BREAKING THROUGH THE CLUTTER: THE USE OF VIDEO NEWS RELEASES IN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS By ANNE R. OWEN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULHLLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 1996 UNIVERSITY OF aORlDA LIBRARIES Copyright 1996 by Anne Rosalind Owen To my loving and supportive parents, Joan and Glynne Owen. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The author would like to thank David Ostroff for his advice, dedication, and patience as the Ph.D. committee chairperson. Thanks go to the committee, Joseph Pisani, F. Leslie Smith, Leonard Tipton, John Wright, and Albert Matheny, for their enthusiasm, support, and gxiidance. The author would also like to thank those at Medialink for their cooperation and involvement in this research study. All took time away from their demanding schedules to participate in interviews. The researcher would like to express her personal appreciation to Roy Hughes at Broadcast Quality for his enthusiasm and the time he took to provide the author with valuable information pertinent to the topic of this dissertation. Finally, the author wishes to give her warmest thanks to her family, friends, and colleagues who have offered her encouragement and support throughout this endeavor. The author would especially Uke to thank her colleagues in the Department of Advertising and Public Relations at Florida International University—Patricia Rose, Margo Berman, David Martinson, William Adams, Debra Miller, Hernando Gonzalez, and Jackie Vining, Senior Secretary—as well as J. Arthur Heise, Dean, and Lillian Lodge Kopenhaver, Associate Dean. IV 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS P^e ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv LIST OF TABLES viii ABSTRACT ix CHAPTERS 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND 1 Statement of Research Questions 5 Video News Releases: Background and Issues 6 Rise in VNRs 1 VNR Identification 13 Regulation of Video News Releases 16 Are VNRs Bona Fide News Segments? 17 Section 315 19 Letter to Honorable Clark W. Thompson 21 Citizens for Reagan v. Station WCKT-TV, Miami, Florida 21 Oliver Productions, Inc. 22 1991 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking 24 Food and Drug Administration’s Concerns About VNRs 25 Industry VNR Guidelines 29 Summary 30 2 REVIEW OF RELATED RESEARCH 32 Gatekeeping Research 32 The Gatekeeper’s Attitudes and Values 34 The Gatekeep>er’s Professional Role Including His Societal Responsibilities 40 The Gatekeepers and Organizational Forces 45 Characteristics ofNews Items 56 People, Place, and Time 63 V 5 3 METHODOLOGY 66 Research Questions 66 VNR Organization Profile _68 News Video Facilities Profile 70 Research Methodology 71 Content Analysis of VNRs 71 Content Analysis of VNR Data 75 Personal Interviews 75 Limitations 76 4 RESULTS 78 Medialink’s Control and Input 79 Keeping in Touch with News Directors 79 Advantages Offered to Advertisers when Using VNRs 82 Common Elements of VNRs 85 VNR Use and Tracking 91 Medialink’s Two Clients 93 Advertisers 93 Stations 95 Content Analysis of VNRs 96 5 SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 1 06 Summary 1 07 Conclusions 1 12 Research Questions 1 12 Suggestions for Further Research 1 1 APPENDICES A MEDIALINK DAYBOOKS 118 B STATIONS AND TIMES OF LOCAL NEWSCASTS SEARCHED FOR VNRS 138 C CODING SHEET 140 D INTERVIEW QUESTIONS 141 VI E MEDIALINK TOP 10 VNR LISTS 143 F RANDOMLY SELECTED MEDIALINK VNRS 1 993 TO 1 996 155 G NEWSWORTHY CARRIER LIST 159 H VNR DATA AND THE LOCAL NEWS 163 I MEDIALINK DISTRIBUTED VNRS AIRED ON LOCAL MIAMI NEWSCASTS 166 REFERENCES 1 87 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH 198 vii LIST OF TABLES Table pa&e 4-1 Number of VNRs with National Anneal 88 4-2 VNR Usage bv Newscast 98 4-3 VNR Usage bv Station 99 4-4 Percentage of VNRs Aired on Specific Davs 100 vui Abstract of Dissertation Presented to the Graduate School of the University of Florida in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy BREAKING THROUGH THE CLUTTER: THE USE OF VIDEO NEWS RELEASES IN INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS By Anne R. Owen August 1996 Chairman: Dr. David H. Ostroff Major Department: Mass Communication To effectively expose television audiences to advertising messages, advertisers have implemented a number of communication tools. The most common have been 30 and 60 second television commercials. However, commercials may lack credibility as skeptical audiences are aware that advertising is selling a product, service, or idea. To compensate for audience skepticism, advertisers use other forms of messages which hide their commercial intent. One example is the video news release (VNR). Video news releases are produced by or for advertisers and distributed to news organi2ations where the VNR may be used at the discretion of the news organization. IX The advertising message appears in a news format which lends credibility to the content of the message. Viewers may be oblivious to the message’s commercial intent as hybrid communication messages do not use stimuli to alert viewers to the message’s advertising piupose. As such, the VNR can be a successful