Real-time storytelling: from Journalism to Marketing
With the power to publish now in the palms of million of hands, what does it mean for the relationship between journalists and the brands whose news they once had a near-monopoly on distribution? And with more brands taking advantage of this fact and moving to tell their own stories and establish their brands as go-to sources of information, what does this mean for news organizations? This week's Scribble Chat with Ira Basen will look at this relationship, how it has changed in recent years, and how, on a more micro level, journalists have moved into branded content creation roles and why. Basen, a journalist at CBC for more than 25 years, has researched the dynamic nature of these relationships, producing a number of radio documentaries and online pieces for publications such as CBC, The Globe and Mail, and J-Source.ca. join us on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 12–1 p.m. ET for a discussion on journalists' relationship with content, brands and marketing, and how it is all changing.
With the power to publish now in the palms of million of hands, what does it mean for the relationship between journalists and the brands whose news they once had a near-monopoly on distribution? And with more brands taking advantage of this fact and moving to tell their own stories and establish their brands as go-to sources of information, what does this mean for news organizations?
This week's Scribble Chat with Ira Basen will look at this relationship, how it has changed in recent years, and how, on a more micro level, journalists have moved into branded content creation roles and why.
Basen, a journalist at CBC for more than 25 years, has researched the dynamic nature of these relationships, producing a number of radio documentaries and online pieces for publications such as CBC, The Globe and Mail, and J-Source.ca. Check out his most recent documentary, "Brand New World," that aired in September on CBC's Sunday Edition.
Then, join us on Tuesday, Oct. 15 from 12–1 p.m. ET for a discussion on journalists' relationship with content, brands and marketing, and how it is all changing.
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There are three factors at play here. Firstly, brands are doing this because they can do-- the monopoly of distribution has been broken. Secondly, they have to do this to stay relevant (for SEO, social sharing, etc). Thirdly, people are now thinking differently about brands. People are increasingly indifferent to the course of their content. -
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CBC has a whole department that's dedicated to building their brand and many journalists are outraged because of it. If you're working for a media brand and producing good journalism, you're going to piss people off; if you're a brand, it's easy to maintain a corporate message and keep your readers happy.
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Ira spoke with a young woman who felt part of the Starbucks brand because she felt they held the same values. If Starbucks deviated from this value system, she'd be mad. But this is harder for media because if you're not occasionally making their audiences angry, you're probably not doing a very good job as journalists.
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Paying for content changes your relationship with it. If you disagree with a Buzzfeed article, it's easier to forgive it as a brand because you're not financially invested in it. If a publication pisses you off and you've paid for a subscription, you're going to be much more outraged.
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Sorry we got a bit off-topic there. To bring it back to the relationship between brands and media: This idea of custom content or native advertising isn't new, is it? This is how newspapers functioned in the 19th century, right? Can you elaborate a bit more on the history?
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While Ira answers that, in this post for the Center for Journalism Ethics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he explains that during the 19th century, newspapers were often vehicles for political parties or commercial interests. And when advertising entered the financial equation near the end of the century, advertisers were keen on having their ads look like editorial content to readers.
For a little extra money, just about any advertisement could be re-written and placed in the newspaper disguised as a news story, with nothing that would allow the reader to distinguish between material that had been paid for by the advertiser, and that which was generated by the newspapers’ own reporters.
This post is a great history of news and the wall between editorial and advertising. -
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If you look back to the 19th century, we see three types of content: editorial, advertising and a blend of both. A major difference between then and now is that newsrooms have traditionally been excluded from the production of advertorials-- now they're being brought in.
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The role of PR has traditionally been a go-between from marketers and media. But now that brands are creating their own stories, PR has the opportunity to own owned media. And Ira finds that PR departments are excited because , they can take the reins on these stories within an brand.
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Basically, what we're seeing isn't going away because both media and brands need these stories. But there will of course be stumbles along the way. What's important is that the reader be protected-- they should never question if something is editorial or sponsored-- so transparency will continue to be paramount.
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dana lacey 