Study: PR and media like Siamese twins
A study by the media research company Publicom shows how closely media and PR are interwoven. In a good half of the daily reporting on media conferences held by cantonal authorities, there is no evidence of any content from the media. The authors of the study expect a further shift in the balance of power in favor of PR.
A study by the media research company Publicom shows how closely media and PR are interwoven. In a good half of the daily reporting on media conferences held by cantonal authorities, there is no evidence of any content from the media. The authors of the study expect a further shift in the balance of power in favor of PR.
For two months, a research team observed 42 media conferences of the authorities in the cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen and then carried out content analyses of the editorial reporting of regional radio and TV programs as well as regional journals of Radio DRS and leading regional online portals. The result: the content produced by the daily news media is low. The majority of media releases from the authorities reach the public unchanged. Follow-up research is rare; selection and reduction are the main functions of the media system. There is only one point where the media deviate from the authorities' presentation: They portray political events as more conflictual than they are. With this accentuation, they achieve an emotionalization of political events - probably to generate circulation.
PR still on the rise The advance of electronic media has led to tougher competition. The pressure to be up to date stands in the way of commentary, which is still best cultivated in newspapers. Journalism professor Ulrich Saxer describes the relationship between PR and the media as a "precarious relationship between Siamese twins". According to the authors of the study, the distribution of economic weights between PR and the media and the ongoing professionalization will continue to shift the balance of power in favour of PR. In particular, the pressure to be up-to-date is weakening its position in relation to organized interests. The result is more information, but less depth, reflection and background.
The Publicom study "Political public relations in regional media" was funded by the Federal Office of Communications.
For two months, a research team observed 42 media conferences of the authorities in the cantons of Zurich and St. Gallen and then carried out content analyses of the editorial reporting of regional radio and TV programs as well as regional journals of Radio DRS and leading regional online portals. The result: the content produced by the daily news media is low. The majority of media releases from the authorities reach the public unchanged. Follow-up research is rare; selection and reduction are the main functions of the media system. There is only one point where the media deviate from the authorities' presentation: They portray political events as more conflictual than they are. With this accentuation, they achieve an emotionalization of political events - probably to generate circulation.
PR still on the rise The advance of electronic media has led to tougher competition. The pressure to be up to date stands in the way of commentary, which is still best cultivated in newspapers. Journalism professor Ulrich Saxer describes the relationship between PR and the media as a "precarious relationship between Siamese twins". According to the authors of the study, the distribution of economic weights between PR and the media and the ongoing professionalization will continue to shift the balance of power in favour of PR. In particular, the pressure to be up-to-date is weakening its position in relation to organized interests. The result is more information, but less depth, reflection and background.
The Publicom study "Political public relations in regional media" was funded by the Federal Office of Communications.
