Throughout the years, PR and media industries have become closely intertwined. At first glance this might seem as a power struggle. However in reality, it is more of a free-flowing circuit of interaction and influence. This is a big part of media logic.
Many organisations believe that the media is all powerful. Because of this of this perceived power they place a lot of effort in trying to influence the media. Throughout this process they begin to mirror or internalise media practices, values, and assumptions.
What is Mediatisation?
This is called mediatisation. A process which assumes that the media is a network of independent social institutions. All of which operate according to their own sets of rules and practices. Together, these rules constitute the logic of media.
If they want to gain media coverage for their brand or issue, organisations need to understand this, and make compromises. The media holds a presence in everyday life and as such the media have become central to the social construction of reality.
Mediatisation is primarily concerned with understanding the rules and routines that underpin media practice and how organisations and social institutions adapt themselves in order to fit in with this logic. PR professionals attempt to harmonise and reconcile the logic of their own organisations to that of the media. In a media landscape like the Portuguese one, the need for local expertise fits like a glove.
Media Techniques in Public Relations
Because media coverage is frequently seen as a vital component in any issue campaign or branding exercise, PR is at the forefront of accommodating the logic of news values. Consequently, Media Relations benefits from understanding editorial routines and journalistic techniques for storytelling.
In many modern societies the ability to secure media attention is a vital component of potential influence, so PR across various sectors, but particularly those who wish to influence public opinion on issues and policies, place a high value on publicity initiatives and building relationships with journalists.
But let us not forget that could never be a single unified media logic, one that applied equally to all media institutions in all situations. And not all the PR is for organisations who will always automatically bend to the logic of media.