Bridge

Bridge is a term derived from the stage and journalism to mean transition. Usage of this word as a term of art when referring to crisis responses and media training probably results from adaptation by public relations professionals of its many definitions in the related fields of journalism, graphic design or layout, theater, and broadcasting or film.

In journalism, the term's most common definition has meaning to writers and editors alike. Both use bridge to mean the “logical transition from the summary information of the lead to the detailed information in the body of the story when using the inverted pyramid structure method of newswriting” (Conners, 1982, pp. 99–100). When used in this context, the term bridge serves to explain and expand on the information in the lead. In more general usage, writers use the term to mean “a phrase or sentence connecting two stories” (Newsom, Turk, & Kruckeberg, 2000, p. 519) or “a few words tying one element of news to another” (Weiner, 1996, p. 78). To editors, bridge refers to “a proofreader's mark indicating that two letters or words should be connected” (Weiner, 1996, p. 78), [Page 99]whereas graphic designers and layout artists use bridge to mean “type or art that runs across the gutter and links two adjacent pages, more commonly called a crossover or gutter bleed” (Weiner, 1996, p. 78, italics in original).

In theater, broadcasting, and film, bridge conveys not just a changing of scenes, but often a changing of emotion, as well. Public relations educators Doug Newsom, Judy VanSlyke Turk, and Dean Kruckeberg define bridge in terms of its usage in broadcasting as “transitional program music” (Newsom et al., 2000, p. 519). According to The Dictionary of Media Terms, a bridge is a “music cue used to carry us from one scene or one mood to another” (Penney, 1984, p. 27). NTC's Mass Media Dictionary expands on that definition and defines bridge as “sound effects or music used to indicate a lapse of time, or to link dramatic scenes” (Ellmore, 1991, p. 77). The Longman Dictionary of Mass Media & Communication summarizes these ideas with the following entry: “Narrative, sound, or music section used to transition between two scenes or to show an elapse of time or change of mood or locale” (Conners, 1982, pp. 99–100). Finally, Webster's New World Dictionary of Media and Communications includes the visual with the auditory, as they include in their definition “a musical, visual, or other type of transition, particularly between scenes (a bridging shot)” (Weiner, 1996, p. 78, italics in original). An interesting but also germane definition of the term used in theater refers to “a narrow platform on which stage lights (bridge lights) are mounted, usually called a light bridge in the United States or lighting bridge in the United Kingdom” (Weiner, 1996, p. 78, italics in original). NTC's Mass Media Dictionary notes, “Luminaries and projection devices are accessible during performances” (Ellmore, 1991, p. 77).

In public relations, bridge refers primarily to the technique used in a crisis response or while training someone to deal with the media that allows the speaker to take control of the interview. Simply stated, the speaker connects their answer to the interviewer's question or subject to a topic of their own choosing or to their communication points or commercials. Put another way, the speaker reframes the question or issue to allow the points they want made to lead the response.

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