tool within an integrated marketing communications (IMC) campaign. However, VNRs are not guaranteed placement during the newscast and not all VNRs that are produced are aired. The researcher wanted to determine (1) what are the subject matter and common elements of successful VNRs, those which pass through television stations’ news department gates? To answer the question, the researcher analyzed the content of VNRs which were distributed March 4 to March 28, 1996, by Medialink which were aired during local newscasts on four English- language Miami television stations. In addition, the researcher analyzed the content of a group of 76 VNRs distributed by Medialink, 1993 to 1996, including 19 VNRs listed on Medilink’s annual Top Ten Lists, and the data from Medialink’s Top Ten Lists for 1988 to 1995. The researcher also wanted to learn (2) how do source material producers discover what VNR subject matter and common news elements have the best opportunity to be used by news departments? To determine this, the researcher interviewed those involved in the production and distribution ofVNRs. X The researcher found that VNRs which included subject matter about entertainment news, consumer news, health-related topics, technology, and sports were used by the four Miami television stations. The common elements of successful VNRs included video high in visual quality and stories low in complexity. Source material producers identify what news departments need by staying in contact with news department personnel and learning about current trends. XI CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION AND BACKGROUND To effectively expose television audiences to advertising messages, advertisers have implemented a number of communication tools. The most common are 30- and 60-second television commercials. However, commercials may lack credibility as audiences have become more skeptical about advertising. To con^jensate for audience skepticism, advertisers use other forms of messages which hide their commercial intent. One example is the video news release (VNR). Video news releases are the logical extension of the printed press release.’ Like press releases, VNRs are often produced by outside firms, otherwise known as “source material producers,” and distributed to news organizations. The purpose of a VNR is to generate exposure on newscasts for advertisers.^ Video news releases can be sent to stations by mail, courier, or by satellite feed. Source material producers notify stations of upcoming VNRs using wire or computer services. Medialink, for example, has an agreement with AP Express in which it sends advisories via the newswire into about 700 newsrooms. The ’Frean, A. (1995, August 30). How lobby groups set the news agenda. The Times. section: features. Available in LEXIS, Nexis Library. ^PRSC develops code of good practice for VNR producers. (1992, August). PR Services . Available in LEXIS, Nexis Library. 1 2 notification includes a story summary, footage description, suggested contacts, and date and time of the satellite feed.^ Other source material producers alert stations through fex and the Internet/ Included with VNRs is “b-roll”-story footage with natural sound and, often, shots of the advertiser-expert answering questions. Stations can use this raw b-roU video to give the story a local angle^ using their reporters to seemingly ask the expert questions. Station-produced news stories and successful VNRs can be interchanged * quality.*with negligible differences in video Once a television station receives a VNR, the station’s news executive decides whether and how to air the information. By broadcast journalism standards, the producer should watch the VNR package, send reporters to check fects and get original station video for the story, compile the material, and identify any VNR footage used on the air. Instead, some stations air VNRs in their entirety without source identification.^ ^Video news distribution keeps pace. (1994, November 14). PR News . Available in LEXIS, Nexis Library. '* PR News. November 1994. *How to successfully, produce, distribute VNRs. (1995, April 24). PR News. 51071. Available in LEXIS, Nexis Library. * PR News . April 1995. ’Xhalhimer, M. (1992, June). Video sources in the newsroom. Covering the Presidential Primaries . In The Media and Can^jaign ‘92, A Series of Speical Election Reports (p. 35). New York: Columbia University, The Freedom Forum Media Studies Center. 3 Video news releases are one of the festest growing, most controversial integrated marketing communications (IMC) tools in advertising. When using IMC, advertisers’ marketing and promotional efforts are coordinated and integrated to convey a consistent, unified message and image through all communications channels.* Video news releases allow advertisers to integrate or use a similar advertising message consistent with the whole advertising campaign while receiving the benefits of the message’s placement within the newscast. The VNRs’ content are consistent with the commercial messages, but VNRs have the added credibility of being placed during a newscast. Thus, the advertising message is reinforced through fi-equency, consistency, and credibility.