From my own understanding, media relations is a relationship that companies try to create with the mass media to convey or hope to reach out to its publics because media relations are the backbone for PR, and good relationships will likely attract positive views news coverage. Which, in my opinion, is very accurate. Journalists or influencers tend to be negatively biased against companies that do not connect with them or connect with them badly.
One interesting media story that caught my attention during this pandemic involves a product being sold by a church group, The Genesis II Church of Health and Healing. The Church group was issued with 12 infringement notices that totals to $151,200 for selling and promoting bleach as a cure for Covid-19. For years, the church has been selling the industrial bleach as a Miracle Mineral Solution (MMS), claiming that it can cure different types of illness, autism, acne, cancer, diabetes, and now Covid-19. The MMS product was being sold on the website of the Australian Chapter of the Church as a “Water Purification Drops.”
The media story blew up due to the fact word got out on social media, which caught the attention of some of the public about what the ingredient in the product is. The Therapeutic Good Administration (TGA) spokesperson, the media that there would be a cease and desist letter has been sent out to the MMS Australia, which requires an immediate cease of advertising for the product.
My key takeaway from this lecture is that having stories that capture the audience’s attention is crucial, especially now that it is easier to send different media across. As well as, Journalists tend to based on various news values to find out what useful articles they would want to write. These characteristics include Impact, Timeliness, Prominence, Proximity, Novelty, Conflict, and Currency. All these characteristics make most news stories worth reading or watching, which, in my opinion, will help more teens or young adults be aware of what is happening around them.
Marc Yuan 