1. Chapter 9
Communication Channels and
Media
This is PR 11th Edition
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2. Objectives
• To appreciate the range of communication channels and
media in the 21st Century, consider the implications for public
relations and examine how innovations in communication
technology offer potential public relations opportunities, for
example, in relationship building
• To recognize distinctions between advertising and public
relations messages and the channels and media that are
appropriate for each type of communication
• To understand the need for and use of strategies in preparing
publicity messages
• To develop a sensitivity about the unique strengths and
weaknesses that each type of message and medium has for
public relations message dissemination
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3. Channels
• Public or private paths for messages
• To and from various publics
• Media that convey messages in those
channels
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4. Public vs. Private Channels
• Public channels dominated by mass or
specialized media available to anyone who
subscribes, tunes in
• Private channels more commonly directed
to a particular chosen audience
• Channels frequently categorized as print or
electronic, internal or external, controlled or
uncontrolled
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5. Choosing the Medium
• Based on objective, audience, message
content, timeliness and budget
• Generally a mix of media is used
• Degree of control is usually a factor
• Production costs and cost effectiveness
also need to be considered
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6. Selecting the Proper Medium
• What audience are you trying to reach, and how receptive is
it to each medium?
• When do you need to reach this audience, and by what date
does it need to receive a message to respond to it?
• Which medium reaches the broadest segment of your
target/priority audience at the lowest cost?
• How much do you need to spend, and how much can you
afford to spend?
• Which medium has the highest credibility with your audience
and at what cost?
• Which medium can you count on to deliver the message
within the necessary time constraints?
• Should a single medium be used, or multiple?
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7. Advertising vs. Publicity
• Major distinction is economic
• Advertising is paid, purchased space or time in
broadcast or print media, and now on the Web
– May be a medium’s own space used to promote
its own programs or messages
– May be space donated to a nonprofit cause
• Publicity is news about a client, organization,
product or service that appears in the time or
space the media use for information, news,
programming
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8. Advertising Used in PR
Practice
• House ads
• Public service announcements (PSA)
• Institutional ads (advertorials, infomercials,
advocacy ads)
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9. Commercial Advertising by
Nonprofits
• Sometimes pay for space rather than just
using donated space
• Advantage of paying is greater control over
timing, placement and content
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10. Global Advertising
Considerations
• Difficult to adapt advertising pitch from local
to global market
• Language, culture, tone must be tailored for
each locale and audience
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11. Advertising in Other Forms
• Specialty advertising
• Podcasts
• Cooperative advertising
• Advertising by professionals (lawyers, etc.)
• Advertising in foreign languages spoken by
intended audiences
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12. Advertising as Controlled and
Uncontrolled Communication
• Controlled advertising (paid)
– Advertiser has nearly total control over
message, context (size, shape, etc.), timing
– Advertiser has access to extensive media
research on audience
• Uncontrolled advertising (donated, PSA)
– Advertiser controls content but not timing
– Audience reach, coverage not certain
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13. Advertising’s Uncontrollable
Problems
• Good ideas are imitated
• Free, PSA ads are often placed in
undesirable locations, time slots
• There are campaigns that attack the
competition
• There is the myth of “one size fits all”
advertising across borders, cultures
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14. What is Publicity?
• Information carried as editorial content in a
medium
• Often news, but can be promotional
• News media depend on PR people to
provide news they want, need and will use
• “News subsidies” from PR people to
journalists
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15. Publicity Tools
• Publications
– Organizational
– Industry
– Trade or association
• Sponsored magazines
• Newsletters (internal or external)
• Handbooks (usually for employees)
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16. Publicity Tools (cont.)
• Film/video (sponsored films, corporate
videos, internal videos)
• Feature fillers
• Cable and digital media (teletext, intranet)
• Speeches, meetings
• Product or logo placements in films, on
merchandise
• Corporate books, museums, exhibits
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17. Controlled Publicity
• Controlled media
– Company, industry, trade and association
publications under an editor’s control
– If you’re the editor, they are controlled
– If you’re submitting, but are not the editor,
they’re uncontrolled
• Magazines, brochures, newsletters, videos
you produce for your organization or a
client are controlled
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18. Uncontrolled Publicity
• News releases: you may control until they
are in the hands of an editor, but then they
are uncontrolled
• Tip sheets, fact sheets, queries: you lose
control once they are in the hands of the
media
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19. Direct Publicity to Audiences
• Prepared for dissemination directly to
desired public/audience
– Organizational publications
– Annual report the “signature” piece
produced by an organization
– Electronic communication such as
intranet, videos, closed-circuit TV
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20. Publicity Through Mass Media
• Uncontrolled: used at the discretion of news
editors
• Print publicity: news releases, coverage of
an event, interviews
• Use of e-mail for distribution
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21. Bad vs. No Publicity
• Bad publicity: attributed to errors by
management, poor planning, bad policies
• No publicity: attributable to ineffective PR
staffer
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22. Six Rules for Publicity
• Make sure the information is appropriate to the medium in
content and style and is timely
• Check all facts carefully for accuracy, and double-check
for missing information
• Provide name and contact information of PR person for
journalists to contact if they have questions
• Include appropriate photographs and identify people and
the organization with names, addresses and phone
numbers
• Never call to find out why a news story or photo was not
used
• Don’t request clippings if a news story or photo is
published
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23. Media Relations Tips
• Don’t forget alternative media
• Observe local customs in interacting with
journalists
• Prepare separate, specific materials for
broadcast (which takes considerable
knowledge of broadcast media)
• In addition to spot news, consider
documentaries, talk shows and news
features for TV
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24. Media Relations Tips (cont.)
• Consider the hybrid media of direct mail,
email,etc. where the recency, frequency
and cost are significant factors in deciding
whether to use
• Consider new digital media, from touch-
screen kiosks to websites to search
engines, that can be the “right” media for
certain audiences
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25. Pros and Cons of
Interactive/Digital Media
• Publics can be defined and targeted more
precisely
• Digital media lend themselves to reliable
monitoring and evaluating
• Their instantly global nature makes
spreading rumors and falsehoods easy
• Organizations are easily attacked by rogue
sites
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