The business of PR data and media services in some form or another goes back well beyond the advent of internet. One company, which started life in 1852 as a press clipping service in London’s West End, is now an international market leader in communications software and media tools with operations in Europe, North America and Asia, and partners in an additional 125 countries. In the past decade digital has been by far the biggest influencer on this changing, yet ever pertinent industry.

Media services make discourse between PRs and journalists run that bit more smoothly. The digital age has facilitated a whole new set of services to this end. The consolidation of database, data analytics and distribution companies has created businesses that are able to offer PRs an all-inclusive range of services with the ultimate goal being the publication of corporate news in an influential space.

One of the things media services are doing is focusing on fostering connections between journalists and PRs. Licia Houghton, marketing manager at DWPub, says, “With media databases in particular there are so many other ways to find contacts these days we’ve had to become more about making those connections.” One of the ways DWPub does this is by holding events like its TechJPR networking community. “We’re going to try and do a lot more events as well because it’s quite important that people know who we are and feel that they can trust us,” adds Houghton.

Media services aim to form mutually beneficial relationships between the PRs and journalists. For media services it is the quality of their contacts that give them value. While a PR can attempt to reach a journalist over email or through social media, press release distributors such as PR Newswire and Business Wire offer their clients an audience for their release that is targeted and relevant.

Tom Clarke, operations relationships director at PR Newswire, says, “We have a very large media relations department trying to build relationships and strong links with media so that when it comes to sending a press release out through our media network the journalists know who we are and trust and understand what we’re trying to achieve with that commercial content. We do have competitors, and it does vary from country to country who those competitors are, but what we try and do is make sure we have a better relationship with media than any of them. We invest quite heavily in media relations people.”

Clarke adds that effective targetting allows for enhanced connections and higher standards of services to both public relations professionals and the media.

Digital inevitably creates new opportunities for media services as well. For press release distribution companies, like PR Newswire, it enables them to cut out the middleman altogether and publish corporate news directly online. Clarke says, “If there’s a client who’s sending a press release out about their product, we can send a press release wire to journalists, but we can also publish it online, on our website, on lots of other websites, we can use social media, we can use RSS, we can use all sorts of different tools to get that press release in front of consumers. It’s a useful combination of being able to target media and target consumers using traditional wire methods and the internet alongside one another.”

Clarke explains that the types of content PR Newswire is now sending out are much more diverse and include everything from traditional press releases to digital marketing and advertising content. These services enable customers to directly reach their consumer audience. He adds, “We’ve opened up to more customers through more types of content which give us an opportunity to expand both the revenue we make and the services we offer.”

While traditional forms of distribution are still valid, media services are developing new ways to help their clients reach their ideal audiences by making the most of the digital tools available to them. This may not necessarily mean going through a journalist.

Apart from giving PR professionals access to the media, and vice versa, media services often provide contact databases and other data and measurement services. By analysing data these companies can see who the most influential media sources are, which platforms are best suited to a particular message, where a client’s ideal audience are and the optimum time to target these audiences. Digital has had a huge impact on the way we collect data, greatly increasing the amount of data that can be analysed for insight.

Cision, which dates back, in some form, to that 1852 clippings company, owns the world’s largest media database. It has recently upgraded its service so that social analytics is first and foremost. Cision made headlines last year with its acquisition of Gorkana. This followed its combination with Vocus, a public relations software company, and its acquisition of Visible Technologies, a social analytics platform. These mergers and acquisitions have grown its services so that it is at the forefront of digital analytics.

Marc Munier, MD at Cision UK, says, “The acquisition of Visible has immediately made us a provider of market-leading social software. Where previously we’d relied on partners for social media monitoring, engagement tools and social analytics, we’re now very much in the driving seat, and with a simple, robust API to boot that means we can really embed our social services into client systems and processes.”

Though Cision used to be better known for its databases, its parent, Discovery Groups Holding Limited, has now constructed a complete group with a strong focus on digital tools and online services. The new Cision prioritises digital influencers, social data and insights.

This development is also good news for journalists since they receive far more targeted and relevant press releases. A news story is also likely to be more legitimate if it has come through a press release distributer as most distributors carry out some degree of moderation. The events held by media services also help to put media in contact with relevant and trustworthy PRs, providing the catalyst for valued relationships.

Houghton says, “ResponseSource gives journalists access to contacts they might not already have, particularly if they are writing about something they don’t normally write about, they don’t know who to talk to, they need expert comment or if they need case studies.”

The internet makes the sharing of information accessible to everyone, so it could be easily assumed that this would devalue the role of media services. However, these businesses are evolving their offerings so that they remain valuable.

Munier says, “There are still traditional PRs, and some of them continue to play vital roles, but I think the portfolio of the average PR is broadening significantly. The services that will remain relevant and important are, and will be, those that are able to anticipate developments in the market. By no means does that mean leaping on every new trend, but rather keeping a keen judicious eye on change and, where possible, leading it."