Use and Abuse of Video News Release

CJR's Campaign Desk has an interview with Karen Ryan, the PR pro who helped make the now infamous video news release for the Dept. of Health and Human Services. From the article:

There's been a little confusion lately in both journalism and politics over the burning question: Who the hell IS Karen Ryan? So we asked her.

As the New York Times first reported Monday, Ryan appears in a number of video news releases made on behalf of the Health and Human Services Department, which tout the controversial new Medicare law and its supposed benefits. The videos -- which end with the voice of a woman signing off, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting." -- ran as news on various local TV stations. (To read the full transcript of one of the "news segments" that ran on WBRZ Baton Rouge, go here.

It is critical to remember that public relations is not about getting favorable media coverage. It is about building a trusting relationship with the public. A skilled flak must be able to predict how something is likely to come across. That includes predicting the level of scrutiny a story is likely to receive. New product launches directed to the trade press are unlikely to receive the kind of scrutiny a politically-charged change in a major federal program will receive. If you do not understand this, you are not doing your job.


-- On Edit. -
Ryan would have had no problem is she had simply said On behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Karen Ryan reporting.