Media Layoffs and Exploring New Mediums
By Tara Settembre, Account Manager, L.A.
U.S. media companies have cut 72,000 jobs since June 2000 according to I Want Media , which keeps track of the latest media layoffs. Expanding on ideas raised in Suzanne’s post, “Eliminating the Paper Habit – Moves to Online,” the increased folding of print and media sources makes it difficult for PR professionals to pitch stories because there are far fewer journalists to pitch them to. In turn, the importance of ulterior resources like social media, blogs, YouTube, grass roots campaigns and applicable conferences are highlighted, but these non-traditional mediums are still young and need to be used wisely and sparingly. The more we keep abreast of these options and experiment with them though, the more we can offer our clients.
Here are some points from Tom Foremski at Silicon Valley Watcher that echo this sentiment:
“If a PR company is not using social media to effectively promote and market itself–then how can it do it for its clients? It can’t….”
“…There is no “generational gap” in understanding these things, there is an “experiential gap….”
“The only way you can know how to use these digital communications effectively is by doing. It is not something that you can read about and then do it….”
No Comments