Master Thesis
Graduate School of Communication Science
University van Amsterdam
Name: Ottelien van Pelt
Student Number: 10611207
Email: ottelienvanpelt@gmail.com
Professor: Dr. Pytrik Schafraad
Date: 27-06-2014
The Dance Between
Journalism & PR
2 Abstract
This article seeks to explore how journalists make use of PR materials in their news reporting of organizations and how the PR sector tries to influence journalists' news reporting with PR material. This research reveals that a media landscape without the PR sector has become unthinkable. This study found that there are two primary factors that influence the publication success of PR material in news reporting: journalistic routines and characteristics of PR material. In addition, interviews show that there are also two primary factors that influence the manner of succession of a PR case: situational factors and PR routines. Interestingly, there is a distinction between hard and soft news in the use of PR material in news reporting. In addition, a difference is evident between the use of communication channels by PR professionals between gaining media attention and restraining media attention. Furthermore, the findings show that different views on the relationship exist between PR professionals and journalists. PR professionals and journalists covering hard news view their relationship primarily as a partnership, while journalists covering soft news saw PR material as a bombardment. Overall, the results of this study provide building blocks of a more in-depth understanding of journalism and PR practices in producing news content on organizations.
Keywords: journalism; PR; relationship; PR material; hard news and soft news
Introduction
In the journalistic field there is much debate on the growing power of the PR industry, which is often contrasted with the trend of depleting editorial offices. Recent studies on the subject show that the Public Relations (PR) sector has professionalized itself and that copy-paste journalism is more and more prevalent in news reporting. In his book Earth Flat News, Nick Davies (2008) claims that the administrative news culture is dominating newsrooms filled with journalists who recycle or regurgitate PR material (also dubbed as “churnalism”). Research in
3 the United Kingdom and the Netherlands has confirmed Davies's (2008) claims. Lewis, Williams, and Franklin (2008) found that British news, especially in print, is routinely recycled from elsewhere and that in 70% of the cases the article claims were completely uncorroborated. In the Netherlands, research by Hijmans, Buijs, Schafraad, Frye, Daalmans, & Ten Haaf (2009) showed that 30% of news articles were recycled or regurgitated press releases. At the same time, the PR sector has professionalized itself and a media landscape without influence of the PR sector has become unthinkable. In addition, a much larger range of institutional and non-institutional organizations have begun employing PR strategies (Davis, 2000; Prenger & Van Vree, 2004). While research has focused on the use of press releases and other "information subsidies" in news reporting, previous research has not yet investigated both sides of the spectrum and incorporated both roles of journalists and PR professionals in news production. Furthermore, the relation between journalists and news sources has much been investigated in the reporting of general and political news (Lewis et al., 2008; Hijmans et al., 2009; Strömback & Nord, 2006). The same cannot be stated for corporate news, while PR seems to have an especially big influence in the news reporting on organizations. Therefore, this research tries to fill a gap in literature by focusing on PR material of organizations and news reporting on organizations and will expand its scarce knowledge of media attention of the business world. Besides its academic relevance, this research inherits practical relevance for journalism and PR. This research gives insights on the process of news reporting of journalists on organizations and the process of acquiring and restraining media attention by PR professionals. Both processes can make journalists and PR professionals more alert and conscious about the influence of PR material in news reporting, which they can both apply to their own benefit to their profession.
Thus, this research tries to fill this gap in literature by exploring how journalists make use of PR materials in their news reporting of organizations and how the PR sector tries to influence journalists' news reporting with press releases and other forms of information subsidies. The following research question will be central in this study: "how does PR material influence news reporting on organizations?".
4 This study is structured as follows. The next section reviews the research background of this study. Secondly, the research sample and methods are elaborated upon. Thirdly, the findings are presented. Fourthly, the findings will be discussed in depth. And finally, the last section deals with discussing the limitations and provide suggestions for future research.
Literature Review Agenda-Building
Journalism and PR can be argued to be extremely related fields. In the eighties, Gans (1980) described the relationship between journalists and sources as a "tug-of-war", where the power balance shifts between the two sides (Davis, 2009): “The relationship between sources and journalism resembles a dance, for sources seek access to journalists, and journalists seek access to sources. Although it takes two to tango, either sources or journalists can lead, but more often than not, sources do the leading” (Gans, 1980, p. 116). As Gans (1980) argues, journalists depend on PR professionals and vice versa. Journalists and PR professionals engage in an ongoing negotiation, in which they both control key resources. On the one side, journalists are acting as gatekeepers and are in control of the visibility of sources. In addition, journalists control the extent to which sources can get the attention that they are seeking and they control the tone of the news items (Strömbäck & Nord, 2006). On the other side, sources are in control of the information they provide and if powerful enough, they have the power to grant legitimacy to the news items. These ongoing negotiations between journalists and sources revolve around fulfilling their own and each other's needs. Simply put, journalists need the information that sources have to offer and sources need the attention and the visibility that journalists can offer them (Sigal, 1973; McManus, 1994; Strömbäck & Nord, 2006).
To better understand the relationship between journalism and PR, the concepts of agenda- setting and agenda-building offer a relevant theoretical background for explaining relationships among these professions. McCombs and Shaw (1972, p. 177) traditionally applied agenda-setting capacity of the mass media to politics and hypothesized that "the mass media set the agenda for each political campaign, influencing the salience of attitudes toward the political issues". More generally, the agenda-setting function premise holds that "the
5 prominence of elements in the news influences the prominence of those elements among the public" (Carroll & McCombs, 2003, p. 36). However, over time, scholars have shown that this theory also applies to other topics in journalism, such as to journalism on organizations (McCombs & Ghanem, 2001; McCombs & Reynolds, 2002). For example, Carroll and McCombs (2003) applied the agenda-setting function of the mass media to corporate visibility and reputation and argued that the amount of information about a company in the media is positively linked with the public prominence of this particular company.
