Sometimes it’s hard to keep up with news in the technology sector as the speed of new developments seems phenomenal. You can guarantee that from one day to the next, there’s a major player like Google, Microsoft or Yahoo! announcing a new service or an acquisition. Not to mention the smaller sized companies all bringing relevant, exciting news to the forefront also. Only yesterday, BuzzMetrics’ acquisition of Intelliseek was the hot topic of discussion, but guaranteed, by next week we’ll have moved on light years in terms of progression. It’s a very exciting time indeed!
Sometimes it can be too exciting and we (or perhaps just me?) forget that the offline world still exists and news is still taking place in other sectors also. I say this because just yesterday I was chatting to my friends at university and we were discussing recent developments in the mainstream news and to my embarrassment I was woefully behind. Of course, if I were to mention one or two recent technology news items, they would no doubt look at me a little strange and puzzled, but this moment got me thinking a little.
It’s no secret that being up-to-date on news events and aware of the news agenda is one of the most important behaviours of a PR practitioner. I think that one of the great parts of the job is to be essentially adaptable and knowledgeable. Particularly in agency work where you have to learn not only your own market but your client markets too. I’ve heard numerous PR pro’s comments saying the great thing about the job is that no day is the same, and in the little experience I’ve had, I would agree.
So to be ‘adaptable’ and ‘knowledgeable’ we must surely have to take our information from all areas? Whether it be tech news, politics, mainstream, international, national or regional. And receive our news fix from all media including TV, radio, print and online. Even reading news from other countries can’t do any harm.
With this in mind, my feed subscriptions have been edited accordingly; I’m now subscribed to more regular news including international, national and regional and I’m going to dedicate more time to regular news. I’ll still be keeping up-to-date with tech news – it’s far too exciting not to, but in order to get a well rounded view of all news in general, it’s got to be obtained from everywhere.
Stephen is a communications consultant based out of the UK. You can connect with him on Twitter or check out his LinkedIn profile. | Email Stephen
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Serge Cornelus
So true Stephen. Fortunately you have seen the light on time. There ÃÂs a world out there, turning 24 hours a day. Don’t miss it. Because all the technology in the world cannot substitute for you staying in touch with real people. They will be ones judging your press releases, buying your clients products, and so on. (Did I just sound like an old school teacher?)
Stephen
haha! Thanks Serge, and yes I did sense a hint of ‘elderly’ in your comment!
Christina
Well it is nice to see other PR students struggling with the aspects of staying up to date. I mean our teachers want us to do our work, study for tests and spend time reading the news that directly affects us?! It is almost too much to bear.
Now that I got my overdramatic notions out of the way I totally agree with my teachers. If a person, such as myself, wishes to succeed in being a PR practitioner then there has to be some dedication with all news sources around me. Honestly I did not start reading the paper on a daily basis until my junior year of college. Now I read the USA Today (online, but I am still reading) everyday and watch CNN when I have time at home. It took quite a few professors to emphasize the importance of constantly knowing what is going on. I now see watching/reading the news as something for the betterment of my life and my career instead of a chore.
It is not only beneficial to read/watch the news, but it is also to expand on what you are reading. Look into every section of the paper. There could be a merger that will affect your company between two sports teams. I am not much of a sports fan, but if it affects my company it affects me.
On the Newspaper Association of America’s web site I found some pretty upsetting statistics. In the study it showed the percentage of people who read the paper at different ages. In 2005 ages 18-24 held 38.4 percent of readers. In 1998 there were 43.5 percent. In 2005 ages 25-34 held 36.8 percent. In 1998 there were 45.9 percent. Between those seven years, there was an average 7.1 percent decrease between the two age groups and their readership. This is the age groups that we will be when we begin working and begin to make a name for ourselves. This is unfortunate news.
I am aware that the study did not specify whether these statistics were based solely on paper news or not. I know that I personally read my papers online for convince. There still should not be as much of a decline. I urge myself and others around me to stay informed. It will do nothing but help you in the long run.