MEDIA RELATION

A Media relation can be defined as the relationship an organization and Media (Mass Media). Media are both an electorate and means through which existing and prospective stakeholders receive information about and develop images of a company. The amount of “ink” that a company receives measures success in the media relations, whether aided by internal professionals or by external consultant. Lot of ink reflects heavy articles written about a company, the articles do not fetch any value if it does not help the company achieve the communication objective through media. To be holding heavy market share in today’s business environment, companies should open-up to its constituents one effective was is through media. This vibe helps company to preserve its corporate image, enhance reputation, weather crises, and maximize organizational potential. Through research, companies should avoid information leak that does not interest the media and if it does happen then they should target the respective audience only. Response to media calls are very essential, research on the context information required by media and respond accordingly. Media professional should do a complete research on the type of interview the company representative is going to present. Media monitoring and analysis is also an important tool for maintaining healthy relationship with media. The most critical component, in media relations is developing and maintaining a network of contacts with the media. In order to build successful media relation program, the organization has to: · Involve media relations personnel in strategy · Develop in-house capabilities · Use outside counsel sparingly

We also saw how the media can affect a company thru the Coors Case. Breaking down the case and seeing how Coors handled the media to benefit the company was very interesting. This situation with Coors could have gone either way. The attention Coors was going to receive thru 60 Minutes could help or hurt them according to how they handled the situation. By doing their homework and grooming the Coors brothers, they were successful. Part of their success was determining the right spokespeople to be interviewed, which was the Coors brother. This case showed how important the media are. By the end of the segment, most people thought David Sickler had a vendetta against Coors.


Example: In 1993, when Pepsi-Cola faced a highly publicized contamination crisis it not only showed concern towards public but it skilfully leveraged two other critical constituencies i.e. Government and media. Coca Cola India quickly sprung into action, and they communicated well with the consumers to negate the allegations of containing pesticides in the soft drinks. They came back well and are right into the action.

References:
http://www.mediarelationsblog.com/
http://www.policeone.com/media-relations/articles/1270204/%20www.wikipedia.com