7 Media culture and work environment

It’s important to be aware of the culture and work environment of media organizations and content publishers. Understanding the expectations of those who have a tremendous influence on the coverage of your organization can better inform your media strategy. The following points elaborate on the work environment and culture of media outlets.

Fast-paced environment

Corporate media organizations compete with one another to break stories or report on events. Being the first to deliver a story brings a media outlet prestige and credibility. Furthermore, being the first to publish often results in a higher search engine ranking, which results in more clicks and stronger viewership.

The onset of cable television in the 1980s changed the media landscape. One of the most notable results is what we refer to as the 24-hour news cycle. Audiences in the past had to wait until specific broadcast times—usually at noon and in the early and late evening—to hear the latest about current events.

Today, many media outlets disseminate news constantly, every hour of the day. This immediacy of news coverage seeks to meet the audience’s demand to have essential information quickly. Furthermore, media outlets compete not only against each other but against the Internet. In this fast-paced environment, media professionals are expected to provide quality news stories to the masses even as they find it more difficult to gather and report facts accurately and responsibly.

Strict deadlines

The 24-hour news cycle places high demands on journalists and news media professionals to work against tight deadlines while being the first to break news. Strict deadlines are not isolated to the newsroom; public relations professionals also are expected to produce under pressure. For example, if your organization has an unanticipated product recall, audiences will expect some type of official announcement quickly. Furthermore, you often get only one chance to create the right message, one that has its intended effect. However accuracy (explained below) is still very important under strict deadlines. It is better to be “second” to put out accurate information than be the “first” to put out inaccurate information. Effective strategic communication professionals learn to meet tight deadlines while producing credible content.

Internal competition

The internal culture of the media has become more competitive over the years. Given the pressure to be the first to break a story, journalists increasingly feel the need to market themselves as trustworthy news sources. Those who work for the same media outlet may compete with one another. Journalists are expected to create a likeable personal brand. They are rated not only on viewership, but on social media likes, shares, personal appearances, and so on.

Journalists can no longer hide behind their byline; they must put their best face forward and work to increase followers. It is important for you to realize this when pitching a news story to a journalist. These topics will be covered in depth later in the book.

Accuracy of information

Fact-checking and pursuing the truth are paramount in the strategic communication industries. As Pulitzer Prize journalist and MacArthur Fellow, Nikole Hannah Jones explained in a NPR podcast, “journalism is not stenography. The role of journalism is getting at the truth and providing context and analysis so that audiences know what the [story] means.” In the age of “fake news” and low media literacy, it is becoming increasingly difficult for consumers to decipher the accuracy of information. Therefore, the role of strategic communication professionals, journalists, and publicists, is to ensure the integrity of information they are responsible for disseminating to the broader public. To verify the accuracy of information, strategic communication professionals should verify sources and whether there is a conflict of interest (explained later in Chapter 3). Try to use primary sources and corroborate the information with secondary sources. Additionally, the Newmark J-School Research Center encourages writers to ask themselves the following questions when determining the accuracy of information:

• “Who says?”
• “How do they know?”
• “Are they biased?”
• “What don’t I know?”

It is worth taking the additional time to verify the credibility of the information you’re using in your content. This is particularly important as some industries report an increased reliance on AI tools to create content. While using AI tools can be make the work process more efficient, the information produced from these tools are not always accurate. A writer runs the risk of damaging their own reputation or the reputation of their organization if there is over reliance on tools that may produce inaccurate information.

Efficiency

Effective strategic communication professionals write for simplicity and clarity. Minimize the use of academic jargon, clichés, or complex sentence structure to avoid confusion. Using active voice writing rather than passive voice writing helps achieve dynamic and clear writing so that your consumers understand your content. Have a clear organizational structure and flow.