What is Media Relations all about?

The Media is defined as the means of communication i.e. radio and television, newspapers, magazines, and the internet, that reaches or influences people widely. The media can be defined as the formal institutional media made up of traditional media i.e. TV, Radio, print etc. And there is informal media which is social media – which includes non-journalistic communication by corporations, small businesses, organizations and individuals.

The formal or tradition media is a very important institution. Even till day. It determines what people hear or read about, what they give attention to and what they ignore. Think about all the crisis and conflict going on in the whole today. It is only the conflicts that are being reported on in the media that get the attention of the international community. We see how people respond to the images they see, the reports they listen to and the stories they read about ongoing wars. The media tells you how to feel about something by constantly reporting on it.

In Nigeria for instance, the Nigerian media – especially print and TV tend to focus a lot on politics. For that reason, Nigerians are obsessed with politics and politicians and are mesmerized by the power they wield. The Nigerian media however rarely reports on governance, transparency and accountability – so the Nigerian people do not have a common view on it because there is no vehicle or platform for thoughts on it to be widely disemminated to a group of people in such a way that it stimulates them to move and act in one direction.

This is what the institutional media does. i.e. CNN, BBC, Fox News etc internationally and media organizations in Nigeria like Arise News, Channels TV, the Nigerian Guardian newspaper etc

Media Relations

Media Relations is therefore the arm of PR that is focused entirely on cultivating relationships with media organizations and leveraging on their platforms for insights and reach to targeted audiences and segments of the wider population. The media therefore serves as connection to the market, to people, or audiences that a business or organization would like to connect with or communicate with.

Is Media still relevant in the days of social media?

In times past, it was well understood that it was impossibe to get your story or news out there without dealing with the mainstream media i.e. the big newspaper houses, TV station, radio etc. But these days with social media, the internet and companies having their own website, do we still need the traditional media to get our stories out there?

The answer is complex.

There is no straight yes or no answer. It depends on who you are and what you are trying to achieve.

First of all – the PESO model by Gina Dietrich provides some insight into how we should look at the media in a broad sense.

• Paid Media – refers to media that is sponsored or paid for e.g. social media advertisements, radio or TV ads, newspaper placements etc
• Earned Media – independent coverage about you or your brand, independent reviews on social media, unpaid references by social media influencers etc. invitations to interviews or media events on TV, radio or print at no cost to you or your brand. Content created by others about you. (third party validation)
• Shared Media – This refers to content created by you and then shared, amplified and disseminated by others on social media
• Owned Media – refers to the messages put out on own channels via blog articles, website statements and social media posts.

These are all the options available to tell your own story, communicate with audiences via diverse mixes of social and traditional media. The most important element in the mix is the AUDIENCE.

The choice of media and whether to use paid media on a social media platform or on a TV or Radio station depends on the type of MESSAGE, who the AUDIENCE is and what you are trying to achieve. i.e. the desired OUTCOME

For instance – if you wanted to create awareness about a public health outreach in a remote rural community to senior citizens above 65years of age, you would be better served hosting community events or running jingles on local radio and TV stations than on running ads on Twitter or instagram. In some cases radio may be more effective than TV and in some locations, it may be vice-versa.

The first thing to do is to ask the following questions:

1. What am I trying to achieve? (Project or program objectives)
2. Who is  my Audience? (who is most relevant to achieving No 1?)
3. What do I know about them? (interest, motivations)
4. Why am I targeting them? (your objectives)
5. What do I want them to KNOW, FEEL and DO?
6. How, when and where can I reach them? (platform)

Question 6 is what determines your choice of platform.

You do not make a decision on media channels without getting the responses to questions 1 to 6. The insights you have about the audience and how they fit into your overall objective and agenda should guide your decision whether or not to use traditional or social media or a mix of both in different ways for the same purpose.

It is very common these days for businesses and political leaders to make the mistake of running their communication purely on social media and not taking a more insightful look into their audience and segmenting them into categories based on their media habits and how best to reach them. To get your message across to your audience, you need to go to where they are and not expect them to come and meet you where you are.

So Media is still relevant – especially if you are a big brand or organization and want to make impact or reach a wide section of people. Investing in media buying or paid ads requires good knowledge of the platforms and how to make it work best for you. So media relations/specialist skills are necessary to help businesses and organizations navigate this space.

If you are a PR or Communications Professional working in a major organization or seeking to develop in your career as a well-rounded PR & Communications leader, you would need to know a lot about how the media works – traditional and social because both have become an integrated part of our collective media landscape.  The media is a fluid spectrum of platforms and conversations that move seamlessly back and forth. You need to know how it works – so you understand how to leverage on its potential when necessary and also how to navigate troubled waters if a negative story breaks out.

Media management is also an important part of issues and crisis management so getting media relations knowledge early is very important. Join us on July 31, 2025 for our upcoming course on Public Relations, Media & Stakeholder Management. See details below.

Sola Abulu & Associates (SA&A) is a strategy and communications training and consulting firm dedicated to enabling businesses, brands and institutions to achieve their desired objectives through strategic communications, organizational effectiveness and reputation risk management.

Enrolment is ongoing for the Public Relations, Media & Stakeholder Management Course scheduled for July 31, 2025 from 9AM – 4PM West Africa Time via ZOOM.

Register here to join the session: https://www.solaabuluassociates.com/signup-interest/ or send us an email on training@solaabuluassociates.com