On Deadline: Managing Media Relations. (Book Mark).

by Carole M. Howard, ABC and Wilma Mathews, ABC Waveland Press, Inc., Prospect Heights, Ill., Third Edition 2000, 321 Pages.

In my nearly 25 years of organizational communication experience, I've always kept three books within arm's reach (and many more within a two-step reach): my American Heritage dictionary, Roget's thesaurus, and the latest Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. Now I'm adding a fourth: "On Deadline: Managing Media Relations," now in its third edition.

A previous Communication World book review (October 1994) cited the excellent qualities of the second edition. Now, six years and a technologic epoch later, Carole M. Howard and Wilma Mathews, ABC, provide a thoroughly revised third edition.

The latest edition includes 100 more pages and a new chapter on technology and tabloids that succinctly outlines how the new media world is changing our daily work lives. The authors discuss the effects of tabloid journalism, the Internet, and the ongoing changes in today's media mix.

To wit: "Truly, the information Age is here and the Information Highway is well developed. We are only beginning to realize the opportunities and benefits for the exchange of information and news...possible applications are limited only by the imagination of the users of these technologies and of those who would serve us with interconnected networks, sophisticated terminals, expanded databases and software programs."

The authors emphasize the crucial behavioral aspect of today's media relations practitioners. "Much of the time our goal is actually to change behaviors or to preserve the behaviors that we want to continue."

As in the previous edition, "On Deadline" remains true to its core principle: Be strategic, not tactical. The authors point out that media relations is not a stand-alone function, but rather an integral component of an organizational arsenal to meet customer needs and increase shareholder value. Meeting the needs of multiple masters has long been our duty.

In a simply brilliant passage, Howard and Mathews assert: "Some argue that to serve well we must be retained as outside counsel of the organization rather than in it. In fact, we must be both. We must be able to explain to a reporter why we may not be able to give out certain information, and a few minutes later argue equally convincingly with an organization officer as to why we should disclose it. Representing at different times the perspective of the reporter the public and the organization, we become the official split personality."

A nice addition to this edition is the "Advice from PR Pros on How to Succeed in Their Markets" section on global communication. Local public relations professionals, editors and business executives from 10 countries, including Asia, France and the United Kingdom, offer practical advice to those who suddenly find themselves having to "pay" for media coverage.

A similar collection of experts from academia and the private sector offer their views on the skills and qualities they deem most valuable for a media relations professional to become an effective counselor to management. One example of bringing real value to senior management comes from C. Richard Yarbrough, retired vice president of public relations for BellSouth Corporation:

"Public relations professionals must be able to represent the 'outside in as well as the 'inside out'; that is, (public relations) managers must not only communicate the company's message to external audiences, you must also communicate how those audiences view the organization and its decisions back to management. That will not make you popular with your peers and supervisors but is an absolutely vital management role."

The third edition retains some of the better case studies while adding new material on Honeywell, Denny's, Boeing-McDonnel and American Century Investments. Additional new information covers chat-room strategy, special events planning for international markets and a discussion on credibility. The chapter on media events contains a rich supply of new case studies as well.

Oddly, the authors violate one of their own precepts ("target your audience") by attempting to broaden the book's readership to include journalism and public relations students. That's noble in intent, but it's challenging, indeed, to be all things to all people.

From an academic perspective, visual documentation would help illustrate many of the authors' points, such as what a news release should look like. There's no discussion about media alerts or media advisories. What should a pitch letter say? How about showing examples of different typefaces?

"It's easy to set up a chat room connected with an announcement or in response to a crisis," the authors write, but they don't tell us how.

Furtheir "On Deadline" dedicates 28 pages to crisis planning, 20 pages to media events, but sadly, only seven pages to ethics. For classroom use, even as ii supplementary text, the next edition would do well to expand this vital subject.

That said, "On Deadline" remains the best in class and suitable for classroom adoption as long as another public relations writing text is used within it.

Keith A. Sheldon, ABC, APR, is professor in residence, department of journalism, California State University, Chico, where he teaches public relations writing. He also advises the university's ABC student chapter and the student-managed public relations agency Tehama Group Communications.