While the agenda-setting theory is concerned with the relationship between media and audiences, the agenda-building theory regards the source-media relationship. As introduced by Weaver & Elliot (1985, p. 88), this theory deals with "how the press interacts with other institutions in society to create issues of public concern". Central to this theory is the question why certain events, issues and sources dominate the news, while most never make it to the newsstands, and to what extent different groups know how to influence the news agenda (Kroon & Schafraad, 2013, p. 285). This theory is an especially relevant in this research, since it helps us understand the relationship of journalism and PR. The agenda-building theory views the process of creating mass media agendas as an involving reciprocal process among multiple groups, including the media, policymakers, interest groups, and organizations (Kiousis, Popescu & Mitrook, 2007). Through the use of PR material or "information subsidies", such as news conferences, press releases, and interviews, PR programs and campaigns, PR professionals influence the agenda-building processes. Berkowitz & Adams (1990, p. 723) define information subsidy as "the efforts of news sources to intentionally shape the news agenda by reducing journalists' costs of gathering information". These information subsidies, therefore, can have a profound impact on the shaping of news content and the news agenda. For example, research by Kiousis et al. (2007) supported the basic agenda-building proposition and showed that the salience of companies in PR material is positively related to the salience of companies in media coverage.
6 The Newsgathering Process
Any attempts to describe how journalists reporting on organizations obtain their news information must start with the newsgathering process of journalists. Newsgathering starts when the journalists acquires initial information on a certain topic that has the potential to turn into a news item (Reich, 2009). The word 'potential' is vital here, since publication can be restricted by several issues, for example due to the fact that newspapers have space limitations (White, 1964). Newsgathering comprises of both the selection of initial information on a certain topic and the selection of additional news information. Kroon and Schafraad (2013) identify two selection moments in the news production process. The first selection moment of the journalists is the decision whether or not to pursue an event or press release and to turn it into a news item. The second selection moment Kroon and Schafraad (2013) distinguish is the act of investing time, expertise and other resources in creating the news item, in other words the manner of succession. According to Reich (2009), newsgathering entails accumulating details, data, reactions and clarifications and often it also requires journalists to substantiate or refute previous information. Both the initial information and the additional news information can be gathered by other means than the journalist gathering it by himself or herself. A newspaper has several sources for news, namely its own journalists, but also news agencies (e.g. Reuters, ANP); other print and online media, locally and internationally; information provided by the public, private organizations and governmental institutions (Seletzky & Lehman-Wilzig, 2010). Thus, information can also be provided to the journalist. Sources can gain access to the news media by providing journalists with information through a number of communication channels, amongst other press releases, telephone calls, press conferences, in-person contacts, satellite feeds, videos (Berkowitz & Adams, 1990, p. 725). As mentioned previously, the information subsidies provided to journalists by the PR professionals of public, private organizations and governmental institutions can be very influential in setting the news agenda. Research has estimated that between 25% and 50% of news items originate in some form of PR (Lee & Solomon, 1990; Stauber & Rampton, 1995; Curtin & Rhodenbough, 2001). Moreover, research has shown that a press release emanating from a PR agency or a spokesperson is the most common form of information document arriving at a journalist’s desk (Morton, 1996; Limor &
7 Mann, 1997) and that there is an increasing dependency on information subsidies (Sigal, 1973; Gandy, 1980; Fishman, 1980). More recent studies have confirmed this dependency on information subsidies (Lewis et al., 2008; Hijmans et al., 2009). According to Davis (2000, p. 44), the market for information subsidies has expanded and the relationship between sources and journalists has transformed to "a massive transfer of news-gathering resources, away from the 'independent' journalists towards partisan sources". However, before statements on the dependency of journalists on information subsidies can be made, this research aims at uncovering the newsgathering process of journalists. Therefore, sub-question 1 in this research is: "how do journalists reporting on organizations obtain their news information?".
The Use of PR Material as A Source
The moment when a journalist decides whether or not to pursue an issue and turn it into a news item or not, the first selection moment identified by Kroon and Schafraad (2013), is crucial for sources who aim at gaining access to the news media. Several studies have pinpointed a number of factors influencing publication success of PR material. Factors influencing journalists can be categorized into the following three classifications: journalistic routines, characteristics of PR material, and characteristics of the source.
Journalistic Routines
Firstly, journalistic routines are found to influence the publication success of PR material in news reporting. From newsroom ethnographies conducted in the 1970s and 1980s, journalism was seen to organize around a number of routines which guarantee a steady production of news (Gans ,1980; Gitlin, 1980; Tuchman, 1978). Shoemaker and Reese (1996, p. 105) defined news routines as "those patterned, routinized, repeated practices and forms that media workers use to do their jobs". Shoemaker’s and Reese (1996) established a theoretical framework for analyzing levels of influences that shape media contents, such as news items. The levels they identified range from ideological level, extra-media level, organization level, media routines, and level Individual level (Figure 1).
8 Figure 1. Diversity of Media Content
At the individual level, the selection of content is influenced by individual communicators, such as journalists. At the media routine level, the content selection is influenced by "norms of selection that have evolved over the history of mass communication" (Shoemaker & Vos, 2009). For example, Shoemaker’s and Reese (1996, p. 255) argue that the longer the journalists work at a news organization, "the more socialized they are to the policies, stated and unstated, of the organization". Additionally, Shoemaker & Reese (1996) acknowledge the importance of the culture of the news organizations that journalists are part of as the authors find that journalists also follow routines of their particular news organization. They argue that the more journalists follow the routines of their organizations, the more likely their content is to be used and the more professional they are rated to be by co-workers (Shoemaker & Reese, 1996). At the organizational level, group decision-making in specific settings affects content. Furthermore, at the social institution level, content is influenced by such factors as markets, audiences, advertisers, and interest groups. And finally, at the social system level, content is influenced by the social systems or ideologies of societies.
