The continued growth and use of the Internet is steadily displacing telephone and mail as a primary communications medium. This evolution is impacting the way almost every industry does business, and the public relations sector is no different.

Historically, communications between PR professionals and journalists took place via phone, mail ,overnight delivery services, and sometimes fax:

• For routine announcements, the PR person would typically mail out a large number of printed press releases and sometimes copies of black and white photos, to targeted members of the working press.
• For exclusives, the journalists would be contacted by phone during business hours with a “pitch” from the PR professional. Then, interviews would be set up and printed background materials delivered.
• For news conferences, the PR professionals would put together press kits to hand out at the event. These kits typically would include a folder, press release, background materials and often photos to be used to help illustrate the story.

More recently, editors have been posting their e-mail addresses and indicating to the PR industry that they prefer to be contacted electronically rather than by phone. In fact, a recent survey* indicates that 83% of journalists prefer electronic communications over all other options.

E-Mail is Becoming the Normal Mode of Communications

As a result, the use of e-mail is becoming the standard mode of communications between PR professionals and members of the working press…to the benefit of both camps.

E-mail allows the PR professionals to distribute press information instantly, and at a fraction of the cost of sending out printed news releases by overnight courier. It also gives them a mechanism for responding to questions from journalists after normal business hours.

The journalists, on the other hand, are getting far fewer phone calls that interrupt their days, and having the material in electronic format makes it quicker and easier for them to edit and write their own articles.

Competition on the Web

One of the few ways that most organizations attempt to keep their web sites current with new and fresh content is to post their own press releases in a separate section of the corporate web site. Often times, the journalists are directed to these public web sites to retrieve the press materials.

While this practice literally allows PR professionals to publish their own news, journalists are becoming increasingly reluctant to use press materials that are already published on the Internet.

“Reporters are in the business of providing new information to their readers,” explained Bob Vogel, Managing Director of Domus Technology Marketing. “It’s one thing if companies want to have an archive of past releases up on their site…that’s even helpful to the press. But if they’re putting current news releases up on their public web sites, it’s no longer news as far as many editors are concerned.”

The Role of the Domus Digital News Vault

The Domus Digital News Vault was developed specifically to allow PR professionals to post pre-released digital press materials on a password-protected, secure web site that can only be accessed by authorized members of the working press.

By creating an exclusive environment for the posting of news and unpublished background materials, PR professionals take themselves out of competition with the media and allow a more controlled release of the news.

After the news has been officially released, it can be easily moved into the news release archive on the organization’s main public site.

To experience a working News Vault for yourself, check out our demo Vault at domus.PRVault.com.  Then contact Bob Vogel at bvogel@domus1.com or 215-772-2183.