Last week PR Week and PR Newswire released their first Media Survey. The 2008 survey focused on the changing roles of journalists in the new media world, and the results were not surprising. The media landscape is shifting from print media to online, user-generated media. Reporters are now becoming bloggers and their approach to news is being forced to change.

Some examples of the many reporters turned bloggers include The Washington Post’s, “Washington Sketch” columnist, Dana Milbank who’s blog Rough Sketch is a popular feature of the Post’s web site. Additionally, The New York Times and The International Herald Tribune chief financial correspondent, Floyd Norris authors the blog Notions of High and Low Finance.

This shift has been widely recognized and talked about for years, but what we want to consider is how this change impacts the public’s consumption of the news and what that means for public relations.

According to PR Newswire this trend is a positive one for PR because there are additional opportunities with online outlets if you can’t generate a story in print media. But just as this growth increases journalists’ workload, PR practitioners face an evolving workload and a need for more extensive knowledge and expertise. No longer can an effective PR specialist just understand what it takes to pitch a newspaper or television reporter. Now they must fully understand the blogger, web video and podcast mediums as well.

In addition, PR practitioners must harness the power of online media and blogs even to pitch traditional reporters. Blogs and new media aren’t simply replacing traditional media, the two are intertwining and concurrently transforming. According to the 2008 Media Survey, reporters polled use Google and blog searches to gather information more than they use press releases or PR contacts.

Therefore, to ensure a client remains a source for information for even the traditional journalist, PR specialists need to consider and contribute to the online presence of their client. Always remember, however, you can not completely control the virtual identity of your client online or in the blogosphere because of its egalitarian, user-generated format. By becoming a constant participant and utilizing tools like search engine optimization (SEO), your client can be a thought leader for their company and industry—in both traditional and print media.

Contact us at tvg@vandivergroup.com or send comments to blog@vandivergroup.com.