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© 2025 Copyright, Jennifer R. Farmer

The PR Whisperer

Author, Crisis Communications Expert, Strategic Communications Advisor

Tag: MEDIA CONTRACTIONS

Build Your Own Content Channels

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By Jennifer R. Farmer

As we round out Q3, I have at least one item for you to put on your To Do list for 2024; invest in your own content channels. The days of relying solely on traditional media or social media platforms owned by companies that may not share your values are over. It is time to create and invest in your own platforms.

Why?

Whether it is the acceleration of artificial intelligence, a desire to return more money to shareholders, or an obsession with celebrity and popular culture, the media continues to contract in ways that harm us all. Certainly, the media has been contracting for years, but the cuts show no signs of abating. Earlier this year, Axios reported that the media industry cut 17,436 jobs. This was more than the start of the pandemic when 16,750 media jobs were cut. And the cuts this year follow years of steep losses in newsroom jobs.

As the media contracts, there are fewer trusted journalists to tell our stories, and fewer journalists who understand and appreciate the nuances of race, gender, sexual identity, etc. This means that the universe of people to truthfully tell our stories continues to dwindle. Consequently, disinformation spreads as more and more people turn to social media.

What is more, as a result of continued media industry cuts, public relations professionals outnumber journalists 6 to 1. There are more people pitching reporters than there are reporters to write and cover stories.

If ever there were a time to become a curator and publisher of information, that time is now. Here are four ideas to jump start your planning as you consider or continue to invest in your own content channels.

  • Build a Newsletter or Grow the One You Have. If you don’t already have one, it’s time to start a newsletter. If you have one, it’s time to invest in and upgrade your newsletter. This will give you an opportunity to share your message with your audience in a way that is not diluted. It will also give you a way to mobilize your base to action. Remember the people who come to you are interested in your work, so use every opportunity to tell them about it. You can promote your newsletter via social media but be sure to drive all traffic back to your website. Please also remember that your newsletter should include your base as well as journalists and producers who cover your issue area.
  • Invest in SMS Marketing. If the past few years have taught us anything it is that we do not own social media platforms. While it is nice to amass a large number of followers, true power is having contact information for those followers. You need emails, phone numbers and a way to quickly communicate with your base. Always ask yourself, if this platform were suddenly unavailable to me, how would I reach my audience? One way to do this is to launch an SMS marketing campaign to collect phone numbers and emails and then use that information to send information that your base finds useful.
  • Promote Your Thought Leadership via Opinion Essays. Even when an issue is noteworthy, communicators face an uphill battle garnering media coverage, especially in today’s landscape. While it’s harder than ever to secure media coverage, it is imperative that we tell our stories on our own terms. That is why publishing opinion essays should be on your radar. Opinion essays are guest columns usually between 700 and 800 words. They have one or two bylines and represent opinion bolstered by provable facts.
  • Become Investor Consumers. Few media outlets are awash in cash; not all have angel investors and corporate sponsors. And due to racism, when media outlets owned by Black people have the clicks, they do not always receive the same advertising dollars as their white counterparts. This leaves them scrambling for revenue year after year, and unable to cover stories that are important to our community. It is imperative that advocacy organizations earmark money for public relations as well as investing in media outlets created for and owned by our community. They cannot win without us, and we can’t win without them.

The bottom line is that we must become the architects of our own stories. We can do this by investing in our own platform channels and being strategic with how we use our resources.

There’s no other way to say it; you must be the authoritative source your audience can rely on to learn what is happening, who is doing it, and how to push back. And you must take control of reaching them. Continue to build a cult-like following to inform and mobilize. But do it on platforms that you control and own (we can amass tons of social media followers, but we do not own any social media platform).

That’s why you must diligently collect contact information from your audience and base, and then give them what you know they want.

 

Quick. What You Do Now Matters.

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By Jennifer R. Farmer

For years, the media has been in a free fall. We’ve seen newsrooms consolidate departments and functions, shed positions, and cease operations. This trend has continued through 2022, as CNN recently announced layoffs impacting 400 of its 4,400 workforces. Gannett, which owns hundreds of local papers in communities across the country, announced its third round of layoffs. NPR also announced cuts. The Washington Post is ending its Sunday magazine, and The New York Times is embroiled in labor negotiations. Those recent announcements follow the closure of the Black News Channel and reductions at BuzzFeed News in 2021 and years of media layoffs.

