PR Practitioners and Journalists are known to have had disagreements in the past, but also known to walk hand in hand down the media isle. They wished for divorce a few times, but knew they relied on each other so continue to stick it out even though they fight. The article ‘To contact… or not’ by Sallot and Johnson, talks about the relationship between the two. It speaks to a group of Journalists on what they think of PR practitioners and there was mixed results. One side stated they were untrustworthy and spinsters “To be completely honest, (practitioners) put a spin on everything they do. They are dishonest and trustworthy” (page 1). The other side had a more positive view “I could not do my job without PR people (who) bring important stories to our attention. Without PR many important news stories would not reach the public” (page 1). I think the first quote is too harsh and over dramatic, but this view, however stereotypical, is one that many journalists hold. I’m sure there are dodgy practitioners out there who are ruining it for the rest, but not all are like that, and even though one should be on their guard about information, they shouldn’t typecast all PR practitioners that way, it’s wrong.
The second article, ‘The importance of writing skills’ by Kurt wise In Public Relations Quarterly, summer 2005, talks about the poor writing skills of today’s youth. This isn’t a surprise. As time has past our language has become more slang ridden which I’m sure has added to this result, as well as writing in abbreviations, especially since Internet programs such as MSN messenger have come about. Also children are not taught in schools enough writing skills I think.
The third article, ‘How to… ten step press release perfection’ in PR News, was an interesting read. It was great getting pointers off people who have had a lot of experience. I’m sure this will be very helpful in the future and save us making a lot of mistakes, we have now already been warned.
References:
Sallot, M. & Johnson, A. (2006). To contact … or not?: Investigating journalists’ assessments of public relations subsidies and contact preferences. Public Relations Review. 32(1) 83-86.
Media Release readings:
Article 1 The Importance of Writing Skills by Kurt Wise in Public Relations Quarterly; Summer 2005; 50, 2; ABI/INFORM Global. pg. 37
Article 2 - <>How To...Ten Steps to Press Release PerfectionPR News. Potomac: Mar 20, 2006. Vol. 62, Iss. 12; pg. 1
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3 comments:
Hi Lauretta!
Your post had me picturing a comical bride (PR) and groom (journalist) skipping down a newspaper-lined aisle... clever illustration, and certainly gives food for thought.
In my own blog I commented that journalists and PR practitioners will probably always have love-hate relationships.
I think that in the "real world" it greatly depends on the actual people. Some journalists never use PR leads, whereas others rely heavily on them. It's really about establishing a working relationship with the media contact/s that you need that is practical, efficient and valuable to both parties.
Sure, there'll always be PR practitioners and journalists alike that don't conduct themselves professionally as they should, and yes, this has an adverse effect on the rest of us that are doing the right thing, but in the end I feel that if we as PR practitioners can conduct ourselves in a professional and ethical manner, we'll greatly minimise any difficulties.
Hi Lauretta.
I just wrote a massive comment about this and my computer froze! So let me try and remember everything I said...
I think we share the same sentiment about the misrepresentation of PR practitioners. I also don't think it is as black and white as some of those quotes suggest. I guess you'd need to think about how that also affects journalists though, I believe they can often be stereotyped or misrepresented. I get the impression that many believe there isn't a single journalist who wouldn't comprimise every one of their morals to get a lead, sadly. I liked that you formed your own opinion even if it didn't 100% comply with all of the content we read for this week.
As for the adequacy of this generation's writing skills, I believe one needs to consider the subjectivity of what is exactly 'adequate'. As spellchecking software develops and our conversations more frequently involve the cyber vernacular, we're becoming less dependant on learning the skills compared with before. The operative word being 'less', as there's no doubt of the importance of these skills, they are obviously still crucial. I just think maybe a change in the prioritisation of these skills is natural and maybe doesn't need to be fought against. Society will always change, it just happens.
I'm glad you found the 3rd article interesting. I'm still concerned I'll make a ton of mistakes, but at least I'll have some more perspective now. Well done on your blog though, you demonstrated to me a fine understanding of everything we read.
And I think I remembered everything I said the first time I tried to comment you... hopefully lol.
Hey Lauretta,
Thankyou for your tips on doing speeches. I can’t say that I have ever wiggled my toes, but I do hold cue cards!
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