Can PR save media?: Standing up to the reporter results in a big yes for the news.

Do public relations practitioners play a role in maintaining the credibility of news media? Although most journalists would probably scoff at the mere idea, is it absurd to suggest that public relations professionals care about the quality of our newspapers, evening news broadcasts and web-based information outlets?

If you are a PR practitioner responsible for communicating your organization's messages through media, now is the time to be concerned about which sources you use to get the word out. We are climbing, at record-breaking speed, to an unknown summit of the information age where the Web, specialty cable channels and trade publications are providing infinite opportunities for PR professionals to get coverage for their organizations. Although these outlets can be a dream to help you reach publics with pinpoint accuracy, they also can be a nightmare when you're trying to ensure that your messages are delivered credibly.

DISCERN THE VALUE OF NEWS VS. COVERAGE

These ballooning news sources cause two main problems in the media system. First, they create increased competition for information. Competition is healthy and can encourage well-established media to sharpen their reporting skills and dig a little deeper for the story behind the news release. But the flip side is that traditional media cannot help but get thrown into the competition fray with "new media" sources that are trying to make their mark. Increased competition can occasionally result in more established media publishing or broadcasting stories that they may not normally cover.

I have had journalists from well-established and publicly trusted media outlets say to me, "Normally, I wouldn't be doing this type of story, but my editor (or producer) has told me that we have to compete with the new guys, so here I am." In the wake of the horrific events of Sept. 11, our hospital has been receiving a steady stream of calls about bio-terrorism from reporters and concerned members of the public. It's important to try to ease public paranoia, but where do you draw the line and say, "No, our experts cannot comment on this story anymore?"

Reporters, who have covered the story from every possible angle, are now embarrassed when they call our hospital and ask to speak to our infectious disease experts. Our physicians have been telling people not to worry too much about anthrax and smallpox, but calming reassurances are not cures for public anxiety. Journalists know they're close to a saturation point on this story, but as one reporter said, "I'm so tired of this I can't even watch television, but I have to do what my editors ask." I sympathize with her predicament, but what would happen if I said no to the story? She would probably just call someone else until she found a person to comment, but by shutting a credible door on a sensational story, we may help tuck in a tired news cycle.

A second concern in the new media landscape is that the amount of airtime and space that cable channels, web sites and other outlets have to fill means they can be creative in their programming. Creativity can be as healthy as competition, but when it is stretched thin to fill airtime, the result can be a marginal product. I recently had a producer from a cable channel show call me to find a cardiologist who was willing to discuss heart disease in women. A reasonable request, but when I called back with the name of a physician willing to participate, the producer asked me if I thought the doctor was "spunky and good looking." I thought the producer was joking, and when I laughed out loud, my response was greeted with silence. I had to quickly catch my breath and politely turn down the request. I understand that television is a visual medium, but I thought the information we could provide would be more important than the physical appearance of my cardiologist.

INSERT CREDIBILITY INTO YOUR PROCESS

Producers who scramble to find guests for shows and journalists who desperately need comment before a deadline are not solely to blame for creating questionable news. Public relations practitioners also are responsible for the quality of news. If you examine where reporters get their information, more often than not, public relations practitioners pop up in the mix. Whether they are organizing logistics for media events, writing press releases, pitching stories, gathering research for a story or providing access to spokespersons, PR people can be an important resource for journalists. Public relations practitioners play a role in the development of news, so it seems logical that they should be concerned with the quality of the story. It makes sense that if PR practitioners look to media to deliver messages, they should want these messages delivered credibly. If the source is credible, so is the message.

How can PR people maintain the credibility of media? Assignment editors and producers would probably say it is their job to worry about the credibility of their employers. From a PR standpoint, it is easy to continue inundating media outlets with news releases and let editors skim through throngs of faxes and e-mails that have become more nuisance than news. In fact, taking up the charge to maintain the credibility of media is a leadership opportunity for the public relations field, and it starts with one simple action, the ability to say no.

Saying no manifests itself in many ways. It may mean telling a client that the staff barbecue is not worthy of a news release. It may mean telling a scientist that cancer research on mice that has a slim chance of working in humans creates false hope among patients and their families if it's reported in the media. You may have to say no initially to reporters who seem unprepared and do not have a clear focus to their story. You may also have to temper your enthusiasm for a project that may not have a news angle and take a sober second look at who is going to benefit from your story idea.

Once you say no and recognize that not everything is a news opportunity, it's still your lob to manage expectations and work with the client who thinks the staff appreciation barbecue would make a great item on the evening news. Looking at the intended objective of the project may yield a better measure of success than attracting media attention and help bring expectations back to earth. It seems painfully obvious, but to paraphrase Freud, sometimes a staff appreciation barbecue is lust a good excuse to grill meat. In most cases, it only takes a few minutes to point our that a better objective was met. Media coverage is not the only indication of success.

For the unfortunate reporters who call and are obviously not prepared to cover a story, take the time to point out where they may find information to help them ask useful questions of your experts (it may only require reading your press kit). At first they may be annoyed and surprised at the suggestion that they haven't done their homework, but in the end, they will get a better story, the readers or viewing audience will get more out of it, and your organization will be covered accurately.

ASK YOURSELF THE RIGHT QUESTIONS

Managing your enthusiasm and saying no to yourself is probably the most difficult piece of the puzzle, but this is where your colleagues in the industry can help. If you are consulting on a project and think that it may be a news story but are unsure, shop the idea around and get an objective opinion

from someone outside the organization. It's easy to get too close to something and think it is the most important thing in the world. Get an opinion from a peer about the "new supply chain management project that took a year to develop," and although it's probably interesting to a targeted group of people, learn to save yourself from organizing a potentially lonely news conference.

Is the ability to say no the only answer to maintaining the credibility of media? Ironically, no, but it's a start. To deny that public relations professionals have a role to play in ensuring that our media sources remain credible is a laissez-faire attitude that we cannot afford to take.

Craig DuHamel is manager of public affairs, Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre, Toronto, Ontario.