Kenneth Goh

The events of 2020 have hit newsrooms hard – journalists are grappling with a turbulent news cycle, from relentless pandemic developments to reporting political unrest in APAC. On top of these, they are required to generate stories with leaner resources such as downsized staff and declining revenue – and deal with digital disruption.   Cision, PR Newswire’s parent company, recently released its State of the Media Report (APAC Edition) that examines today’s media landscape – from the lens of journalists. It surveyed more than 2,800 journalists from 19 markets around the world to uncover the shifts in the inner workings of journalists, from their editorial strategy, pitching their preferences to challenges…

The travel industry has been in a state of flux with COVID-19 movement restrictions and business grinding to a halt. With vaccinations underway and the borders re-opening across APAC, many companies are striving to resume some form of normalcy.   In a bid to revive the travel and tourism industry, some governments have been setting up travel bubbles, which would allow quarantine-free air travel in between destinations. However, with the unpredictable COVID-19 situation, travel arrangements remain erratic. After two cancellations, the highly anticipated Singapore-Hong Kong travel bubble is set to take off…

As 2021 unfolds, businesses are treading the year with caution as the COVID-19 situation continues to develop with new strains and resurgence of cases across APAC. To gain a better projection and understanding of how the pandemic might shape press releases in 2021, we analyzed 7 press release trends in key industries, from healthcare, technology to events, last year and how they were affected by the health crisis. (For each industry, we have also added the % increase in press release volume from 2019.) 1. Volume of healthcare-related press releases (+60%)  During the pandemic, demand for medical products and services such as masks, vaccines and medical…

The Consumer Electronics Show, or more popularly known as CES, will go all-digital for the first time this year, given the COVID-19-related movement restrictions. This transition changes the ballgame on how PR pros can reach out and pitch to tech journalists, who cover one of the most influential tech events in the world. CES 2021, which takes place from 11 to 14 Jan, will feature product unveilings, demos and keynote presentations by more than 1,000 expected exhibitors. Gary Shapiro, CEO of CES’s organizer, Consumer Technology Association shared that many international…

2020 presented a constant wave of changes for the comms industry. Switching to crisis management mode, many PR pros had to tackle challenges such as putting out cohesive messaging and working with leaner budgets. Likewise, PR Newswire also quickly pivoted and served the PR community in APAC through our series of webinars, eBooks and blog posts that provided PR & media insights in the new normal. Read on for a recap of the 2020 highlights of PR Newswire in APAC. 1. Press Release Overview 2020  COVID-19 dominated the news cycle in 2020. PR Newswire Asia distributed more than 4,000 COVID-19-related press releases last year – close to 15% of the total number of…