An interesting conversation has been going on within a LinkedIn group that I belong to, the Network of PR Professionals http://tinyurl.com/24stshc
Tony Coll kicked off the conversation by asking: “Are the ‘old media’ still relevant?”
Tony’s view is that: “They are not dead yet, and probably not for a few years. However, the elements of a story – by which I mean the psychology of what humans find interesting – is equally applicable to the new media.”
Other comments from members of the network include:
“Anyone who wants to reach the greatest number of target audiences would be a fool not to include traditional media. Why not use every arrow in your quiver?”
“Ye olde media is now going back to be more relevant than ever. Many people are looking for coverage on a topic that would otherwise get a Tweet of 140 characters or less, missing the actual point.”
“No CEO will want to frame their twitter stream or blog postings. Anyone can tweet. Anyone can blog. Third party validation means something because it is not easily attainable.”
“While you can use social media to create buzz the next level is third-party validation by journalists with the skill to do it.”
“Old media appears to be adopting many of the new media features (online versions, etc.). And old media principles will always be of value when pitching stories.”
So, my peers seem to agree with me, that ‘old media’ is not dead, it is already online itself and has been for some years. For now the likes of Twitter are simply another communication channel to your audience and should therefore be part of your public relations toolbox.
However, as one commentator on the group pointed out: “That value proposition may change remarkably in our lifetimes. Once the current generation of CEOs is replaced by persons who grew up with only social media (and without using traditional media), all bets are off.”
Watch this space!
