Okay, lets start somewhere...
How about ditching the traditional ways of communicating with our audience and start using new media.
BLOGGING!!! Great idea.
It is becoming clear that university PR practitioners that depend only on the traditional media have a lot of catching up to do.
The most influencial people in the university are blogging.
We've always wondered where journalists get all the juicy stories about the tensions and conflict at UKZN. Why has UKZN's PR department continuosly failed to manage negative stories in the media...
It was not until I learnt about blogging at the University of Westminster and I discovered that the most controversial people at UKZN blog. They have managed to solicit great support from the media as well as other stakeholders through these blogs.
Larry Bodine Law Marketing blog states that
"By far, blogs are the most important development. Even though blogs have been around for several years, they're growing at the rate of at least 30,000 new blogs a day. You no longer have to rely only on the media to get your message to the masses. Blog expert Peter Blackshaw of Inteliseek said blogs are like "megaphones on steroids." He told a group of about 130 PR people: "Whether you think bloggers are crackpots or not, many consumers trust them more than they trust you." http://pm.typepad.com/professional_marketing_bl/2005/04/4_top_pr_trends.html
One wonders if the university PR practitioners are missing out on exploiting the usage of new media communication links especially during the times of change management.
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3 comments:
Well put! I have found that disgruntled university employees are able to reach the masses by posting negative comments on the university (UKZN) by creating their own blogs, and making use of media like Wikipedia. The university has finally cottoned on to this, and they are trying to reign in the problem - which has its own hazards relating to freedom of speech etc.
We can't abandon traditional media at all. New media has its place but traditional media is said to be more creditable. In my country Jamaica, as well as yours I think new media has a far way to go due to limited access to the internet and so on.
I believe traditional media nd new media go hand in hand. You cant ignore the traditional media.
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