4 ways journalism changes are affecting PR

Social media, online retail and a rapidly changing culture are disrupting decades of journalistic practices—and that means PR pros have to adapt to get their messages out.

Ragan Insider Premium Content
Ragan Insider Content

Over the last decade, technology, society and culture have drastically changed not just the jobs journalists do, but how journalists do their jobs.

How do you define ‘journalist’?

A journalist is someone who writes articles, makes TV or radio content or covers events either in an objective way (yes, we know objective is a loaded word) or for the benefit of their audiences.

Just couple of decades ago, there weren’t as many choices for how to produce, consume and distribute news. The public could subscribe to a print publication or choose between a few news stations each night.

The rise of digital-native media companies and niche outlets have made it harder to judge who’s influential to your audience and difficult—if not at times impossible—to determine what publications act in a “journalistic manner.” With so many outlets, it’s harder for PR pros to vet and determine who and where to pitch.

For reference, here’s how Muck Rack currently defines a journalist for verification on its platform:

To read the full story, log in.
Become a Ragan Insider member to read this article and all other archived content.
Sign up today

Already a member? Log in here.
Learn more about Ragan Insider.