Media Relations Tips by YAShuaib

 1.      KNOW THE MEDIA

Know and understand:

*           The media environment

*           The conventional media hierarchy of responsibility

*           The strength of each medium for segmentation and coverage

*           The differences between print, electronic and Internet based media

*           Editorial slant and the subject interest of the media

*           That the media are the major stakeholders of media relations officers.

New entrants into media relations and those interested in the job must first acquaint themselves with the field. A majority of those that find themselves in the job are journalists who have cut their teeth in the newsroom and garner experiences on the working of the media. In fact, top politicians and political office-holders search for brilliant reporters, respected columnists and powerful editors to be their spokespersons. There is a dearth of very brilliant investigative journalists in the media as some of them have been withdrawn over the years from their media beats to work either in government as press secretaries or in the private sector as media executives.

It is also on record that some masters of ceremony, MC, and theatre artistes have been appointed to work in media relations. There was a time a medical doctor was appointed a spokesperson for the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. While most of the appointees have got practical experiences in media and social engagements, very few have good understanding on organisational structure and office management. In whatever level and case, they need to have broader knowledge of their new environment, its settings, politics, management and other intricacies that go with dealing with the media.

Media is a plural of medium of information. It represents all outfits that are used to disseminate news to large audience. Its target can be specific or even general. Mass media are categorised into various groups. There is the electronic media, represented by television, radio and even the cinema. There is also the print media, represented by printed sources of information dissemination. These include newspapers, magazine, journals, books, bulletins, and newsletters etc. With the advancement in Information Technology, mass communication has taken a new pace with the development in Satellite Communication, where there now exist thousands of Internet news groups, syndicated email news services and Satellite (Cable) Television channels. These are popular in spreading information to wider audiences across continental borders at the speed of sound. In fact, most reputable media, whether print or electronic, maintain websites for their public to have an easy access to their news and programmes.

The media’s job and survival depend largely on the provision of timely, accurate and verifiable information to the public. They earn public confidence as they serve as an independent platform for freedom of expression and an engine room for mass mobilisation. As credible sources of information, the media go extra-miles to investigate, prove and report issues of great concern and interest to the society. Media reports and other information are provided in the form of news items, features, opinions, commentaries, editorials, documentaries and interviews.

Most liberal and independent media are privately owned, while governments, too, own some as vehicle to facilitate provision of social services. There are rare partnerships between the government and the private ownership even before privatisation, but there exists a level of cooperation and patronage. Each medium has specific objectives, either in its editorial policy or target audience. They also tend to promote interests of their patrons and other agenda. Broad-minded media that serve public purposes are commercially successful as they mirror the aspirations of their readership and viewers.

Media Categorization:

In Nigeria, the media are recognised and classified as either national or regional. A medium with national outlook has much wider scope than the regional. As the name suggests, its constituency is the nation at large with its correspondents and reporters spread in all the nooks and crannies of the federation. Some even have foreign correspondents. A regional media outfit’s ambition is modest. It covers and sometimes circulates within a local precinct. Even though it may venture out of its cocoon to focus on events of wider bases and implications, its main area of concentration is the particular region it avowedly undertakes to do business. Sometimes it is the need to cover a particular area in detail; at other times, inadequate capital to compete with national media informs the modesty of their proprietors. The chief advantage it has over the national one is that it does not spread itself too thin and so is able to capture and saturate the market segment it has chosen for itself.

Within these two broad classifications can be found other categories. The categorisation is based on their areas of strength in terms of editorial focus and degree of patronage from target audience: elitist, financial, politics, general, human interest, special interest, amongst others. Though they may have similarities in news coverage and cut across other categories, their major strengths are determined in terms of adverts, editorial bents, coverage of stories, editorial teams, columnists, ownership and circulation demography. A casual reader can easily segment the following national dailies into the category they belong: Thisday, Daily Times, Nigerian Tribune, Daily Independent, The Sun, The punch, The Comet, Champion, The Guardian, Daily Trust, Leadership, New Age, Vanguard, Financial Standard, BusinesDay, Business Times, the New Nigerian and several other government-owned and local newspapers. It should be noted that while some of the newspapers and broadcast stations are not accessible to some readers, viewers and listeners, they have huge patronage depending on geographical location, positions and one’s interest. It is just like television stations where viewers, not only have preference for certain stations, but get addicted to some programmes. Take NTA, AIT, DBN, Channel, Minaj and other state-owned television and radio stations, segmentation of the media is useful for planning campaign programmes and sponsored communication. It gives media relations officers ideas about appropriate media that can reach the target audience.

Hierarchy of Responsibility:

The chief executives in media outfits who give the final approval for editorial contents: news, opinion and interview are the Editors-in-Chief, who sometime delegate authorities to the editors or line editors like those in charge of news, features, sports, editorial, politics and business. While some media recommend direct correspondences with the editors-in-chief or editors, others insist the correspondence be routed through a hierarchy of ranks, like line-editors, bureau chiefs and beat correspondents.