Towards a local media relations model for public relations practitioners in Singapore.

Media Relations is one of the core functions in the Public Relations profession, with some 90 percent of local PR practitioners stating that it forms their most common job assignment. However there is a gap in expectations. This manifests itself in the hundreds of press releases discarded daily by the media - with the media bemoaning the PR person’s lack of understanding of what are its needs; and the PR person lamenting as to why their event or story idea was not deemed to be worthy of media coverage. In order to generate and sustain favourable media coverage and establish good and friendly relations with the media, PR practitioners must take into account the needs and expectations of reporters and editors. A survey among local editorial staff, in addition to in-depth interviews with news editors of the two local media companies were conducted. The findings reveal that for PR practitioners to generate greater media coverage, they need to adopt tools and practices that are expected of them by those who matter – the media personnel who decide what gets published and what gets thrashed. A schematic presentation of a Singapore Media Relations Model is also proposed for PR practitioners in Singapore.​Master of Mass Communicatio