9 Characteristics of PR Material
Secondly, specific characteristics of the PR material also influence its publication success. Research has shown that there is better chance of success when the writing style of a press release is clear, words are used correctly, and the sentences are short (Walters, Walters, & Starr, 1994). In addition, immediacy is relevant: the item must be send as quickly as possible (Elfenbein, 1993; Grunig & Hunt, 1994). More recent research by Seletzky and Lehman-Wilzig (2010) also confirmed the importance of these situational factors of PR material and found that text clarity of the press release and timely transmission to the journalist affects the success of the publication of press releases. Additionally, news values contribute to the process of news selection. News value research investigates the content characteristics of the mass media, such as press releases. In news value research, it is assumed that certain events have characteristics that make them newsworthy (Eilders, 2006). Harcup & O'Neill (2001) identify the following list of news values as relevance indicators that serve as selection criteria in journalism as well as selection criteria by audiences: the power elite, celebrity, entertainment, surprise, bad news, good news, magnitude, relevance, follow-up, and newspaper agenda.
Characteristics of the Source
Thirdly, besides characteristics of the PR material, research has also confirmed characteristics of the source from which the PR material originates to be detrimental in the use of PR material in news reporting. Journalists who deal with time constraints must attempt to gather information as efficient as possible, quickly gathering valuable sources with the least strain on the budget of the news organization. Gans (1980) identified six interrelated factors that affect the suitability of sources in news reporting, referred to as "source considerations".
1. Past suitability. When sources are used in previous reporting, they have a higher chance of being chosen again after the first selection (until they eventually become regular sources).
2. Productivity. When sources succeed in providing sufficient information without the journalists having to put too much effort in to the gathering of information on the topic, the PR material has a higher possibility of being selected as a source.
10 3. Reliability. Sources that are reliable have a higher chance of being selected, since this
requires less fact checking of journalists.
4. Trustworthiness. Journalists desire sources that handle truthfully, honestly, and do not solely have self-serving motives.
5. Authoritativeness. Journalists prefer sources in official positions of authority and responsibility.
6. Articulateness. Sources that are articulate, such as being concise and use standard or dramatic language have a higher chance of being selected.
Furthermore, Goodell (1975) found that the extent to which the source is (or is connected to) a respectable institution affects whether or not the press release is included. Research has shown that journalists prefer information from sources whom belong to an organization with a good reputation (Walters & Walters, 1992; Sofer, 2000) and the personal and professional relationship between PR professional and the journalist (Walters & Walters, 1992).
After the decision is made whether or not to use the PR material in news reporting and the journalist decides to use it, the journalists deal with the second selection moment identified by Kroon and Schafraad (2013): the manner of succession. Following Kroon & Schafraad (2013), journalists then have three options: copy the information in the press release, partially copy the press release or the press release was what instigated the news item but information in the news item does not show much overlap with the information provided in the press release. To uncover the selection processes of journalists in this research, the aim is to investigate the use of PR materials of organizations in news reporting. Thus, sub-question 2 is: "how do journalists make use of PR materials of organizations in their news reporting on organizations?".
The Distribution of PR Material
PR professionals often conduct media relations by systematically distributing information subsidies to media on behalf of their organizations. Providing journalists with PR material can be a way to influence the public in ways that the organization cannot do so directly because a message that is presented through the media is often considered more credible than direct
11 corporate communications (Gandy, 1982). Literature on PR is characterized by an approach to corporate communication that attends to all stakeholders, such as employees, shareholders, suppliers, investors, trade unions. Grunig and Hunt (1984, p. 6) defined PR as "the managing of communication between an organization and its publics". From a relationship management perspective on PR, all organizations and institutions need to communicate with their audiences and stakeholders. In that respect, PR is a necessary tool for any organization that wants to inform their audiences. In addition, stock market listed firms are legally bound to communicate sensitive information that might influence the firm's stock prices to their stakeholders. On the other hand, PR can be used as a persuasive tool for firms, such as Enron, to cover up their misdeeds, to polish up their tarnished image and close doors for investigative journalism into their organizations (Doorley & Garcia, 2012). In both more positive or negative perceptions on PR, organizations make use of certain activities designed to promote their contact with the outside world. As mentioned previously, sources can gain access to the news media by providing journalists with information through press releases, press trips, telephone calls, press conferences, photo opportunities, interviews, videos, lobbying, special reports etc. (Berkowitz & Adams, 1990, p. 725; Prenger & Van Vree, 2004; Lewis et al. 2008). And if PR professionals give journalists appropriate reason to use information they provide, the final products of the journalists will be affected by PR professionals' perceptions toward media relations and news selection (Gandy, 1982; Manning, 2001). However, the question arises how PR professionals attempt to give appropriate reason to journalists for them to use their PR material. To investigate the manner of succession of PR cases in practice, the following sub-question is formulated: "how do PR professionals distribute their news information?" (sub-question 3). Influencing the News
In the field of PR, interacting with the news media as the vehicle to reach an audience can be argued to be critical, since the news media are often an important method for organizations to reach their audiences. According to Furtunato (2000), PR professionals must operate from an assumption that they have the power to influence mass media content, acting as an advocate on behalf of the organization they represent through the PR strategies they implement.
12 Secondly, PR professionals must make another assumption, namely that these PR strategies favorably influence the opinion and behavior of the audience, particularly the organization's target audience (Furtunato, 2000). Operating from these assumptions, the question arises as to what the specific PR strategies are that PR professionals employ. With PR strategies PR professionals can acquire attention by promoting information. As mentioned before, PR professionals have several communication channels to employ when aiming to promote an issue in the news media, such as set up interviews, call journalists, send press releases, send emails, set up a press conference, provide documents etc. However, these are planned events, such as ceremonies, competitions, interviews, demonstrations over which PR professionals can exert some form of control. When it concerns unplanned events, such as an accident, crime product recall, controlling the issue is much more difficult. In this case, PR professionals can, if powerful enough, restrain media from getting access to certain types of information. An issue concerning an organization can negatively affect the reputation of an organization. Therefore, PR professionals can employ issue-specific response strategies that may help them deal with the issue at hand. Cornelissen (2011) identifies three strategy options that determine how an organization communicates about the issue, namely buffering strategy, bridging strategy and advocacy strategy. Buffering involves an organization trying either to insulate itself from external interference ('stone-walling' the issue) or to actively influence its environment through means, such as contributions to political action committees, lobbying, and advocacy advertising (Meznar & Nigh, 1995). Bridging regards organizations recognizing the issue and its inevitability. Organizations following the bridging strategy try to "meet and exceed regulatory requirements in its industry or that attempt to identify changing social expectations in order to promote organizational conformance to those expectations" (Meznar & Nigh, 1995, p. 976). And the advocacy theory is the attempt of organizations to "try to change stakeholder expectation and public opinion on an issue through issue campaigns and lobbying" (Cornelissen, 2011, p. 187).
