Understanding the media

It had only been three weeks into my placement and I had to attend a client meeting. The meeting was to debrief the client on how to deal with a media release and an interview. This was prompted by the consultancy writing a media release for the organization and the organization being unhappy with the angle/approach that was taken. Although our consultancy understood where the concern was coming from, we did not think that their approach was the best and wanted to explain to them why. So the meeting was set up.

During the meeting both sides got the chance to explain where they were coming from. From a PR perspective we gained a better understanding of the organisation and from the organisations perspective they understood the media better. This was interesting for me because I could see how hard it was for organizations to get their head around the media, how it works and how we can work it for our organisations. It also highlighted how just coming from a different perspective can change so much, and how a PR practitioner has to be especially patient. Not to let the organization do what they feel is fit, but not to push them either. The role of a PR practitioner is to guide the client, and let them make the final decision.

Daniella