SINGAPORE, June 2, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- PR Newswire, the premier global provider of news distribution and media monitoring services, hosted its signature Media Coffee event in Singapore on May 12 to discuss how brands can improve their public relations strategies to earn the trust of the media and combat fake news. The event, titled "Latest PR Trends & Tactics: Fake News, Big Data & Pitching International Media", gathered close to 160 attendees. It was one of the largest PR Newswire Media Coffee events organized in Singapore. The event featured presentations from Everett Rosenfeld, Asia Pacific Editor at CNBC International; Sujin Thomas, Deputy Editor at AsiaOne; Lars Voedisch, Principal Consultant & Managing Director at PRecious Communications; Rebecca Pazos, Interactive Graphics Journalist at The Straits Times; and Lena Goh, Chief Marketing & Communications Officer at Government Technology Asia. The archived video of the event is now available for online viewing.

Audience at the Singapore Media Coffee event on May 12

In this new and chaotic media environment where fake news stories spread like wildfire on the Internet, public relations and communications professionals need to provide authenticity and credibility in their content in order to gain trust of their target audiences.

Key highlights of the event include:

"Churnalism" can be disguised as fake news

Thomas Sujin from AsiaOne kick-started the event by giving an overview of fake news - a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation in order to stir emotions and cause sensationalism. He also introduced the term "churnalism" which refers to the act of a journalist who publishes pre-packaged materials, such as press releases, without verifying the information. This is also one of the reasons why fake news gets propagated, because some people with malicious intent can put out fictitious stories. Everett Rosenfeld from CNBC International reiterated that stories written with a lack of due diligence are fake news because the writers disregard the importance of seeking the truth. Both experienced journalists agreed that publishing fake news can cause detrimental damage to a news publication's reputation, and thus they provided details on their news reporting tactics to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of their stories. Their tactics include checking news sources, verifying if other reputable news outlets are carrying it, and more.

Beat the goldfish; less is more.

According to Lars Voedisch, who manages PRecious Communications, a public relations firm, there are fewer journalists than public relations professionals. Journalists have less time to process a piece of news as there are many brands constantly vying for their attention. As the average human's attention span has shortened to eight seconds, as compared to nine seconds for a goldfish, it is essential for organizations to take note of the following when pitching their stories to journalists:

Rebecca Pazos, a data journalist from The Straits Times, shared her thoughts on the evolution of data stories. She commented that visualization of numerical data has evolved from static graphs and charts to the prevalent use of interactive elements such as infographics, immersive videos and prediction models. Data storytelling has evolved to become an essential part of content strategy for brands and news publications to have an edge over their competitors.

A data mindset is key to strategizing communications

Lena Goh, who leads the marketing and communications department in Government Technology Asia, stressed the importance of instilling a data mindset in order to strategize communications effectively. The Internet has opened up countless ongoing conversations among audiences and the challenge is no longer the availability of data and audience insights such as demographics and trending topics which are now easily accessible, but rather the perseverance to invest in a sustainable data analysis effort. To achieve long-term communications objectives, marketing and communications professionals need to be agile in identifying issues and opportunities, including refining their strategy when necessary.

PR Newswire's Media Coffee events enable communications professionals to gather insights from leading media organizations on how their respective organizations work, provide expertise into their specialist areas, and give advice on achieving coverage, as well as share tips on how to effectively target journalists within their sector and build mutually beneficial relationships.