Thus, according to literature, PR professionals can be argued to have several options when trying to exert influence on the media. However, besides theoretical strategies it is also important to investigate how PR professional try to do this in practice. Therefore, sub-question 4 is: "how do PR professionals attempt to influence the news?".
13 Method
To answer the research questions, a research method was needed that allowed for exploration of the patterns that govern the source selection of journalists and at the same time allowed to uncover the patterns of distribution of PR material by PR professionals without any preconceptions. Moreover, this research method should allow for systematically analyzing data and comparing findings to the pre-existing knowledge on news reporting and the use of PR material. Reconstruction interviews meet these criteria and provided the latitude to build up an inclusive and in-depth understanding of how PR material of organizations influences news reporting. Thereby, reconstruction interviews also "enables coverage of a representable sample of news items that were subsequently published or aired, based on detailed testimonies of the reporters who authored them" (Reich, 2011, p. 23). However, in this study the focus lies on the testimonies of journalists, but also on the testimonials of PR professionals. Testimonies of journalism and PR both sides are needed to create a clear picture of what the influence of PR material is in contemporary society.
This research is based on qualitative data derived from face-to-face reconstruction interviews with six journalists and six PR professionals (total of 12 interviewees) during 2014. Experts in the field of journalism and PR were selected for the purpose of this study by means of a purposive sampling method and were contacted by email and/or phone. The six journalists were selected from working in the field of journalism reporting on economics, business and financial news in the Netherlands at the following Dutch newspapers and news organizations: Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad / NRC.next, Telegraaf, subsequent websites, NOS.nl, and NU.nl. The six PR professionals were selected from the various internal hierarchies and various PR functions in the Netherlands. Three PR professionals work at Dutch advertising, communication, and PR agencies named on the MT100 2013 list of best consultancy firms (Lonkhuyzen, 2013). And the other three PR professionals work at corporations that are on the Elsevier 500 list of the 500 Dutch corporations ranking based on highest revenues (Elsevier Top 500 Bedrijven, 2013). Job descriptions of the respondents are included in the Appendix (Table 1).
14 In the interviews both journalists and PR professionals were asked to discuss three or more examples of what consisted of a good representation of their average work routine. Journalists were asked to bring up news items they had written over the last year. For PR professionals information was deemed more sensitive and they were asked to discuss three cases that they had worked on, going back not more than three years. The journalists were asked to detail how they obtained the sample of their recently published news items and PR professionals were asked to specify how their sampled cases were brought to or kept out of the news media. The length of the interviews ranged from 45 to 90 minutes. Interviews were conducted in Dutch and quotes were translated into English for the purpose of this study. All interviews were recorded and transcribed within one week of the interview. In addition, the interviews were supplemented with field notes to enhance data triangulation. Individual and company names are not revealed as the journalists and PR professionals were assured of confidentiality.
The methodology used as the basis of this study is the Grounded Theory approach. This approach is defined as "the discovery of theory from data systematically obtained from social research" (Glaser & Strauss, 2009, p. 2). Following from (Morimoto, Ash, & Hope, 2005), the Grounded Theory method was chosen because of "its capacity to generate theoretical explanations from largely qualitative information of the sort captured during the interview program". After the twelve interviews were transcribed, the interviews were coded. The transcripts of the twelve interviews were read multiple times and quotes were aggregated along main themes. The codes from the transcripts were selected inductively without predefined concepts and categories and no strict definitions were used in this research. Instead, concepts were used as more general guidelines throughout the interviews (sensitizing concepts). Encoding took place in three sequential steps. At the first stage, open coding was applied. Data was analyzed, compared and categorized. For the interviews with the journalists, this meant giving a description what they were describing: "types of sources", "reasons behind writing news items", "news criteria", "using PR material", and "opinions on PR material". For interviews with PR professionals, the following descriptions were given: "distribution of news information", "acquiring media attention", "restraining media attention", and "opinions press
15 releases". The subsequent step is axial coding; codes are connected to each other in order to identify categories at a higher level (Table 2 & Table 3). Finally, selective coding was applied to process the categories into a general model (Eriksson & Kovalainen, 2008). This model is presented in Table 4 (p. 24).
Results
From the journalism and PR practices that were described in the interviews several themes arose. The findings from this empirical research are presented in the following six sections: three sections of the journalism side and three sections of the PR side. First, I discuss the newsgathering processes of journalists, the use of PR material in news reporting, and the relationship between journalism & PR. Second, I discuss how PR professionals distribute their PR material, how they attempt to influence the news agenda, and how they view the relationship between journalism and PR.
Journalism Practices: Newsgathering
The newsgathering process of the journalists started when they acquired initial information on a certain topic that they viewed had the potential to turn into a news item. The interviews show that various sources can instigate a news item. All journalists discussed at least one news items that started with a press release (journalist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). However, news items were also instigated because journalists were triggered by a statement made in a previous news item by their own news organization (journalist 1 & 4) or in a news item by another news organization (journalist 2). Additionally, announcements of institutions or organizations made publicly through press conferences were mentioned by the journalists as information that instigated a news item (journalist 2 & 4). One journalist also named other news organizations reporting on a certain topic as a reason to pursue writing a news item and the fact that an issue or event was trending on Twitter (journalist 5).
