Interview with Tor Bang on the new trend

I have interviewed a former lecturer of mine at BI Norwegian School of Management, Tor Bang, who is Associate Professor at the Department of communication, culture and languages.
It’s a relatively short interview, but I think this grasps a professional’s view on the new trend.


Does the development of the digital revolution affect PR?
Yes, of course. Every communication paradigm is rooted in the paradigm's environment. If there is a technological change, the PR industry will follow suit. I do believe that the PR industry might have to view their stakeholders less as target groups, more as individuals.

Do PR practitioners focus enough on this trend?
There has, as history shows, been little attention in the communication and PR communities on emerging technological trends. Parts of the industry are reactionary in its understanding of media channels. Many practitioners measure success in the volume of press attention.

Do you perceive the new ‘citizen journalism’ as a threat, or does it create diversity?
There is no question that citizen journalism and participation contribute to a broad diversity. In a democratic perspective, the creation of a transformed public sphere is highly desirable.

PR practitioners have created blogs on false basis, pretending to be someone else. Do you think it’s ethical that PR practitioners take advantage of people’s good faith?
Professional communicators, PR practitioners and others are in business for themselves and the companies that subscribe to their services. I do not get upset over that, although your question implies an answer of ethical indignation.

Tor Bang is Associate Professor at the Department of communication, culture and languages at the Norwegian School of Management. He can be reached at tor.bang@bi.no

What if the blogs are false?

Reading through some old editions of Media Guardian I found an interesting comment by Jeff Jarvis, a journalism professor and blogger at buzzmachine.com, with the headline. Buzz off! this blogger’s voice is not for sale.
Being a PR student I’ve learned that journalists are a bit sceptical towards PR practitioners, and in this comment Jarvis is set to reveal the cynical and manipulating practitioners on the web.

His idea is that the plan of blogs was that they were of ‘user-generated content’, but that they have spawned a new commercial practice that is word-of-mouth marketing: “The dark art of trying to manipulate the public to buzz about your brand”, as he puts it. He says that because it’s now easier for PR to publish its stories and avoiding the gatekeepers in the press, they should be aware that there credibility is more important than ever.

There are many examples of PR stunts in Web 2.0 that has gone wrong. These are arguably made by people that underestimate the intelligence of the public. One example Jarvis points out is one managed by PR agency Edelman:
A weblog supposedly written by two ordinary folks who drove their camper van across America from Wal-Mart to Wal-Mart, churning out heartwarming tales about working folks there, turned out to have been paid for and managed by Edelman, the retail giant’s PR agency.

It is stories like this one that suggest that PR agencies don’t now how to respond to the new challenge of the Web 2.0. Jarvis claims that the basic ethics of blogging should be telling the truth. Using Dell as a new example they claim to have good computers and excellent customer service, but searches on the web shows that the nickname “Dell Hell” is widely spread because of people’s bad experience.
If the idea of a blog is to create a buzz around your brand, the information that is published is better off if it is the same as if you google it. If the information doesn’t match, the buzz that you wanted will be bad buzz.

So, presuming that PR practitioners are aware that being caught in false marketing will injure the brand, why do some still take the chance?

Does the rise of Web 2.0 spell the end of traditional media relations?

Where the Web 1.0 included traditional websites with some text, a few pictures, some search boxes and maybe a discussion forum, the rise of the ‘second digital revolution’ provides major challenges for people who work in media relations. The user is now in charge and the content is flexible and varied.
The ‘traditional rules’ of length and format is changing, and in that relation the rules of advertising regulation and format as well. Not only is this a challenge for broadcasters, especially through rights distribution, but PR professionals has to find an alternative route to capture the attention of the public.

The hot-topics any PRP's need to understand the importance of include blogs, user-generated content, digital broadcasting and citizen journalism. It has been said that the Web 2.0 so far has belonged exclusively to the smartest web-developers whereas now it’s public property. A survey conducted by the UK telecoms regulator Ofcom suggests that 16 to 24 year olds are spurning television, radio and newspapers in favour of online services. This group spend nearly three hours on the internet each week, and 70% (compared to 41% of the general population) have used some kind of social networking site, such as My Space, and one in five has their own website or blog.

This demographic group spend less time on the traditional media, and more time online. But this tendency doesn’t apply for this group exclusively. The trend shows that people seem more eager to choose what to watch, hear and spend time on. With the Web 2.0 they can do it together with their friends, from all over the world, whenever they want.

The exclusive world of the news correspondent is challenged by a new bread of reporters; citizen journalists and more specific; bloggers. How they produce the stories lays the basis for how others consume it. The “old” PR gatekeeper has in this sense lost a lot of the power in the new media age. Bloggers can spin around an issue and drive the debate beyond control of the mainstream media. Blogs can affect reputations, both positive and negative, and PRP's have to be aware and on top of the challenges this provides. The blogs reaches customers, potential customers, employees, voters, investors, and influencers. It would be stupid to neglect this. But at the same time, if you decide to start blogging you need to know what the outcomes can be and learn the ground rules for how to best inform, entertain and retain your audience.

One new blog is created every second of every day. The social network that My Space provides is growing in to massive proportions. People are using more time watching videos on You Tube than on TV. It seems that the days are gone when PR could be constructed around some media relations activity, a product launch or a press conference. The great challenge is; should PRP’s keep up by changing their infrastructure and being available 24/7. Or is the alternative of listening to the public in terms of taking a role that is less controlling and more of an enabling role in promoting the messages it wants its public to discuss a better choice; a place with the appropriate environment in which the intended audience can draw their own conclusions?