Media Influence 101: What is Media Relations and Its Role in EU Policy Lobbying
Media Influence 101: What is Media Relations and Its Role in EU Policy Lobbying
An introduction to media relations in the context of advocacy and lobbying in the European policy environment, including best practices for effective media influence.
How is the state of your relations with the media?
In the world of public relations, media relations is a crucial component of any successful advocacy or lobbying campaign.
Media relations involves building and maintaining relationships with journalists, editors, and other media professionals to ensure that your organization's message is accurately and effectively communicated to the public. In the context of European policy advocacy and lobbying, media relations can be an invaluable tool for shaping public opinion and influencing decision-makers.
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The importance of Media and Public Relations for lobbying
Media relations can be defined as the way by which organisations inform their public and, more interestingly for us, “persuade them to maintain a positive or favourable view of the organisation1 [and its policy objectives].”
As such, media relations play a critical role in the policy environment, by shaping the narrative around specific policy issues, industries, ideas, and influencing public opinion and the stance of decision-makers.
Media relations can help organizations secure media coverage, although this falls under the objectives underlined above.
The Key Players
I based this chapter on the dichotomy provided by Jon Worth in How to Work with the European Institutions by Allan Hardacre et al., although I will probably change of model as I learn more about the topic.
I slightly adapted the book’s chapter which highlights the main types of media that are interesting for EU lobbyists, by order of readership among Public Affairs practitioners:
Brussels’ general media, such as Euractiv, Politico Europe, EUobservers and the like.
Specialised or industry-specific media, such as Science|Business, DOES???
Generic national media, with a focus for (EU) politics, like Le Monde in France,
Social media (although this falls outside of the scope of this article): Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook…
I will cover them in more detail in later articles. For now, it’s sufficient to keep in mind who they are, and how they are divided, as working with them will differ depending on the information available, your target audience, your strategy, etc.
Earned versus Paid content
I want to briefly touch on the difference between paid and earned content.
While paid content is fairly obvious (sponsor an opinion piece or column in a newspaper), earned content refers to the coverage and mentions obtained through the efforts of media relations, such as press releases, interviews, and article pitches, without monetary transaction between the organisation covered and the journalist publishing the piece.
Good media relation is about maximising earned content. There are several reasons why you should prefer earned over paid content. First, earned content is considered more valuable because it is seen as more authentic and trustworthy. On the other hand, paid content will not carry the same level of credibility.
Thus, earned content will help establish your organisation’s expertise and credibility on a particular issue, which can in turn influence public opinion and decision-makers.
But paid content is not to ban altogether. It might be a logical alternative to reach a wider audience or to make sure a story is taken up by the media, which they would not have done without the financial incentive to do so.
Best Practices for Effective Media Relations
To be effective in media relations, organizations must follow best practices that help to build trust and credibility with journalists and other media professionals. These best practices include:
Identify the target audience. For lobbyists, the target audience is most likely to be the ones in power. But are you targeting Commissioners or Members of the European Parliament? In addition, you might want to get them through public involvement, which makes your audience the “general public”. The question of the audience is the most important to answer.
Build relationships with journalists and media outlets through regular communication and accurate and timely information. Don’t expect journalists to cover your stories if you reach them out of the blue or if your arguments are not backed by evidence.
That means being available and responsive to journalists' requests for information, interviews, and comments. You might not always decide when the projectors are on you. Better be prepared and have a network of trustworthy and serious reporters working with you.
Being transparent, honest, and ethical in all communications. Not obeying this rule will damage your credibility and trustworthiness, and will make you appear as partial.
Focus on earned content rather than paid content, for the reasons mentioned above.
By following these best practices, you and your organisation will establish themselves as reliable sources of information and build strong relationships with journalists that can be leveraged to advance your policy objectives.
This is but a rapid overview of the media relations issues in the context of EU advocacy. We’ll cover them in detail in the coming pieces.
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Alexandre Météreau is the author of The Beubble and a specialist in European policies and politics. Discover more about Alexandre at alexandre-metereau.eu.