From the interviews with the journalists can be derived that the criteria for selecting information for a news item are very depend on the own perceptions of the journalists. The journalists mentioned the following criteria for the information they received from various
16 sources in whether they would pursue it to write a news item or not: the information is unique (journalist 1, 4 & 5), readers will find it interesting (journalist 1, 2 & 5), they are personally interested and curious (4 & 5), their news organization or colleagues finds it important (journalist 1 & 5), the information is funny (journalist 1 & 5), they are doing a follow-up (journalist 1 & 5), something happens locally (journalist 1 & 5) and they notice a trend (journalist 4). Additionally, journalists describe writing news items on quiet news days (journalist 2 & 5). For example, journalist 5 explains: "on Sunday, those days are quiet, the bar [of what is considered newsworthy] goes down. You are making a product and there has to be a stream of news. So, the bar moves up and down." In addition, journalist 5 mentions that sometimes there is a pressure within the organization of writing about a topic because other news organizations are writing about it:
Occasionally we write about something because everyone is talking about that thing, other news sites and news on TV and you think now we should also report it even though we don't think it is that important. We then write about it, but try to "debunk" it and explain why we think it isn't that important.
The newsgathering process of the journalists continued after the decision whether or not to pursue the information they received from a source and to turn it into a news item. They then selected additional news information on the topic from various sources (Table 3 in Appendix). Again, press releases were mentioned most frequently by all six journalists. Secondly, interviews were conducted either via the telephone (journalist 1, 2, 3 & 4) or face-to-face (journalist 2, 3 & 4). As journalist 4 explains the reason for conducting a face-to-face-to-face-to-face interview rather than via the telephone:
Because it is a complicated issue and sometimes it is good to see people again. This interview was also live because I knew someone that brought someone who I didn't know yet. And because it is a sensitive issue. It is better to speak live then.
In addition, making telephone calls was frequently mentioned by the journalists to confirm information or to ask for additional information (journalist 1, 3, 4 & 5). Journalists research what was previously written on the issue by reading news items that were written by
17 their own news organization (journalist 1, 2 & 4) or by other news organizations (journalist 2 & 5). Two journalists also mentioned writing a news item for which a press conference was attended (journalist 2 & 6) and were send an invitation (journalist 2 & 4). In the case of journalist 2 this invitation was also used as a source to give background information on the event.
Other ways of gathering news by journalists were sending emails (journalist 1 & 3), searching for information on the internet (journalist 1 & 4), receiving corporate reports (journalist 1), going to the corporate website (journalist 3), and following RSS feeds (journalist 6). Journalists 5 and 6 also mentioned using social media, especially Twitter, as a source, since it provides information directly at the scene. Journalist 5 describes writing a news item about a fire in the city centre of Haarlem and the Fire Department tweeted a statement that was incorporated into the news item.
In the interviews, the journalists express that they have autonomy in deciding what to write about. As journalists 5 explains: "If I pitch something to my colleagues and they like it as well then it will happen." And journalist 4 mentions: "He [Editor-In-Chief] doesn't always know what I'm doing". In addition, Journalist 1 and 5 discuss publishing their own news items online without someone previously reviewing it. Journalist 1 and 4 also mention that it does not happen often that a news item is not published. However, journalist 4 (writing news primarily offline) does state that when big news breaks, it can happen that news items is moved and will eventually not be published in the newspaper.
Journalism Practices: Using PR Material
As mentioned previously, various sources can instigate a news item. The interviews reveal that among the reasons for starting to write a news items, the following PR material motivate journalists to pursue the information provided to them and start writing a news item: information communicated via press releases (journalist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6) and invitations for a press conference (journalist 2 & 4). When the PR material instigates the news item, the PR material is then also often used as source in the final product (journalist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
18 The interviews show that there is a difference in using PR material in news reporting within practices of journalists delivering different kinds of news: hard news (journalist 1, 2, 3 & 6) or soft news (journalist 4 & 5). Two journalists discuss that the press release was the only source used and mentioned in the news item (journalist 1 & 2), while they do conduct further investigation and check the facts by making calls to the organization. These two journalists work at online news organizations known for delivering news fast (hard news). As journalist 1 explains a situation in which a press release was the reason for writing about certain company while also using it as a source in writing the news item:
It was a press release of the company. I wrote it really quickly. I quickly looked what we wrote about them earlier, what kind of company it is. After that I.. because I didn't understand something, so I called those people. They gave me more background information. But I didn't even use that in the article, because there just wasn't enough time.
Journalists producing hard news describe writing at a rapid pace, most of the time under 20 minutes (journalists 1, 2 and 3). The news organizations they work for are known for being fast and "being the first". Journalists 4 and 5, on the other hand, producing soft news and also describe not having a lot of time, for example doing the work that a couple of years was done by 5 people. However, they spend about 1 to 3 days on a news item (not constantly).
In the interviews the journalists identified the following use of PR material as a source in their news reporting: press releases (journalist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6), interviews via the telephone or face-to-face with spokespersons, experts chairmen and CEO's (journalist 1, 2, 3 & 4), invitations (journalist 2), press conferences (journalist 2 & 6), social media (journalist 5 & 6), and corporate reports (journalist 1). Through these sources, quotes often made it into the news items. Quotes of spokespersons, chairmen, CEO's, employees, people affected by an issue were often used for incorporating a view or opinion on the issue in the news item. For example, journalist 4 working at a news organization known as a quality newspaper used quotes in a news item from an expert on collective agreements for Polish employees in the Netherlands, while also interviewing Polish employees face-to-face.
19 As mentioned previously, press releases can be the reason behind writing a news item and if they are, they are often also used as a source in the news item. However, PR material can also just solely be a source. This occurred in instances where journalists perceived a press release as newsworthy and considered one single point of view sufficient (journalist 2, 4 & 5). One journalists described coming across a press release about a new television program on the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the aim of writing the news items was simply providing entertainment (journalist 2). The intention was not to write an in-depth news item and the information provided in the press release by the broadcaster was enough. However, when the reason for writing a news item was triggered by a statement made in a news item by their own news organization (journalist 1 & 4) or in a news item by another news organization (journalist 2) or by an announcement made by institutions or organizations (journalist 2 & 4), PR material was often just one of many sources used in the news production. In these cases, multiple perspectives are considered of more importance (maybe even vital). For example, one journalist explains doing an in-depth news item going in on a statement made by a Dutch politician about a specific collective agreement (journalist 4). Besides using this statement and using PR material provided by the labor inspection, interviews were conducted with experts and employees and previously written news items by the news organization were read to catch up on the subject.
