2021 Public Relations Trend Snapshot
Media Relations in the Year Ahead
Like most industries, the coronavirus pandemic has drastically impacted and altered the media. It has not only influenced what the media publishes, but how they publish content. Most, if not all outlets, have migrated away from traditional print and broadcast newsrooms for remote work, and have faced revenue challenges like so many other industries.
The following discusses how these changes will impact the media landscape going forward.
The Work-From-Home Effect
With a shift from traditional newsrooms, story construction and editing have adapted accordingly. This is perhaps most apparent with broadcast outlets, with many now producing from live, at-home studios, resulting in B-roll and pre-taped features being extremely difficult to coordinate. As such, producers are seeking well-produced B-roll to fill the gaps once filled by their teams.
This production snag means the burden of visual assets has shifted to brands, meaning it’s now critical for brands to invest in their own storytelling abilities and capturing their stories in photography or video. Naturally, it’s much easier to coordinate a broadcast segment with visual assets that showcase a particular topic in an engaging manner.
The work-from-home setup has also made it more difficult to establish new relationships. Many PR experts advise against cold calling press, but sometimes a simple phone call (when used strategically and sparingly) can make all the difference. With reporters and editors working remotely from home, cold calling has been minimized as many office lines haven’t been forwarded to at-home numbers. That has resulted in email communication emerging as the primary form of contact, which can pose new problems as reporters are bombarded with an increasing volume of pitches.
Changing Media Landscape
The media landscape itself has also changed. We saw some media outlets fold and others acquired by larger conglomerates. Morning Brew, the millennial-focused newsletter, for example, was acquired by Business Insider (owned by Axel Springer). Vice Media acquired Refinery29 last year, combining two different yet complementary media types and formats. Buzzfeed is set to acquire Verizon Media’s HuffPost in an all-stock merger, with hopes of jumpstarting the growth of both platforms. This merger joins two media giants with similar audiences that expect short-format, quick-to-press news, and will syndicate content across both platforms to maximize advertising efficacy and exposure.
Other outlets fell prey to the pandemic. Cheddar’s second channel, Cheddar Business, folded into its main channel. Quibi launched and folded before year end. And Bustle Digital Group closed The Outline, their news site for millennials. This shifting media landscape impacts the key PR strategies of whom to pitch and where to target potential stories. Folded outlets can translate into decreased opportunities, but acquisitions potentially open doors to new relationships.
Looking Ahead
As the world returns to a new normal, so too will the media landscape. But it won’t be without remnants of the last year. We can continue to expect slimmed-down newsrooms, most of which imposed budget cuts due to a decreased advertising spend. This may shift, however, as ad budgets grow again and media generate revenue growth.
We may see attempts at this revenue growth in the way some outlets file. “Clickbait” headlines will almost certainly continue to grow, as more outlets depend on digital placements and a sheer number of eyeballs to generate revenue. McKinsey predicts a lasting surge in e-commerce and other in-person services migrating online, which will likely be reflected in how the public consume news. There may be an even bigger push towards digital, with an outlet’s social media presence, for example, taking a greater role in how stories are highlighted and how much engagement they generate.
