The Changing Media

I bet all of us have heard the old expression, "Nothing lasts forever," thousands of times. Besides the fact it is true, it is one of those catch-all phrases that acknowledges our brief time on earth and captures the inconsistencies of human behavior and evolution of life itself. For me, it also helps keep the ups and downs of life in a healthy perspective. In the case of this particular entry, I am referring to the media. Called for many years "the fourth branch of government," the media is a major part of our society. As has been the case with other three branches, it, too, has changed considerably over the years - in ways that are positive and, in my view, negative.

One negative change has been in the rise of niche journalism. This is journalism that is carried out with a predisposition toward a certain bias. For practitioners of niche journalism, it is not enough to present the news as objectively as possible. Instead, the news is presented to the public through the lens of, say, a conservative or liberal filter. This means several things: the public is no longer getting accurate news and that the media is dividing up audiences into two, if not more, camps as people tap into outlets not so much to gain new information but to have their own perspectives and biases reinforced. Unfortunately, practitioners of niche journalism seem to be gaining in popularity while the so-called straight news outlets are in decline.

For public relations professionals, it is important they remain up-to-speed on these changes for the simple reason they directly impact the ability of these communicators to do their job. My own sense is this is one more reason why public relations practitioners are turning away from the media as a key way to reach various publics. With media outlets being seen increasingly as mouth pieces for the political parties, their credibility as legitimate sources of information is shrinking. For public relations to be most effective, its communication vehicles and channels must be credible. Sadly, more and more the media is not fitting that bill.