And then there was one

By Len Gutman on November 3rd, 2009 In Media

“The newspaper business has a terrible future. We own the Buffalo News and we might be the last one standing.”

This was Warren Buffett this morning on CNBC talking about his company’s purchase of Burlington Northern as well as the state of American business. He went on to say that he thinks Americans still value information and news, but that we won’t be getting it via newspapers much longer. Warren Buffett is rarely wrong.

So this is what I woke up to this morning on the heels of yesterday’s announcement on the ultimate demise of the East Valley Tribune. Of course, my best wishes go out to the hard working staff of the Tribune. And I’m sure we can all appreciate the historical significance of the closing. But then as PR folks we need to move on. But the question is… to where?

If it’s hard out there for a journalist it’s just as hard out there for a PR pro. So far all the talk of newspaper closings have been in other places like Seattle and Denver and Tucson. This one hits home.

I’m not going to sit here and wax nostalgic about the glory days of the newspaper industry. I don’t have time for that. I have to figure out where I’m going to get hits for my clients.

Is anyone else out there re-thinking their entire business model? I sure am. I truly believe that the future of our industry depends on it. Just a few short years ago I would tell people that about 75 percent of my work is pure media relations and the remaining 25 percent is everything else. Today I think  I can safely say media relations is only about 25 percent of my work and shrinking. Am I still a PR person, or am I something completely different?

Maybe I’m a marketing consultant. Maybe I’m a social media guru. Maybe I’m a Web site development specialist. Maybe I’m an event planner. Maybe I’m simply a communications consultant.

Maybe I’m having an identity crisis!

And then there was one

Comments

rolomonkey Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 9:03 am

Len Gutman: Renaissance Man!

Dan Wool Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 10:16 am

The “publics” in public relations are many and media is usually the least of these.

I’m sorry for the Trib – I really am – noone was rooting harder for them. But in the scheme of our jobs, what’s the big deal? My bet is that the loss of this one large outlet will create several smaller, more focused relevant outlets. (To wit, Heat City had the story 2 hours before the Republic).

Everyone needs to wake up and realize that PR is a more valuable *discipline* but a less valuable *skill* compared to web development. Audiences for your clients’ passions are niche and these niches are aggregated online. And their movements are trackable. Meanwhile, most PR pros are still smiling and dialing and waving ad equivalency reports as proof of their success.

At this point, I’d say any PR pro without a solid working knowledge of SEO, social media and online marketing should definitely be rethinking their business.

If you’re just doing media relations (or simply out to get “hits” for clients) you are too narrow in scope. Those “hits” went online a long, long time ago. It’s only a matter of time before the Republic is entirely online. What will everyone do then?

Marketing $ociologist Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:01 am

Great discourse, Len. I looked in that mirror around 2005. It took me two years to discover as you said, “Maybe I’m a marketing consultant. Maybe I’m a social media guru.” Then I remembered Max Weber and Edward Dewey and became the world’s FIRST Marketing $ociologist. Remember, it was a nephew of Sigmund Freud who coined the word “public relations.” He had to fight to popularize that term.

Yes, I’ve received abuse as a pioneer of a new field. Thrown out of offices for recommending YouTube and MySpace presence instead of press releases. As you noted, where are those press releases going now? With all the layoffs, media quality has gone downhill as well. People don’t pay attention to reporters with an agenda – check Rush Limbaugh or Glen Beck. Only idiots are following them (in my experience). Would you depend upon them for your news?

Others say you can’t get news from the Internet. Love Arizona Guardian. Yahoo supplies me with my Associated Press – at least that still exists. Yes, I saw the handwriting when United Press International (UPI) died in the U.S.

As I state on my LinkedIn profile, “Any new theory is first attacked as absurd. Then it is admitted to be true but obviously insignificant. Finally, it is seen to be so important that its adversaries claim that they, themselves, have discovered it.” – William James. Went through that when I pioneered a measuring system that has been bastardized into ROI.

Dan Wool noted it will be a matter of time until the Republic goes totally online. I have a different perspective. Several months ago Internet God Seth Godin said metro dailies will be gone by 2012. I agree with Godin. That’s why I feel sorry for all the corporations still practicing 20th Century public relations. Our economy would be much more robust if corporations were utilizing marketing sociology instead of Press Release PR thinking.

My belief is public relations practitioners as you know them are as relevant as photographic film processors. Twenty-five years ago a great career. Today?

Richard Kelleher, M.B.A.
Marketing $ociologist
@PhoenixRichard
MediaRelationsExpert.com

Marketing Sociologist Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:37 am

Agree with Dan in one respect. Believe an entrepreneur would make a GREAT living opening a community paper called the Scottsdale Progress.

Linda VandeVrede Says:
November 3rd, 2009 at 11:51 am

I think you/we should go into plastics, Len.

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