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Scott, I feel your passion but I’m not convinced that the odd media release that smuggles a commercial message into a news bulletin is a serious threat to ad revenues. Public Relations and advertising are different tools in the marketers’ tool box. Like a hammer and a screw driver, both are often needed to complete a job properly. But one can’t be effectively used as a substitute for the other.
PR done right can often provide useful content in return for a “plug.” But a “plug” here and there cannot replace an ad campaign with heavy daily repetition of announcements.
My concern are news items on radio and television which purport to be news but are really PR. For example early in the year, towards the end of the December-January school holidays, Channel 9's news featured a non-story about fulfilling a student's stationery needs before starting school. It was nothing but free publicity for the stationery provider. The talent featured a store manager saying something like "...we have pens....we have notepads....". Do we really need a story since people have shopping for stationery needs before schools?
Then there are interviews on radio which purport to be an issue on the medical need of a patient with a particular life threatening ailment and the government must either legislate to change laws regarding the medication's legal status OR include the medication on the PBS because it it is prohibitively expensive. Instead of promoting the medication, a real-life patient is sent to radio studio to plead for the inclusion of a drug. If it's part of a heavy PR, the patient and or loved one is interviewed over time and it includes the medical practitioner.
There is nothing wrong with putting a vital medical issue in front of the audience, it may well apply to some members of the audience that may be afflicted with a life threatening disease. BUT please, why doesn't the interviewer or commentator make an announcement at the start of the interview or campaigns that "...this segment is organized by the XYZ PR company in the interests of the XXX pharmaceutical company supported by the College of a particular medical speciality"? What is there to be ashamed of the PR company, pharmaceutical company or a particular medical body in making such declaration. It may even add to the credibility of the story.
Thank you,
Anthony of Belfield