After what may have been the fastest two weeks of my life yet, I’m back in the United States with another research paper completed and more important connections made. While last year’s Global Advertising class had me ready to jump into the beginning of my graduate degree, this year’s class has me ready to start working. I’ve felt so prepared to get hands-on experience in my field, especially in such a research-oriented manner.
A glimpse inside Mother’s London office, one of Kent in London’s agency visits.
This is due mostly to the fact that my research paper for Global Advertising and Public Relations still has room to grow. While the paper is completed and turned in, so many more questions exist when it comes to relationship building between journalists and publicists. It’s a project that has room to continue growing, and this is a thrilling prospect – especially with summer here and time to develop the paper even further.
My key finding in the United Kingdom came from my interview with Paul Bridgewater, editor of Line of Best Fit (you can read more about that interview in this previous post). He pointed out that, with the growth of the Internet and the increasing number of music blogs, it’s harder for every music journalist to stay completely unbiased. In the case of Line of Best Fit, he explained that it’s easier to build relationships with artists and stay transparent about it than to try and be a stereotypically critical body. Bridgewater said that he doesn’t see a new website becoming the next Rolling Stone; instead, he thinks all of these new websites will have to find niches, discover what they’re really good at, and stay transparent.
As I said, this means that even more questions exist for this particular topic. This ranges from how publicists interact with these different writers, whether for a major publication or a blog; to how the blogs discover what their niche truly is and how to hone specific specialty areas; to how long the major publications will be able to survive without a specialized focus. My research probably can’t cover all of these areas in one paper; however, additions can certainly be made, especially in regards to how publicists interact with different writers and publications.
So, while I’m already home from London, the research I have conducted is only beginning to take its full shape. It looks like there may still be more interviews in the coming weeks and months!
