The Banking Industry's Relationship with Reporters: Cultivation through Risk Management

by Forster, Lisa J.

Using semi-structured, qualitative interviews with PR practitioners in the banking industry and a content analysis of newspaper coverage about banks, this study examined the relationship of banks with reporters. The interviews revealed striking differences in how the relationship was managed based on the banks’ organizational structure and the practitioners’ personal characteristics. Yet, the banking industry’s risk management culture similarly influenced the practitioners’ evaluative process in determining when and how to interact with reporters and what to say. The content analysis indicated that news covered in the papers was consistent with the banks’ somewhat conservative media relations efforts.