The media landscape is changing at a phenomenal rate. Not that long ago “the media” meant newspapers, magazines, television and radio. Now, traditional media institutions are closing the doors while new media ventures like Twitter are making billions. The conflicting reports from around the world about the true state of the media are confusing to say the least.
As recently as 10 years ago you could penetrate every major news organisation in Australia by inviting only a handful of journalists to a launch. Today, at least in the Western world, traditional sources of news have seen a fall in their power. They are no longer the sole voice of the people.
Despite the seismic shift we are experiencing, newspapers in Australia are still king. 57% of Australians say that newspapers shape the issues of the day and traditional newspaper publishers own 7 out of the Top 10 news websites in Australia.
It’s not that traditional media is dead; rather that new media has been born. The overall number of media outlets has grown dramatically.
It’s pretty much impossible to paint an accurate picture of the number of outlets that can now be legitimately termed as “media” however here is a statistic to put it into perspective.
Back in 1981, 550 journalists and broadcasters were accredited by the palace and descended on London to cover the royal nuptials of Charles and Diana. 30 years later for Will and Kate’s wedding, the palace officially accredited 6,500 and there were an estimated 8,500 in attendance.
The days of getting good results from servicing only a handful of journalists are gone. It’s not only the number of outlets that is changing; the requirements of media have also been blurred.
Radio and television stations now require text and images for their websites. Newspapers and magazines need video clips for theirs. And they are all working with less staff to do it.
The only tool that can be the keystone of all of your communications initiatives is an online newsroom.
10 years ago an online newsroom was purely a resource for the media. Now a good online newsroom is designed to communicate with all stakeholders, whether they are staff, the general public or the media. It should be the resource for everyone who is looking for the most up-to-date information, access to your social media channels or video and images that are broadcast quality and downloadable.
An online newsroom should be the first place the media, your staff and the general public go for news about your brand.
A well-built online newsroom handles multimedia, making all of your press releases, images and video easily accessible and downloadable. Done correctly, it is the most effective way to have your information available 24/7.
It will handle those time consuming day-to-day requests and, during crisis communications, it can ensure you deliver uniform messages worldwide, instantaneously.
An online newsroom should be your keystone because no other communications tool offers a way to bridge the gap between the requirements of traditional media and new media, allowing you to concentrate on the big picture.
This list is a ‘back-to-basics’ overview of some of the things journalists need that are so easily overlooked when you are intimately involved in a company or industry.
Every Online Newsroom should have:
Media Contacts
Search capability
Links to news releases
Downloadable JPG images in high resolution
Downloadable video content in broadcast quality
Text and multimedia assets linked to each other
Company overview
FAQs
Management Team Bios and photos
Story Ideas
Upcoming Events
Links to company generated content
RSS feeds
Links to company social media profiles
Search engine friendly URL
Content categorised for easy access
Ability to download multiple items simultaneously
The days of sending out a media release without multimedia assets are gone. In the world of modern media, PR must provide downloadable reproduction quality images and broadcast video on their online newsrooms.