The Full Spectrum Blog

It’s no secret social media is transforming the way we communicate, and as a public relations professional, I witness this change every day. Last week, I attended the Public RelationsSociety of America’s (PRSA) session Media Relations in the Digital Age with my colleagues Ricki McCarroll and Leticia Diaz.

Photo credit: Jessica Lewis

The conversation was mostly centered around the changing journalism industry and how public relations folks need to adapt, specifically how we pitch stories and who we pitch them to, but a few panelists did touch on their growing presence in the social media realm. With twitter, journalists can tweet their latest stories and spread the word that much faster. Gone are the days when readers have to scavenge for relevant news of interest because now, all the news we’d ever want comes straight to our smartphones in 140 characters or less.

Anthony Capaccio, who covers the defense industry for Bloomberg, noticed a greater social media presence at his publication but pointed to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) as the real innovators. The agency boasts a web site devoted to the social media activities of each branch, including the Army, Navy, Air Force and more while the DOD is using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Delicious and LinkedIn.

Later, Maggie Fox of National Journal took the conversation in a different, but informative, direction, pointing to her frustration with endless pitch emails from us PR people. She said the journalism industry is “consolidating” into more niche markets and focused coverage, so with that, PR people must do their homework and know what they’re pitching and who they’re pitching it too. So while the journalism industry transforms itself with more niche reporters, PR professionals have to adapt accordingly and be well versed on the outlets and reporters we pitch.

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