3 media relations myths

Some organizations might believe that media relations are transactional, exchanging bits of information for a moment in the headlines.

“But this is actually a myth,” April Nelson, senior director of media relations, policy communications and crisis response at Cargill, said at the PR Daily Conference. “Media relations is a mutually beneficial relationship between (our organizations) and the media.”

Organizations shouldn’t just send something off to the media and hope that it gets attention, she said. “It’s about investing time in those relationships,” she said.

Investing time in relationship building can mean that an organization is talking to reporters even if there’s no news to share.

“We’ll often discuss what we’re hearing about, sharing insights on the industry, on policy changes and consumer trends and they’re sharing with us what they’re covering, what they’re hearing,” Nelson said. “It’s much more of a relationship without an end in mind, except that they’ll have us on their radar when they are covering something.”