Monday, June 13, 2005
Media Indifference
Here is the essay that was discussed a couple of times recently in this blog. I had originally called it "media agnosticism," but that was too precious and inaccurate besides. The current title carries implications that one could care less about media, but that is not the meaning of the word here. I am using the original meaning that denotes "without bias."
The argument is that media consumption is changing rapidly, and old assumptions about what people see, hear and read are no longer accurate. That is why P&G, for example, is cutting back on network television buys. What PR practitioners need to do is what every company needs to do -- document what individuals are consuming in terms of media and readjust communications approaches accordingly. That is, no medium is sacred. All are considered, but just those that are the most efficient are used. Sometimes that includes publicity and sometimes, it might not. What is important is understanding what the target individual does in terms of learning about products, services and issues.
The article may be simplistic, but it does touch upon a continuing problem in all communications departments. We are captives of media that we know. We think in terms of media we represent. We can't get outside of media bias and consider communications challenges objectively.
I don't expect you to be happy with the article. I do hope to hear your counter-arguments.
The argument is that media consumption is changing rapidly, and old assumptions about what people see, hear and read are no longer accurate. That is why P&G, for example, is cutting back on network television buys. What PR practitioners need to do is what every company needs to do -- document what individuals are consuming in terms of media and readjust communications approaches accordingly. That is, no medium is sacred. All are considered, but just those that are the most efficient are used. Sometimes that includes publicity and sometimes, it might not. What is important is understanding what the target individual does in terms of learning about products, services and issues.
The article may be simplistic, but it does touch upon a continuing problem in all communications departments. We are captives of media that we know. We think in terms of media we represent. We can't get outside of media bias and consider communications challenges objectively.
I don't expect you to be happy with the article. I do hope to hear your counter-arguments.
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