Media or Personal Relations? Exploring Media Relations Dimensions in South Korea

This study examined the dimensions of media relations and their impact on how public relations is valued. The results showed that three factors determine media relations in South Korea. The first principal factor demonstrated existence of informal relationships in media relations. The results also affirm the personal influence model of public relations. Establishing personal relationships with journalists is a critical task among public relations practitioners. If public relations practitioners do not possess personal relationships with appropriate journalists, they often have difficulty getting media coverage. In particular, personal relationships play a critical role in the event of minimizing unfavorable media coverage.