All of the journalists discussed the many press releases they themselves and their organization receive in their mailbox and the fact that most of them were deemed irrelevant to them (journalist 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6). However, two journalists working at news organization providing more in-depth, background news (soft news) deeply expressed their annoyance with the PR sector and their material (journalist 4 & 5). Journalist 5 discusses these irrelevant press releases and mentions:
I really hate press releases. We never do something with them. It is really not the case that we are sitting around waiting for news and that we go and look what we can find in the press release box.
20 The Relationship Between Journalism & PR: A Partnership & A Bombardment
The opinion regarding the relationship between journalists and PR professionals is divided. While journalists reporting soft news regard the relationship between them and PR professionals as inefficient, journalists reporting on hard news discuss the relationship between PR professionals and them as "friendly" and as a partnership focused on helping each other (journalist 1 & 2). Journalist 1 describes it as such:
They are trying to think with you, they are trying to be your partner and help you with all sorts of stuff. And some do that in a very integral way, but of course the thought behind it is strategic. If they help you and if you become buddies then they do have more influence.
Journalist 4 and 5 writing soft news primarily find PR agencies a burden and as something they wish to avoid. Journalist 4 (writing soft news) even characterizes the continuous supply of press releases as a "bombardment". This journalists argues that PR professionals hardly ever do research about the news organization and its journalists, something that the journalists reporting soft news considers vital:
They do not have to know where I go on vacation, but they do need to know what I write about. If I am looking for an expert on flexible working condition I also do research online. I don't go calling the University of Amsterdam or the Technical University in Delft and say: hey, I'm looking for some that knows something about the labor market. No.
However, journalists 4 and 5 do make a distinction between PR professionals working at a PR agency and PR professionals working for an institution, organization or company, often spokespersons. A journalist 4 puts it:
There is a distinction between PR and spokespersons. If we really want to know something and if someone within a company response to us, then it is fine. Then we approach them proactively. PR is more that companies approach us. Do you want to write about this? Maybe, but then we decide when and what.
21 PR Practices: Distributing PR Material
The PR professionals interviewed in this research gain access to the online and offline news media by providing journalists with various types of PR material through different communication channels. The distribution of the PR material by the PR professionals is displayed in the Appendix (Table 2). Interestingly, press releases and events were cited by all of the PR professionals used for communicating corporate information about their organization or for the organization they we consulting for. Four PR professionals mentioned press releases as the primary source of distributing corporate financial information, such as transactions, quarterly figures, appointments, acquisitions, and issue of shares, since publicly listed organizations are required to communicate these types of information by law (PR professional 1, 2, 3 & 5). Furthermore, the interviews show that press releases are used for announcing partnerships (PR professional 1 and 3), drawing attention to a particular subject of the organization's interest or concern (PR professional 4 & 6), announcing a new corporate strategy (PR professional 2), and to establish the organization as a authority on a particular subject (PR professional 4). For example, PR professional 1 elaborates on a case in which the company announces a partnership with a charity organization in the Netherlands, because the company wanted to apply a section of the company's CSR plan locally.
In addition, from the cases of the PR professionals arose that press releases were often supplemented with additional PR material, such as images (PR professional 5 & 6), written interviews (PR professional 2 & 5), videos (PR professional 2 & 5), an infographic (PR professional 4), and an research report (PR professional 4). Three PR professionals also described cases in which press releases were accompanied with a press conference or vice versa (PR professional 1, 2, 3). Besides these press release elements and supplements, three other PR professionals also motioned the value of quotes in press releases, since they find that quotes are often copied into news items (PR professional 1), they communicate the point of view of the organization (PR professional 4), and they make the information more personal (PR professional 2). While all respondents indicated sending the press releases via email, only PR
22 professional 1 and 2 also discussed publishing their press releases on their corporate website (both) and on social media: Twitter (PR professional 1 & 2) and Facebook (PR professional 2).
Furthermore, the interviews show that the decision of which type(s) of PR material(s) professionals use is dependent on the particular case at hand and the information that is available. The content of what they want to communicate is crucial. As PR professional 2 argues: "if it is not interesting we could put it in a press release, but then nothing happens with it. Thus, it depends on the content and we have various other ways to communicate it". Additionally, PR professional 4 explains sometimes not choosing to send a press release :
Sometimes we recommend not to send a press release because very often they [clients] say oh this news is so important, we need a press release. Well, then we ask them what exactly do you want to achieve, what do you actually have to say, is that really news? Is it newsworthy enough?
Events were mentioned by the PR professionals as being of great use to create a formal moment for the announcement of a partnership (PR professional 1& 3), but also to explain the substantive value of the new strategy to journalists (PR professional 2), to announce news big and publicly (PR professional 5), and as a great way to launch a product and generate more sales (PR professional 6). Additionally, press releases, invitations and hand-outs were mentioned to accompany events, such as press conferences, presentations or press lunches to provide more information about the particular topic being made public (PR professional 1 & 2).
Besides press releases and events, interviews or Q&A moments were also mentioned by almost all respondents (except by one respondent: PR professional 4). After an event or the release of a press release, CEO's, spokespersons or other employees of an organization were mentioned to be available for Q&A (PR professional 1 & 2). Additionally, PR professionals indentified interviews as part of the PR material that they used (PR professional 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6). Interviews were considered a useful communication channel to provide additional information about a certain issue (PR professional 1 & 6), but some PR professionals also discussed their concern about the level of control of the information they provided to journalists via interviews. PR professional 5 deemed an interview more useful compared to a press conference
23 when control was of high importance, while PR professional 2 chose publishing an official letter in a newspaper over an interview with a journalist when the framing of sensitive information was considered a top priority. As PR professional 3 argues:
We have to accept that sometimes things are written down differently than that we have intended or have communicated them. [...] Then you [and the journalist] just disagree with each other. That's the journalist's point of view and you leave the interpretation to the journalist. I'm not happy about it, but we disagree with each other, in a positive manner.
