The Smithson Report:
Removing Issues Management From Its Strait-Jacket
By Kate Smithson

When it comes to issues management, corporate public relations is working in a strait-jacket. It is unable to participate in the new communications environment because of an archaic mindset, ineffective use of technology, and obsolete information packaging.

The Problems:

1. Public relations departments package information in much the same way they have done for decades. Their key focus is the news release, sent to traditional media for a generalized audience. Granted, the news release can now be sent via email or posted online, but information is still packaged using the same template developed in the 1940s. (1)

2. Special interest groups and activists have moved beyond the news release. Yes, they still use it as one way to package their message, but they also tap into new technologies to create new ways of packaging information. They reach many audiences using many mediums, using multiple versions of their message. They have become their own media. (2)

3. A new communications environment now exists, but too often corporate public relations speaks in the wrong language. Far too many of our communications are couched in the stilted language of "corporate-speak." The Cluetrain Manifesto (3) tells us that "..people are inventing new ways of sharing relevant knowledge with blinding speed." Markets are smarter and better informed, and they have abandoned corporate-speak.

4. Public relations professionals are unable to participate in the new communications environment because of an over-reliance on obsolete information packaging, and ineffective use of technology. The current approach is archaic and wasteful. Even worse, it is hindering their clients' ability to be heard.

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