For people who wake up thinking about how to promote worthy causes, what you do now matters. To garner media attention in today’s climate, I recommend leaders and entities committed to social good take these steps:

  1. Build local media platforms. As mainstream media outlets have sought to diversify their teams and promised more opportunities for communities of color, many Black journalists have left Black-owned or Black-targeted outlets. But without intentional work to build and support Black outlets, local outlets and Indigenous outlets, our communities lose information and power. We also drain our institutions of much needed knowledge. When mainstream media outlets announce cuts, our people are often disproportionately impacted. This impacts us as well as our community, according to Race Forward’s Executive Vice President Eric Ward: “The real danger is that a growing number of African Americans have no place to try to understand what is happening in the world, what is happening in the country, and what it means for their communities and for their lives.”
  2. Create Your Own Content Channels. Nonprofits and advocacy organizations that want coverage will need to build their own content channels. Creating one’s own content channels enables one to immediately deliver a message. It also ensures control over the message and the probability of it being seen by one’s intended audience. Further, creating one’s own content channels makes reporting as easy as possible for journalists when they ultimately find an entity. Whether it is the company website; podcasts; blogs; or short videos on Facebook, Vimeo, TikTok, etc., we must take control of our message and the speed at which it is disseminated by creating our own content channels.
  3. Become Investor Consumers. Most smaller media outlets are not awash in cash; not all have angel investors and corporate sponsors. This many in a perpetual scramble for revenue. Advocacy organizations must be committed to supported media outlets that report the news, do so with a racial equity lens, and are committed to truth-telling. Organizations with financial means should donate regularly and consistently to people of color-owned and/or smaller media outlets. Donating should be a regular line item in an organization’s strategic communications budget.
  4. Consume the News Conscientiously. Communities of color and persons who favor an inclusive democracy should watch platforms owned by people of color and advertise as much as possible. This demonstrates for advertisers that there is demand for these platforms. Viewership is directly tied to advertising dollars and when outlets can prove they have the viewers, they are able to secure more revenue from advertising. It is incumbent upon people who want to advance racial, climate, gender, and social justice to be conscientious news consumers. This is the only way to ensure that the media outlets that deliver unvarnished truth remain in existence as long as possible.
  5. Be Ready to Pounce. As much as we like to plan, there are some things we can never anticipate. That is why rapid-response communications is important. Rapid response is quick mobilization of communications resources to respond to a crisis, or unforeseen opportunity or challenge. When the unexpected happens and you have deep knowledge or insights in the issue, be ready to pounce. Immediately craft or have someone in your team craft a story or pitch speaking to the issue at hand. Go live on your social media platform of choice and share your perspective. Monitor media trends and the news cycle carefully. And when you see an opportunity, pounce.

Trust me, I know how hard garnering media attention has become. But that doesn’t mean we can throw in the towel. Times are changing, and we must change as well. We must be smart, intentional and persistent in order to elevate important causes.

 

 

The Media Is Still Contracting: Here’s What Nonprofits and Brands Can Do

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By Jennifer R. Farmer

This is feeling like a yearly column. At the end of 2019, I wrote an article titled, “The Media is Contracting: Now What?” In 2020, I updated the article because, you guessed it, the media was still contracting. That year, I wrote that there were more jobs lost in the media industry in 2020 than there had been since 2008. According to The Hill, “An estimated 28,637 cuts were reported in the industry by late October, …nearly as many as the record 28,803 reported in the media sector in 2008. By comparison, the sector saw just over 10,000 job losses in 2019 and 15,474 in 2018.”

In 2022, I am once again writing about contractions in the media. Over the past few days, I learned that the Black News Channel (BNC) has ceased operations. They had faced a gender discrimination and sexual harassment lawsuit. They also allegedly failed to meet payroll after losing support from at least one major investor. Their closing shop is not entirely surprising given the very serious accusations on workplace culture at the company.

But I also learned that BuzzFeed News ceased operations as well. The complete cessation of work there is not entirely surprising. They allegedly lost revenue year after year; and let’s face it, continued loses are not sustainable. This is a major loss because BuzzFeed had a strong investigative arm, playing a leading role in exposing information during the #MeToo era, appeared to offer employment opportunities for journalists of color, and was a place where social and racial justice advocates could find fair coverage for their work.

These losses are significant. BNC was Black-owned and Black-targeted. They provided a place for Black opinion by Black commentators and guests. They were a home for scores of producers and other behind the camera talent, employing over 230 people. They covered the issues impacting the Black community at a time when Black people continue to need substantive news rather than just entertainment. Their coverage of the confirmation hearings of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson brought in some of their highest views. Today, Black people have fewer platforms to share and received news about our community.

Who Will Bring the Hard News?

What I’ve learned is that just because we do not know about it, doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. As someone who has worked in social and racial justice communications, I know firsthand the myriad issues that impact our community and deserve our advocacy. It is harder to mobilize Black, Native, Indigenous and Latino communities without platforms owned by us, or dedicated to our advancement.

As I shared in my 2019 piece, if you are relying on media coverage to spur advocacy you will need to develop a different media blueprint in 2022 than what you may have used in the past. Due to contractions in the media spurred by layoffs and media consolidations and closures, earned media – or media that you do not pay for – is becoming harder to come by. Having a good story is no longer enough to secure media coverage.

What You Do Now Matters

See this article for more ideas on what you can do now to continue to garner public awareness for your work. And here’s what you can do between media interview requests.

 

 

 

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