Reporting news has changed significantly over the last few decades. Print is slowly disappearing, and online editions are popping up more frequently. It changes the way people can receive their news, and it also changes the way people are going to be reporting their news. Journalists have to completely change their methods of writing and reporting to fit the new way of reporting to attract readers to their media.
“The Future of PR,” by Robert Wynne had an interesting take on PR. They raised the point that traditional PR is decreasing, and the use of social media is increasing. https://www.forbes.com/sites/robertwynne/2014/12/09/the-future-of-public-relations-three-forks-in-the-road/#7b50c975544e They say traditional PR targets the middle class by researching and pitching ideas in print, media, and online. Advocacy PR is when tons of money is pumped into “blasting the same message 24-7.” To be effective with this kind of PR, you must have money and be well-known, which was proven during the elections.
https://onebrandmagic.co.uk/blog/trump-triumphs-the-three-pr-strategies-that-won-trump-the-presidency/ This article talks about how our current President used social media to win the election with his popularity and money. Social Media PR is discussed as a rising form of PR. The only negative effect is unless someone in the public eye posts or backs your post, it will not be that effective.
“The Last Call: The End of Printed Newspaper,” by Clay Shirky discusses the end of print newspapers. https://medium.com/@cshirky/last-call-c682f6471c70 People only seem to think that this would be the end of print newspaper, but it also impacts journalists. The employment of journalists and how they can go about forming stories completely changes. People are losing their jobs and the era of journalism is changing. The other two articles discussed how different jobs are needed to publish their stories with different forms of media, which is going to put a dent in how many actual journalists are needed.
“The People Formally Known as the Audience,” by The Economist discusses the increasing use of social media, mentioning Facebook and Twitter most often. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2011/07/09/the-people-formerly-known-as-the-audience
News spreads faster using these forms of media. “The audience isn’t on Twitter, but the news is on Twitter,” Mark Jones, global communities editor, stated. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/03/01/social-media-use-in-2018/ Pew Research Center did a study on the increasing use of social media in different forms of it and through the different generations. This ties directly to Social Media PR which was discussed in “The Future of PR.” Social media is a great “amplifier,” as they describe it, it is not the main form of your news. It usually flashes a feature story that is written by a news outlet and their website or online edition would have the full story.
Catherine's Take 