Public relations firms are always looking for ways to get their clients’ names in print, while journalists are constantly hunting for fresh material.
What’s the best way to get the two together?
With the rise of the Internet in the last decade, journalists and publicists alike gained a new tool to assist them in their work. As well as becoming a huge database of information for journalists, the Internet provides a new canvas for image-makers to experiment with – the company Web site.
While the Internet has been getting journalists and PR people together for years in the West, in Ukraine, the media have yet to realize the potential of the Web.
The main reason, of course, is that there aren’t that many people online yet. Access to the Internet in Ukraine is still a luxury. The most optimistic count of Ukraine’s online population is 500,000, or less than 1 percent of the country’s people.
“Journalists are a reflection of the society they live in,” said Andrew Witer, partner at the PR firm Romyr & Associates.
Having such a limited reach, the Internet is not currently the medium of choice for public relations companies.
“Companies use the channels of communication that can reach their target audience,” Witer said.
Meanwhile, PR professionals in Ukraine have to look on in envy as their colleagues overseas launch innovative ad campaigns, reaching audiences at the speed of light over the Internet.
“It [the usage of Internet] would make our life a lot easier because it is a question of saving money, and time is money,” Witer said.
So what is holding back the use of the Internet in advertising here, and when are things likely to improve?
Money is the root of the problem: Because a lot of media outlets are not viable, existing on handouts from political patrons, there is a shortage of cash to buy computers and train staff.
Nataly Filipchuk, a staff writer at the international news department of the Kyiv-based newspaper Holos Ukrainy, cited lack of money as the main reason the newspaper did without Internet access from 1990 (the year of the its founding) until 1999.
According to Vitaly Knyazhinsky, editor of the business news department at the Kyiv-based newspaper Den, three business section reporters share one computer hooked up to Internet. By the same token, lack of training is putting the breaks on the development of computer-assisted journalism in Ukraine.
“The overwhelming majority of Ukrainian journalists do not have a clue what Internet is all about,” said Nataly Ischenko, UA Today project manager. Kyiv journalists are somewhat better off than most. A growing number of reporters are attending seminars on Internet use organized by IREX ProMedia, an aid-funded organization dedicated to developing the press in Ukraine. In addition, the Institute of Mass Media last year organized a seminar and issued a publication. But old work habits die hard.
Ischenko said reporters covering last year’s presidential election waited into the night at the Central Election Committee to get results, even though up-to-date information was available online.
One factor counting against the Internet as a method of news dissemination is its very newness – the scant legislation provides no guarantee of the accuracy of e-published information.
“In many cases, a person does not bear any legal responsibility for the stuff he posts on his Web site,” said Oleksander Voyt, PR manager at broadcasting company STB. “It’s part of the reason why STB reporters give preference to daily bulletins from news agencies.”
And with few journalists working online, there isn’t that much news on the Web on Ukraine – yet.
“Perhaps online publications should organize a PR event to motivate off-line journalists to use Internet resources,” Ischenko said.
But the force pushing the media to use the Internet is likely to be commercial competition, ad insiders say.
“If your competitor who has a talented editorial team and modern equipment is beating you out, you are forced to modernize,” Witer said.
