Will we ever stop being us and them?
Friday, May 20, 2011 |
I work in public relations, and have done so for 30 years. When I started my career, I tapped noisily on my IBM Selectric™ typewriter, dabbed errors with WiteOut™, photocopied and then mailed out news releases to newspapers, TV and radio. If it was urgent, we couriered...or sometimes even hand delivered. (I know!)
Strict deadlines were met. Never hold a news conference past 2pm or TV won’t be able to make it. Always return a radio reporter’s call immediately, but not at the top of the hour when he/she would be reading the news. Never let a phone message sit for more than 24 hours. (Yikes)
Reporters were the enemy. They were the people around whom we had to be especially guarded. “Loose lips sink ships” and other sage words of advice kept us from blurting out some detail that was not quite ready to hit the front page. “There’s no such thing as off the record” we were told. Anything you say can and will be used in the court of public opinion, aka local newscasts. (Ok, that part is still true.)
A lot has changed since then, most likely evidenced by the fact that there’s a good chance, dear reader, you’ve never seen an IBM Selectric™ typewriter. In today’s online world, where citizen journalists report the news faster than most media outlets can (reporters have that pesky fact-checking thing to do, after all) both sides are coming together.
PR people and reporters are each discovering that the other is NOT the enemy. They are also discovering that each is a human being, capable of making mistakes and also capable of forgiving them, too. We’re also discovering that partnerships between PR and reporters can result in some of the best stuff. Let’s face – we need each other.
In this hyper-connected world, I think we need each other more than ever. Reporters need instant access to credible, reliable information. PR people need to provide reporters with innovative story pitches and digital assets to meet the needs of multiple formats. Most importantly, the news cycle is now a minute-to-minute thing, and that places a lot of pressure on everyone.
Will we ever stop being “us” and “them”? Probably not, but the “dark side” (whichever that is for you) isn’t quite as dark as it used to be. Your thoughts? Click on “comments” at the top of this post.
Posted in: public relations, journalism, media |