In addition, outgoing telephone calls were also an often used means of delivering information (mentioned by all except PR professional 3). Two distinctions can be made: PR professionals initiated the contact with journalists for the purpose of the particular case before (PR professional 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) or after sending out PR material (PR professional 4, 5). Both PR professional 4 and 6 described calling after the sending out PR material as not an often used method of approaching journalists. As PR professional 4 explains:
Calling in advance is something we prefer compared to calling them after, because a journalist probably just made decisions about its inbox filled with many thousands of press releases every day. I'm not going to follow up and then you call them like Hi I'm calling on behalf of this client, and do you want more information about this, are you going to do something with it?
With incoming telephone calls, PR professionals are contacted by the journalists for various purposes, such as journalists asking for a response to a certain issue (PR professional 1, 2 & 3) or contacted for more information regarding the PR material that was released (PR professional 4). In addition, emailing with journalists was only mentioned by PR professionals in the context of responding to issues (PR professional 1), responding to questions of journalists (PR professional 3), receiving print, online and social media updates about mentions of the organization in the news (PR professional 2), and emailing additional PR material (PR professional 6). Furthermore, PR professional 1, 2 and 3 mentioned responding to a certain issue that lived in the public opinion and in the media through sending an official letter either
24 to another organization (PR professional 1) or to a newspaper for publishing (PR professional 2) and by publishing a response in an article on their corporate website (PR professional 1 & 2). PR Practices: Influencing the News
PR professionals have several types of PR material at their disposal when trying to influence the news. The PR cases in interviews can be divided into two main activities: gaining media attention or diminishing it. On the one hand, PR professionals use PR material to promote issues or events in the news media. On the other hand, they use PR material to diminish media attention to particular issues or events. Table 4 indentifies the distribution of information for both purposes.
Table 4. The Distribution of PR Information
Gaining Media Attention Restraining Media Attention
Press Releases PR Professional 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 & 6 Corporate Website Articles PR Professional 1 & 2 Events / Press Conferences PR Professional 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6
Official Letters PR Professional 1 & 2
Interviews / Q&A's PR Professional 1, 2, 3, 5 & 6
Gaining & Restraining Media Attention Telephone Calls
- Outgoing - Incoming
PR Professional 1, 2, 4, 5 & 6 PR Professional 1, 2, 3 & 4 Emails PR Professional 1, 3 & 6 Social Media PR Professional 1 & 2
25 Gaining Media Attention
For the purpose of gaining media attention for an issue or topic, the PR professionals most frequently mentioned press releases, events, interviews and outgoing telephone calls. As mentioned previously, press releases in some instances are not for the purpose of solely gaining media attention, since stock market listed firms are legally bound to communicate sensitive information that might influence the firm's stock prices. Events and press releases are often combined when publicly announcing a partnership (PR professional 1 & 3) and to explain a new company strategy to journalists (PR professional 2). However, press releases and events are used to gaining media attention when the PR professionals deem the information to be newsworthy enough to announce it in such a way. However, as part of their advisory role PR professional 4, 5 and 6 discuss looking for "links" in the information that they are provided by their clients that at first glance might not be newsworthy enough. For example, PR professional 6 describes a case in which for a project two students won a prize by analyzing the kicking of the ball of a specific soccer player and applying a mathematical formula. The PR agency provided an overview of all sport and soccer media and due to the upcoming start of the FIFA World Cup they advised the organization to make a separate press release about this particular subject. Additionally, PR professionals 3, 4, and 5 discuss "plugging" information to journalists (referring to proposing an idea for a news item) as a way for them to generate new media attention. PR professional 5 explains:
Not solely sending but really co-create, call, make an appointment and say we have a product that we would like to bring to your attention. We think your target audience will like it, that their appeals to them and how can we work with you. Do you also find it a nice product? If so, how can we work with you to make something that also appeals to your target audience?
Three PR professionals working as consultants for an organization identify the power of providing information to journalists under embargo (PR professional 4, 5 & 6). PR professional 4 finds that "if the news is hot, the more interesting this embargo is for a journalist". Also, with an embargo, the PR professionals add exclusivity to the information that they provide to one or
26 two journalists, which not only makes the information more interesting in the eyes of the journalist, but can also give the PR professional more leverage in influencing how the information in the news item will be framed (PR professional 5). However, PR professional 3 argues that the aim should not be full control of the information: "Do not hold his pen, because they hate that. Then you should have explained it clearly."
On the other hand, gaining media attention is not always done purposively by organization. PR professional 1 and 2 both working at communication departments of a company (not as an consultant working for an organization) discuss cases in which the organization gained media attention due to journalists contacting them about issues. For example, PR professional 1 explains the company receiving media attention in a case in which the company decided to make a news commitment regarding replacing an ingredient in a couple of products. While they did not planned on communicating about it, a NGO called the press about it and it became global news.
Restraining Media Attention
The difference in type of PR materials used when restraining media attention depends on the particular issue of concern. PR professionals identify aiming to restrain media attention in the following cases: commotion in the media around the organization being involved in a lawsuit (PR professional 3) or commotion about an aspect of the products or services provided by the organizations (PR professional 1, 2, 4 & 5). One PR professional used a press release for a pressing issue concerning an organization (PR professional 4). Primarily, PR professionals made calls to journalists explaining the point of view of the organization, but in order for them to communicate directly to their publics PR professionals 1 and 2 discussed a case in which they used an official letter send to an organization to be publicly distributed on their website and social media (PR professional 1) and to publish an official letter to their publics in a newspaper's opinion page (PR professional 2). In addition, these two professionals elaborated upon publishing a statement on their corporate websites communicating their stance on the particular issue. A reason for PR professionals not to use press release in these cases seems to come from the fact that making a press release can sometimes be time-consuming task and
27 that the issue at hand needed to be dealt with straightaway. PR professionals 2 explained that process of drawing up a press release can take over a week, since it needs to be approved internally (varying from 10 to 100 board members and managers needing to check the information).
