What's a PR Pro to Do When the Media Ape Blogs?

Steven Macklin writes that we are now living in the age of the 20-minute news cycle. He says the mainstream media will have to adapt to the existence of blogs in much the same way as the the networks had to adapt to the advent of 24 hour cable news...by emulating them.

The mainstream media will have to adapt to the existence of blogs in much the same way as the the networks had to adapt to the advent of 24 hour cable news. They will have to become faster and more responsive. The news cycle will shorten. And they will have to become bloggers. They will have to hire a staff that reads and writes blogs. They will have to become apart of the blogging community. When they do, they will change blogging in a major way.

Many PR professionals pull long hours. Some even burnout. What do you think will happen when the PR person's job spans 24/7 the way the journalist's day now does? If the media are becoming blogs, then PR people also must learn to adapt. When crises break, many companies launch special Web sites within 24 hours. Blogs will speed this process up dramatically. Agencies/corporations should have a TypePad account ready to roll for when the next crisis breaks. Macklin's piece only adds more food for thought on how the media - and by association - the PR worlds are changing with each major event like Rathergate.