Media consumption is up and here's what journalists want now
A large number of sources have confirmed that media consumption has exploded during the Covid-19 lockdown, as people try to stay up-to-date with the latest developments and find some form of escapism when they can’t enjoy many of their usual activities.
Live TV is up 64% and online media has seen a big spike too, with The Daily Mail, The Sun and The Guardian enjoying the biggest jumps. The report suggests that trust in the media is perhaps increasing and that’s supported by The Guardian reporting a surge in the number of readers offering financial contributions, which is great news for the future of our quality press.
The new State of the Media 2020 report, by Cision, shows the impact of the increased demand on journalists, who are now under more time pressure than ever, as they search for a mix of new takes on the impact of Covid-19 and light relief stories to allow their readers to escape. They want communications that are concise, well-researched and relevant.
To meet those needs, PR professionals need to be constantly monitoring the news agenda and judging the mood of the nation, in order to provide journalists with content that will resonate with their readers and show the great work that their client’s are doing at this important time.
The Edelman Trust Barometer reported that 71 percent of people agree that if they believe a brand is putting profit over people at the moment, they will lose trust in that brand forever and YouGov data revealed that while Brewdog’s reputation has soared through the pandemic due to its positive social actions, JD Wetherspoons’ has understandably tanked. The public has never been more supportive of brands doing good.
Here at Evergreen, we’ve seen proof of that through the media’s interest in a generous offer from our clients, Ascenti, to provide free online physiotherapy to NHS workers and the elderly to help them stay fit and well during the lockdown. The offer led to Ascenti being featured in The Guardian as one of ‘The superhero firms helping out in the coronavirus crisis’ and spots in a number of other tier 1 outlets.
Similarly, after years of being told that ‘people in this country are sick of experts’, we’re now listening to them more than ever, as society works together to tackle the complex health, social and economic problems being caused by coronavirus. For us, that’s led to articles in a broad range of media including The Metro, Daily Mail, Coach, Patient, HR Review and Management Issues - as well as many others over recent days. It remains vitally important to research journalist targets though, to craft your outreach emails effectively and to provide copy in a style and format that is usable for your target publication.
With 15+ years experience of working with journalists and a PRCA award win for best media relations campaign, Evergreen are proven experts in media relations. However, we strongly believe that, for truly impactful campaigns, talking to journalists should be just one of the tactics adopted and a fully rounded strategy should involve multi-channel communication and the activation of a broad range of people of influence. Traditional news media remains vitally important though and a story that captures the imagination of the press is likely to resonate with a wider audience too, provided it is packaged appropriately for alternative channels.
If you’d like a free ideas session with a senior director to discuss your health organisation’s goals and how to capture people’s attention in the current climate, just fill in the form - we’d love to hear from you.