Professor Side’s “Not in the Textbook” PR Course Vol. 8 | Everyone Is a News Agency

Hello, I am Professor Side.

Last time, we discussed news agencies. This time, I would like to talk about the theme “Everyone Is a News Agency.”
In recent years, when watching television, we frequently see captions for “viewer-submitted footage” even in news reports on fires, disasters, and traffic accidents. It has become commonplace for television stations to broadcast videos and images captured by individuals who happened to be on the scene. Furthermore, viewer-submitted content—such as flash mobs, cute animal videos, and silly, funny clips—has taken over not only the internet but also terrestrial television.

In other words, we are in an era where “everyone is a news agency,” which means “everyone is a media outlet.”

Such footage is compiled into programs with titles like “Funny Videos from Around the World,” and is frequently featured in newspapers and weekly magazines. Compared to the era several centuries ago when letterpress printing achieved the sharing of information, our modern information environment has developed tremendously in both quantity and quality. The speed of this evolution and its global reach have become an immense force.

However, what we must consider is not just the performance of the tools in our hands (smartphones). Whether it is a printed publication or a video, the essence of what should be conveyed and what will resonate remains unchanged. This essence is, in other words, “news value.” Those who excel at identifying and creating “news value” are the ones who become PR professionals.

From the next installment onward, I will begin a series on the conditions and essentials for becoming a PR professional.