When issues arise in the media that concern an organization, the decision lies with the PR professionals whether to respond proactively or reactively. This depends on the expectation of the PR professional to what extent this issue could potentially harm the organization (PR 1, 2, 3 & 6). PR professionals 1 and 2 discuss giving no comment to journalists regarding an issue they are asked to comment on, because they considered it to be a branch-related issue. As PR professional 1 explains:
We sometimes choose not to give a comment, because we feel that it is not solely up to us. But when we do this, but substantiate it. [...] If we find that it is a issue concerning our entire branch, then we do not want to comment on that as an individual company. We then say, no we do not find this something that concerns us individually. If it is really about our brands okay, then it would be very strange if we won't respond, but otherwise..
More often then not, PR professionals 1 and 3 find that they are contacted by journalists. As PR professional 2 argues that they often decide to primarily communicate reactively: "We have so many things we have to communicate. Do we, on top of this, also have to communicate proactively? Will that even reach the journalists?". However, PR professional 1 describes a case of communicating proactively, when scanning for issues on social media, and responding before the news even made it to the media. Additionally, in one case a PR professional also described communicating to the immediate stakeholders directly, surpassing the media (PR professional 4), since the PR professional found that communicating about it publicly with a press release would send the wrong message.
Besides the choice of PR material being dependent on specific characteristics of the PR case, the interviews also show that the culture of the organization affects how the case is shaped. PR professional 5, for example, describes the culture of the organization being not
28 discussing specifics about their clients and the specific way of working being always reasoning from the brand and the company they are consulting for as a whole. Thus, not solely focusing on the product that they want to sell, for example, but looking at how one communication case affects the entire organization. Additionally, PR professional 6 discusses being extremely critical in deciding which journalists to approach when aiming to achieve media attention for their clients, but also being critical of what the news is that the client brings to the table.
Sometimes they bring nothing to the table and then we have to go find the news. Or they do come with an idea, and we really always look at it, is that really a good idea? We always do that before we get started with it.
The vision of the PR professional may also affect the shaping of the PR case. As PR professional 4 puts it: "It is also the vision of our company, but also individual visions. Consultants are an opinionated bunch, who all have their own vision on what works best." The Relationship Between PR and Journalism: A Partnership
The PR professionals primarily see the relationship between them and journalists as a partnership. PR professional 1 and 2 do not go into depth on the relationship between them and journalists, but the other PR professionals label the relationship between them and journalists as "good". PR professional 3 mentions often being on the phone with journalists and frequently having email contact. PR professional 4 discusses working together with journalists as partnering to improve the quality of the content that is produced:
We can supply the information and create links and we still do that, but we also want your [the journalist's] opinion, since you are writing about it. What is the information you want? And then we can work better with them, discuss, improve. Eventually we shouldn't be haggling.. you write about me and then.. Of course it seems like that, but eventually we want to information to be good as well.
PR professional 5 confirms this experience with journalists and argues that their relationship often is and must be build on mutual trust and understanding:
29 It works both ways. If we supply them with information that in incorrect than there is mistrust and you just don't do that. At the same time we can trust the journalist if we give them something exclusively under embargo. So, they won't print it before it's OK. That is a professional business relationship, but it is also a relationship build on trust and professionalism that perishes when it doesn't work.
Discussion
This study was designed to provide more insight into how journalists make use of PR materials in their news reporting of organizations and how the PR sector tries to influence journalists' news reporting with PR material. Firstly, main conclusions of the interviews with the journalists will be elaborated upon. Then, I will discuss the main conclusions of the interviews with the PR professionals. Furthermore, the relationship between journalists and PR professionals will be elaborated upon. I will conclude by discussing this study's limitations and provide directions for future research.
The Journalism Practice
Based on reconstruction interviews with journalists, in which they described how they obtain their news information (sub-question 1), the results show that journalists were triggered by information in press releases, statements made in a previous news items of their own news organization or another news organizations, announcements of institutions or organizations made publicly trough press conferences, or trending Twitter issues to start writing news items. Although differences among journalists are significant, there are still remarkable similarities in the general patterns of their news reporting. As shown in Table 3, journalists all used at least one press releases as a source in a news item. In addition, interviews (the telephone or face-to-face), making telephone calls to confirm information or to ask for additional information, researching previously written news items that were written by their own news organization or by other news organizations were frequently mentioned sources for additional information.
Furthermore, the interviews show how journalists make use of PR materials of organizations in their news reporting (sub-question 2). Predominantly, journalists use
30 information communicated via press releases and invitations for a press conference (Table 3 in Appendix). However, while this seems to indicate a heavy reliance on PR materials, the findings do not support (2011) claims regarding a news culture that is dominating newsrooms full of journalists recycling or regurgitating PR material. While PR material was definitely found to influence the news reporting of journalists on organizations, in this research this influence cannot be argued to be as large as many scholars suggest (Davies, 2011; Hijmans et al., 2009; Prenger & Van Vree; 2004). Lewis et al. (2008) argue that especially print news is routinely recycled from press releases, while this study found there to be a difference between news organizations producing hard or soft news. As Shoemaker and Cohen (2006) define hard and soft news: "hard news items are urgent occurrences that have to be reported right away because they become obsolete very quickly. These items are truly ‘new’ (…). Soft news items (…) are usually based on nonscheduled events. The reporter or media organization is under no pressure to publish the news at a certain date or time – soft news stories need not be ‘timely’." The results show that journalists working at news organizations producing hard news acknowledged using PR material or recycling press releases and identified instances using a press release as the only source mentioned in the news item. On the other hand, journalists working at news organizations producing soft news reported avoiding using press releases and expressing their distaste for PR material. This difference seem to lie in the time pressures many hard news journalists deal with compared to soft news journalists, which can make them more reliant on PR material. While soft news journalists generally have more time to produce a news item, this also allows them to conduct more investigative journalism and produce news items consisting of multiple sources. It is important to note here that the distinction between hard and soft news is not similar to online and offline news. While it can be argued that odten online news organizations produce hard news and newspapers (even with a website) produces soft news, it all depends on the news the news organization produces. An online news organization or online department of a newspaper can also publish in-depth news items providing background information on issues or events (soft news) and a newspaper can also consist of providing cold straight to the point facts (hard news). Thus, whether the journalists writes hard or soft news is dependent on the type of news the journalists produces. This is often
