LECTURE 2 SLIDES

The media environment

Lecture content

Size and shape of the contemporary media industry

Regulation of the mediaCurrent issues arising from a global media

environment and Ethics of journalism and PR.

Newspaper market

There are 1000s of newspaper titles in the UK. This is split up between 12 national dailies,

national Sunday papers and hundreds of regional and local papers.

Tabloids & BroadsheetsCurrent issues:

Decline in readership Tabloidisation Increased use of exclusives Increased availability of freesheets Newspapers are still very important media despite

aforementioned issues

Television

Public Sector (funded by subscriptions)The BBCPrivate Sector (funded by adverts and/or

subscriptions)ITV, Channel 4& Channel 5Satellite & Cable TV (funded by adverts and

subscriptions)800 different channels available

Issues important for PR: Increased fragmentation, 24 hour rolling news, digitisation

Radio

Split up into public broadcasting, i.e. the BBC and the commercial sector, both with national, regional and local stations.

BBC: national radio stations: Radio 1, 2, 3, 4, and Radio Five live, many regional stations and more specialised stations.

There are a few national commercial stations, the most important ones being Classic FM, Talksport and Virgin AM.

Local radio: about 200 radio stations, each major town has a BBC station and one or two commercial stations.

Good PR opportunities throughout, particularly in the talk/interview based stations

Magazines

In the UK alone: a wide range of specialist titles, bringing the magazine total up to about 15,000.

Characteristics: expensive, sturdier and have generally high production values then other print media

Longer shelf-lifeMore detailed and in-depth coverage written for a

specialist audience. Offer great opportunities for communication

throughout the magazine market. Check out Benn’s Media Directory and Media

Guardian

Internet

Increasingly useful medium for news distributionNewspapers’ websites, organisations’ website,

specialist fora, blogs, discussion groupsEndless opportunities

But also plenty of negatives Often lower standards, very fragmented audiences, little

control Internet is a pull rather then push-medium More costly (time & money) then often thought

Example: www.ukclimbing.com

Media Regulation

“Although the media are fragmented, they are a very important part of our lives. They influence political and societal debates, set agendas and have an impact on culture and behaviour. The recognition of the power of the media has meant that there is also a need for regulation.”

Broadcast: OfcomPrint Media: Press Complaints CommissionInternet: fairly unregulated

PR and Journalism Ethics

Increased globalization of the media brings new ethical changes:

Questions of profit over public interest puts new pressures on journalists to get the job done quickly

Media now work across nations and so it seems almost inappropriate to apply only national codes of ethics.

Professional bodies from both journalism and public relations have updated their professional codes since the 1980s due to the profound changes in the global media environment.

The codes of National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the CIPR can be found on their respective websites . I enclosed the links, please have a look!

PR & Journalism Ethics

The codes of National Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the CIPR have been updated to take into account the changing environment

Both emphasise ‘the public interest’. E.g. The CIPR code of conduct suggests that the integrity of the profession lies

‘in the honest and responsible regard for the public interest’, the NUJ code highlights that the private lives of people are to be respected unless ‘there are overriding considerations of public interest’.

  This move to aim to work for the greater good is very interesting –

Both professions are often seen as representing a particular interest, e.g. the particular political slant of a newspaper, getting a scoop to boost circulation figures as far as journalism is concerned or obtaining as much news coverage as possible for a particular clients.

To what extent this is in the public interest is debatable, I’d be interested to hear your opinion!

Implications of global media environment for communications/PR work

Increased opportunities due to 24 hour news cycle

Greater opportunities for smaller media outlets and organizations themselves to communicated directly with their target publics

However, the fragmentation of the media also means that it is even more important to choose your media carefully to actually reach the people you intend to reach.

References and links

http://www.cipr.co.uk/Membership/conduct/index.htm

http://media.gn.apc.org/nujcode.html

Benn’s media directory (available in library)http://www.hollis-publishing.com/bennsmedia.htm

• Media Guardian Guide (available in library)http://www.amazon.co.uk/Media-08-Essential-

Changing-Landscape/dp/0852650914/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222351160&sr=8-1