Five years ago, corporate communications managers would have called the idea of “corporate news” an oxymoron. But now you can’t count the number of companies that organize their storytelling like a modern-day newspaper, with editorial plans and column responsibilities and even a bricks-and-mortar newsroom.
One of the core tasks that any company must address is to communicate its strategy internally. This is a major challenge, and often companies are unable to get their messages across. In fact, some employees say that they don’t even understand their company’s strategy.
The answer to this dilemma may lie in corporate journalism – a trend where experienced journalists work on the inside of a company to create narrative-based, reportage-like content to support internal and external comms. This approach can have a positive impact on a firm’s reputation and business results.
But the trend towards corporate news must be weighed against its drawbacks. The most serious concern is that corporate journalism can reinforce the power imbalances that are at the root of many social problems. For example, the recent wave of wildcat strikes for workers’ rights is a major story that has been ignored or mis-framed by establishment news outlets. According to Project Censored, an independent media watchdog, it’s been estimated that these outlets ignore or mis-frame at least 25 vital, sometimes earth-shaking stories each year.
Another problem with the corporate news movement is that it gives legitimacy to large media companies that falsely claim to have a neutral or objective viewpoint. In reality, true objectivity is impossible, and a democracy requires multiple viewpoints in the media.
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