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Cipr PRCA Daily Mirror

Newspapers still a priority says PRCA head of comms

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By The Drum Team, Editorial

June 17, 2010 | 4 min read

Newspapers are still the priority for news coverage for communications professionals, says the head of communications for PR membership body PRCA.

With news of yet more jobs being shed in newspapers, with the loss of around 200 jobs from Mirror Group in its editorial department being announced last week, the role of the communications professional is becoming all the more important in terms of relaying messages and filling media channels, but Richard Ellis, head of communications for the PRCA, says that newspapers continue to be the main target for PR coverage.

“The Sunday Times, The Financial Times, the broadsheets and the Tabloids have always been the thing. They remain the prestige coverage that you put at the top of your press cuttings when you show the CEO or the head of communications what you have successfully delivered,” says Ellis, head of communications for the PRCA when asked whether the appeal of newspapers was diminishing.

“What we are seeing is that while these are still trophies, people are far more in touch with the fact that it’s about reaching your target market and you don’t necessarily reach them through the paper that the CEO reads. Trade magazines are as important as they ever have been, as long as it is the right trade magazine. With online, people are still working out whether Twitter or Facebook are relevant to them and it’s about working out where you can reach and influence people in a cost effective way. It’s that simple.”

No longer is it simply a case of filling papers and the airwaves, online is a beast with a ferocious appetite which can never be quelled, ironic then that never before have reporters had such unlimited space to fill when there are no where near the number of editorial staff around to even attempt to do so.

Media needs PR professionals to deliver news and information in the modern age, which is why there is seemingly a never ending queue of people willing to enter the public relations industry, including experienced and respected journalists who see it as a less turbulent and, in many cases, a better paid profession.

Ellis says that he believes the industry will continue to see journalists move into the PR field, which is healthy in many respects for the industry in terms of knowledge of what journalists and media are looking for and for contacts from within, which is even more valuable if they have digital expertise.

“The impression I get is that advertising agencies have been squeezed very badly over the last four or five years and they are probably going to start to target PR more and more while SEO has become a commodity,” continues Ellis.

“They are going to look at how they can transfer their skillset to PR. There are going to be some very interesting battles, but what we will see will be a blurring of the lines between the different disciplines and PR agencies are in the best place to exploit the opportunities out there at the moment and are well placed to be fleet of foot and to innovate or reinvent themselves as the market changes.”

Matt Appleby, chair of CIPR Cymru Wales adds that the increase in online media, social networks and the increase in channels through online have meant that the opportunity to connect with audiences outside of traditional media.

“PR has always been about much more than media relations - strategic consultancy, internal communications and issues management, for example - and as it emerges as the discipline best placed to take advantage of these new opportunities it should be no surprise to continue to see an increase in the numbers entering the profession,” explained Appleby.

Despite this, Ellis say that he believes that the UK communications market is the most mature in the world, comparible only with the industry based in New York, and that more niches and specialists will appear as companies try and find new areas and revenue to concentrate upon and develop.

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