Hi all!
Often PR and Journalism are viewed as complete opposites. Of course we would say they are different, with one loyal to the organisation and the other loyal to the general public! But to what extent is that correct?
While on placement at Four Seasons Resort Mauritius I have had the chance to perform several PR functions requiring good Journalistic practices - media releases aside!
One of my main responsibilities was the writing up and design of a Golf Newsletter. This required a good knowledge of the Golf practices, the terms, rules and regulations of the game etc.
When my boss told me that this would be my own personal 'baby', I was a little bit scared because I had no clue of where to start. So far, my news articles had been limited to class assignments and a newsletter that involved working in a team. Fortunately, she pushed me in the right direction and from there it was much easier to get my bearings. She scheduled a Day at the Golf for me! (unfortunately golf courses were not included) ;-)
I was a bit apprehensive when I got to the course but this quickly faded and I spent a wonderful day, learning a whole lot of processes and collecting all sorts of information as I went along.
Then came the puzzling part - sifting through the heap of information to do the writing up. I initially thought writing from a Public Relations perspective would be hard due to the loyalty issues but quickly learnt that it would not be so as long as I stick to facts. In the end, I came up with four different articles and my boss was pleased with the work I undertook and the styles used.
Moreover, I was assigned writing a profile for our Indian chef. This too involved a whole array of journalistic and Public Relations processes - coming up with the right questions, taking in the chef's demeanor, making him feel at ease, reassuring him about issues he may have, asking the right questions, at the right time and of course write up an interesting but factual article.
All these articles have been a great experience as it has allowed me to combined the skills acquired from my two majors namely Journalism and PR.
Furthermore, it has allowed me to reflect on the PR/Journalism tumultuous relationship that involves ethics, truth-telling etc. We constantly say that PR and Journalism are extreme - one black and the other white. But what if it is not as clear cut but instead it has more of a yin/yang relationship?
That would mean that each PR person requires some journalistic skills (e.g. objectivity, analytical) in him/her and each Journalist requires some PR skills (social skills, creativity) in him/her to actually be successful. And Journalism and PR are not diverging entities but actually complement each other.
Obviously these are just some personal reflections and I would appreciate your comments on the subject.
Cheers
4 comments:
Hi tavi,
Actually, I would certainly agree with you.
It is true that PR demands Journalistic knowledge. And it surely does complement each other.
For instance, having good communication and writing skills is one of the main expertises that should acquire a journalist and this is applicable to a PR practitioner as well.
Now, how is does it complement each other?
It complements each other as both needs there counterparts.
For instance, when PR practitioners need to deal with the press (Media liaison), they should know and master a certain degree of knowledge about journalist needs.
For example, if as a PR person you need to publish an article on behalf of your company, you will obviously need to send an interesting, objective and accurate piece of work to the journalist. Therefore, this is where your knowledge comes at play.
And for the journalist to approve the idea/or proposal of the article it should be interesting for him/her and in the interest of the public. If it is boring, lacks creativity and so on, then obviously, it might be rejected.
Therefore, I think and believe both should work in collaboration, as journalist need PR person to have news of course, and PR practitioners to build good, ethical and sustainable media relations at the end.
Likewise, as a PR very often we are confronted with interviews and meetings where we are consigned to ask questions and all. Journalists also have to abide by the same principles in their practices.
As a matter of fact, we instantly see how similar they are… in the sense that they actually demand the same skills. As you said, making someone feel at ease, knowing what type of question to ask, how to tackle issues during interviews are all both the requirements of a PR practitioner and a Journalist.
So, to say that they are different as black and white would be untruth.
Thus, there is a need for an understanding between both parties I would say.
In a nutshell, both need to be ethical and objective in their practice.
That’s all for now…
Take care till then
Cheers
Resh
Hi Tavinia, you make a good comparison between PR and journalism and you called them yin and yang with proves that I am agreed with.
Actually for me, i did not practice a lot of writing skills during my intern but more to designing skills such as designing leaflets, banner, booklets, and some handicrafts thing. Sometimes when the tasks given to me area all about designing, one after another, i feel like 'gosh, can I have some writing to do?'
What I want to say is, all of them come under one roof, designer needs to do copy writing, PR practitioner needs to have a basic designing knowledge, journalists have to learn their creativity and PR social skills. Therefore, it is good that in Mass Communication Curtin, we learn a bit about all these here and there so that we wouldn't be starting everything from zero when we work right?
With regards,
Chong Kar Woon
Hello Tavinia, I'm 100% agree with you that these two babies are just like a wink and a smile...
During my placement at The Department for Communities, some of my tasks are writing-based.
I have to agree with you and my Mentor who said, "in Uni, they taught you how to write Essay while here, we'll be teaching you how to write News"
As PR officer, I think somewhat we need to master or at least very familiar with journalistic skills. Imagine, if we were given 5 minutes to prepare a media release or something..
I just realise how VALUABLE PR 200 Technique was... :) I wished I really put my effort for that unit.. However, it's the best thing that could ever happened to me, as am learning so many journalistic skills from my Mentor, who is ex-journalist for The West Asutralian... :)
Wishing you goodluck in the future,
Cynthia Sari
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