By: Aileen Katcher, APR, Fellow PRSA

The announcement this week that Gannett will begin charging for online content for all of its publications except USA Today is part of a growing trend to charge for news content.  The question is, how will this affect the local newspaper market?

We have already seen a shift in news consuming habits of the younger generation (under 40) to seek news from national sources rather than local sources.  Even if they do occasionally read a local outlet online, will they do so if they have to pay for it?  While those of us in my generation are used to paying for newspaper and magazine subscriptions, those who grew up in the computer era are not.

What about TV and radio sites?  Will they start charging or is the revenue generated by the on air and web ads sufficient to keep them in the black?  And if they do charge, will people pay or just wait to hear or see the news broadcast on radio or TV?

What are your thoughts about this?  Will you pay to read the Tennessean online?

By: Melinda Dale

Eight short years ago, a sophomore at Harvard University launched an online network that would eventually make him the ninth most powerful person on the planet (according to Forbes magazine). As you know, that sophomore was Mark Zuckerberg and the network was Facebook.

This week’s news headlines were full of reports and opinions about Facebook’s move to file for an IPO, which could set its worth at a staggering $100 billion. You might have to sift through dozens of these articles to begin to comprehend the impact this move will have on the direction of the company and the Internet as a whole. But, one article in particular brought to light a monumental fact about the power of this social network.

In the TIME Business article, Why Facebook’s IPO Matters, Sam Gustin highlights recent events that had a global impact because of Facebook and other social media tools:

• Protests that swept across the Middle East, collapsing governments in power for decades
• Activists organizing Occupy Wall Street movements across the country, ultimately shaping a key issue for the 2012 presidential election
• Opposition against SOPA and PIPA (Stop Online Piracy Act and Protect IP Act), causing both the House and the Senate to postpone votes on the bills indefinitely

And just this week, the backlash caused by Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s decision to pull funding for Planned Parenthood. The announcement was made on Tuesday, and within three days almost 30,000 comments were made on posts on Komen’s Facebook Wall about the decision. Long-time supporters from across the country took to social media to either praise or condemn the organization, threatening to pull their own financial support. This morning Komen reversed its decision.

It’s hard to argue against the power of a Facebook post. In just eight years this tool, and the doors it opened for many other social media platforms, has fundamentally changed the way we communicate, and the way we live.

Now we must ask ourselves…what do the next eight years hold?

*Photo: Protests in Egypt, February 2011. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

By: Heather Schablik, APR

Regardless of where you stand in the MAC vs. PC battle or in the iPhone vs. Droid debate, everyone seems to be able to agree on one thing this morning: the world lost an amazing innovator yesterday at too young of an age.

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday after a seven-year struggle with pancreatic cancer. It seemed to have sparked as much conversation as any of the more notable news stories in the past decade – I don’t think I’ve talked to, emailed or texted with anyone in the past 12 hours who hasn’t brought it up. And rightfully so – he changed the way our society works, thinks and interacts. He did something so many of us dream of being able to do.

Innovation is a pretty simple concept – the introduction of something new. But with Jobs, he didn’t stop at that. He revolutionized industries with those new things. Take the iPod, for instance. The concept of carrying around your entire music library in your pocket was ingenious when it first came to pass. And with each new technology he introduced, the fanfare was that much stronger.

Jobs was definitely a technological innovator, but for many of us in the PR/marketing industry he was also a marketing innovator. Apple made the press event relevant again. In an industry where press conferences are a dying breed, Jobs and his company reminded us of what “real news” was and how to get the proper media attention for such things. Apple mixed up the perfect concoction of technology and marketing savvy, resulting in the right amount of buzz for every announcement, every single time.

Steve Jobs and Apple accomplished what so many in our industry long to do – make our clients and brands a household name. Apple is just that. Whether or not you are an Apple fanatic is irrelevant – you know who Apple is, you recognize the ads as soon as they come across your television screen, you know the products from across the room, and you could point that logo out from a line-up in no time.

Regardless of where you stand in the debate, one thing is for certain – Steve Jobs left his mark on our society. And he will be missed.

By: Holley Stein, APR

A recent Poynter Institute post “Why journalists make the best PR pros” highlights the common misconception that public relations means media relations. The post included an interesting poll that is available at Twtpoll.

Before delving too deeply into the subject, I must point out that two of the three partners at KVBPR have successful journalism backgrounds. So clearly, some journalists do make great PR professionals!

This is not about challenging the statement about journalists moving into public relations. Let’s just set the record straight: working with reporters and editors is only part of what many of us work on daily.

Yes, there are people who specialize in media relations. Is it fair to say that a journalist would be better suited for that role than someone with a PR background? Maybe. If they were a good journalist they would undoubtedly have the writing skills, the ability to meet multiple deadlines and a great sense for what makes news.

But I don’t care to generalize. I know a few communications departments that are run more like newsrooms, where being a former journalist is definitely a plus. But that interpretation of a communications department is not necessarily the norm. These departments only handle media relations and they leave other strategies up to the marketing department.

One of the best PR consultants that I have ever had the pleasure of working with was a good (not the best) writer, but she could look at a news release and, at a glance, know whether it would “sell.” Her talent was a knack for understanding people. She listened. She understood what motivated them to move and could work a “room,” and by room I mean publics (which could be defined as reporters, publishers, CEOs or investors, employees and potential marketing partners) better than anyone. She always accomplished what she set out to do…change behavior in the direction she wanted it to be changed. That’s a true measurement of communications success. Outcomes. Not outputs (the number of articles produced).

True public relations strategists will look at a client’s (external or internal…if you work in-house, your clients are your colleagues) business goals and determine how communications can support accomplishing the goal. Depending on the company and its publics (stakeholders), strategies could include media relations, community relations, internal communications, investor relations, advocacy, social media and crisis communications.

Would a journalistic background make a person a natural fit for each of these strategies? It depends on the skills they bring to the table.

If we’re having a serious conversation about what makes a great PR professional, which actually should be referred to as a great counselor — the one who is on a CEO’s speed dial — let’s say it is someone who has a strong understanding of sociology, psychology, methodology, linguistics, business and uses all of that to communicate. Strong writing skills and knowing what makes a good news story is only a part of the necessary skill set.

It’s no surprise, but the Pew Research Center findings make it official. 

The Internet has surpassed newspapers as the most popular source for national and international news.  Only local TV news is more popular.  In fact, 46 percent of us get our news online at least three times a week; and 47 percent of all Americans access local news on their cell phone or other mobile device.

Check out the findings in the 8^th annual State of the News Media report from the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism.