Media Relations
Brussels is one of the most important international media centres in the world. According to the European Commission there are around 800 accredited journalists and technical press people reporting from Brussels. In total they represent around 500 different print, broadcast and online media organisations from almost 80 different countries. They cover European affairs, NATO and events in Belgium, the Netherlands and other European countries. Many more journalists from all over the world visit Brussels for brief periods for EU related events or to report on the activities of the international institutions based here.
Although traditional and new media can greatly influence EU policy-makers, not every public affairs consultancy offers media relations as part of their core offering. Law firms tend to partner with outside media experts as it outside their key competences.
Media is central to the work of many agencies from acumen and Brunswick to FIPRA and Political Intelligence. Consultancies with a PR pedigree such as Edelman, FleishmanHillard, FTI and BCW offer strong media capabilities in Brussels. Indeed a number of public affairs consultancies including Bernstein Group, EU Opportunity, SEC Newgate EU and Instinctif are led by former senior journalists.
There are also a number of specialist media relations consultancies in Brussels. For instance, niche firms such as RedThread provide media training. Red Flag has a reputation for framing stories in the right way and placing them in the right media, delivering results.