‎Is Media Relations Dead? No, It Just Got a Promotion

By Chioma Obinagwam 
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‎Odinakachi knew that in the world of information, speed is cheap but truth is expensive. 
‎For twenty years, Odinakachi was the voice people trusted. As a veteran news editor, his red pen had vetted the stories that defined the decade. Then the world changed. The “Great Silence” hit the newsroom. Budgets were slashed, and suddenly everyone with a smartphone was a “reporter.” 
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‎A young digital strategist once told him, “Odinakachi, you are a relic. People do not wait for your morning paper anymore. They find their news on TikTok before you have even put the kettle on.” 
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‎Odinakachi simply smiled. He saw what the strategist did not: a digital world drowning in noise. He saw the viral rumours that ruined lives and the AI-generated fakes that fooled millions. He knew that while the world was moving faster, it was also becoming more uncertain. People did not merely want content; they were starving for certainty. 
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‎The Shift: From the Engine Room to the Supreme Court
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‎In the world of Public Relations, there is a popular story at present: Media Relations is dead, Content Curation is the new king. Adetokunbo Modupe (Toks) explains this shift perfectly. He shows how the “engine” of visibility has moved. We no longer need traditional media to get a message out. We have influencers, social media, and algorithms to do that. 
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‎Yet if you look closely, Media Relations has not died. It has been promoted. 
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‎In the past, Media Relations lived in the Engine Room. It was the manual labour of PR: drafting press releases and fighting for a slot on the radio. It was the primary way to be seen. 
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‎Today, Content Curation has taken over the engine. It brings the “steeze,” the style, and the speed. However, because anyone can drive that engine, visibility no longer equals trust. 
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‎This is where the promotion occurs. Media Relations has moved from the Engine Room of Visibility to the Supreme Court of Credibility. 
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‎Trust: The Hardest Currency to Mint
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‎We are living in a “trust recession.” In this world, trust is the hardest currency to find, and traditional media still owns the press that mints it. 
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‎As Modupe observed: 
‎“Traditional media is no longer the engine of visibility or storytelling. It is the seal of authenticity.” 
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‎A content curator can give a brand hype, but they cannot give it a verdict. Curation is like a handshake; a feature in a respected newspaper is a signed contract. One makes people curious, the other makes them believe. 
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‎Odinakachi saw this happen recently. A massive rumour broke online about a local bank failing. The curators went wild, spreading panic for clicks. The engine was screaming. Yet the panic only stopped when Odinakachi’s newsroom published a verified, three-page investigation. 
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‎The viral steeze could not calm the market. Only the Seal of Authenticity could do that. 
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‎Steeze versus Substance
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‎Content curators are masters of the steeze: the vibe, the look, and the delivery. They are essential for getting noticed. 
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‎However, style without substance is a house of cards. To survive today, digital content needs a backbone. It needs the professional standards of journalism, which include fact-checking, ethics, and accountability. These are not old-fashioned rules; they are the high fences that protect the truth. 
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‎The New Hierarchy
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‎To win today, you need to understand how the roles have changed: 
‎- Content Curation gets you invited to the conversation. 
‎- Media Relations gets you respected in the conversation. 
‎- The Seal of Authenticity gets you trusted for the long term. 
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‎The Verdict
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‎The “fall of Media Relations” is a myth. It has simply evolved. We do not go to traditional media to find out what happened anymore: Twitter (X) has already told us. We go to traditional media to find out if what we heard is true. 
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‎Odinakachi now consults for top brands. He does not tell them how to go viral; he tells them how to be undeniable. He helps them secure the Seal that only professional rigour can provide. 
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‎Stop mourning the “death” of the press release. Start mastering the “Supreme Court” of your industry. Curation is the engine, but the Seal is the prize. 
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‎Is your strategy focused on being the loudest, or being the most trusted? 
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