only
companies with significant corporate reputations – whether good or bad – are
used as sources of information. This has significant implication for the media’s
role as a watchdog, when only certain organizations are monitored and covered
in the news and other organizations are simply ignored and stay outside the
public eye.
