Five tips for tackling media relations

Dealing with the media – financial or otherwise – is a responsibility that is increasingly being integrated into IR. At least, that’s the picture being painted by recent research, which suggests many IROs are having to add the financial media to their constituencies.

According to Outsourcing IR, a report published by IR Magazine in October 2014, 46 percent of respondents have primary responsibility for their company’s financial media relations, while 37 percent say it is among their secondary responsibilities. Similarly, 69 percent report that financial news releases fall within their primary remit as an IRO.

Financial media relations is also one of the least common aspects of an IRO’s job outsourced to external service providers, the research finds, with only 8 percent of respondents reporting that it is handled by another firm at an average annual cost of $44,000.

Marina Zakharova de Calero, director at Citigate Dewe Rogerson, also sees the role of the IRO generally taking on more responsibility for media relations. Citigate Dewe Rogerson recently surveyed 193 IROs as part of its annual IR survey – entitled ‘Shaping the future of IR: a new era of opportunity and challenges’ – and investigated how respondents had integrated other disciplines into their current role.

‘Based on the findings of our annual IR survey, it is evident the majority of IROs are increasingly involved in complimentary functions within their organization,’ Zakharova explains. ‘Nearly a fifth are taking over responsibilities for financial media relations.’

Here, Zakharova offers her top five tips for IROs who are wondering how to integrate media relations into their current role…

Hier geht's zum Artikel, erschienen im IR Magazine.