pr-media-blog.co.uk

The relationship between journalists and PR people is privileged, even if it can be somewhat strained at times.  It was never more so than with the embargo, the implicit agreement between press office and journalists that they won’t publish until a given hour, if it no one else does.  Social media has essentially seen the death of the embargo but some PR people seem to want to dig it up, rebury it and dance upon its grave.   

PR organisations are handing out press releases with embargoes and then breaking the story themselves.  Kris Vire the Theater Editor for Time Out Chicago magazine recently posted “PR firm asks for 11am embargo, then posts/tweets its news itself at 10:55. Why am I even here?”.  There is no reason PR firms can’t break stories but this is about trust - if you make an agreement stick to it.  It is essential for your relationship with the media both on and offline. 

Control of the flow of information, whether embargoed or not, has changed.  The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) sent e-mails yesterday to all the entrants in the CIPR Pride Awards informing them as to whether or not they had been shortlisted.  Within minutes the wires were alive with PR people tweeting about their own fortunes, before the CIPR posted the list and presumably before the media had the information.   We have to be circumspect about the objectivity of PR people posting news about their own successes.  I couldn’t help but notice the agency which announced that it had been entered just five categories and been shortlisted in all five, only to proudly confirm later that they’d been shortlisted in a sixth category.

A few months ago I wrote about discovering via twitter that the French actor Guillaume Depardieu had died.  Six months ago it seemed an oddity that ordinary individuals would break news ahead of the major media sources.  It appears now that this is an established phenomenon.  The sad news of Natasha Richardson’s fatal skiing accident was spread via twitter, blogs and social networks long before the strictures of the established media allowed them to confirm the details.

At around 4pm UTC today (19th May) twitter started trending with the news that actor Patrick Swayze had died of pancreatic cancer.  But within half an hour or so the story had flipped to a denial.  The actor it appears is alive if unwell and continuing his battle against cancer.

Whilst trending topics on the web add a new dimension to breaking news inaccurate rumours can take hold.  The established media brands adhere to a largely common set of journalistic conventions that moderate the motivation to break news fast with the imperative of accuracy.  That’s why they are trusted.