Media Relations: An Malaysian Perspective

Media relations looks to be a whole different ball game here in Malaysia.

At GO Communications in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it appears to be common practice to mass distribute press-releases to a huge host of daily newspapers, magazines and online publications. Even for broadcast media, it is assumed they will show up to an invited event because it is their job to do so, without having to play a certain angle or convince them of the newsworthiness of your story. Amazingly enough, it seems to work!

Through my experience running public events with the Curtin University PR Student Chapter and from discussions with current journalists, I can tell you it is NOT that easy to pull media coverage in a small city like Perth. Even our lecturers teach that it is a struggle to pique the interest of journalists and editors; and that presenting a customized press release or proposal to every publication or broadcaster is a necessity.

The distinctive difference I've noticed between Perth and Kuala Lumpur is a big one: the number of media outlets is vastly higher. While WA has only 2 prominent newspapers (The West Australian and The Sunday Times), Kuala Lumpur has 4x as many large-scale newspapers, published in 4 languages - English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.  

See the links below for full lists:

Malaysia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_Malaysia

Western Australia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_published_in_Western_Australia

When you are one of a limited number of outlets, you don’t have to try too hard to produce original content. You can sit back and take your pick from the variety of stories sent your way. Multiply that number of media by 4x and suddenly you are willing to take on just about anything to give yourself an edge over your competitors.

But don’t despair Australia! There is another important aspect to consider.

While it may be a lot easier to get your story in the media in Malaysia, the variety of publications available means that the circulation rate of each is going to be lower. Less choice means more people getting their news from the same outlet. Just because you increase the choice by 10x, it doesn’t mean readers are going to buy 10x more magazines and newspapers.

This example proves how important it is to selectively target media outlets who talk specifically to your target audience using a tailored pitch, whether it be in Australia or Malaysia.

Do you agree with my suppositions about media relations across countries? How would you approach media relations for an international PR project - with your own countries methods or anthers? Let me know in the comments below.