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We need disclosure, we need honesty and we need transparency. What we don’t need are posts like this from a local, young PR “pro” who happens to moonlight as a journalist and praises her peers when acting as a journo. It destroys trust, calls into question the person’s ethics and ruins the integrity of the journalistic institution as it should work. We have a hard enough time determining the difference between bloggers and journalists, no need to add PR versus journalist.
In her post, Becky Armendariz praises four colleagues, while anonymously questioning others. While the story comes across from her journalistic side, it switches halfway through by refusing to name names of the poor practitioners, most likely of fear of reprisal within the PR world. This is wrong and it’s dishonest, at best.
What do you think? Can PR and journalism exist within the same person? What needs to happen?
Edit: I like this post of Becky’s too. Very interesting, considering she seems to block anyone she disagrees with. And Diane Wallace, you’re not a journalist.
Journalists are not objective. I've done both - PR and journalism. Objectivity is a myth. However, I don't think you can be a reporter and a PR person at the same time, because you lose your legitimacy on both ends.
I guess it depends on how you define journalism. Do you consider bloggers journalists? There are lots of PR/social media/communications pros who are bloggers too. But that's because blogging has become an important part of our field. Do you consider that a conflict of interest?
Bloggers can be journalists, but not all bloggers are journalists. Also, providing information about an issue, development, or topic in one's field does not make one a journalist.
I think a journalist can transition into working in PR (and I know several who have done it), but vice versa may not work as well (or may be more difficult). I say that because it's very easy for journalism to become PR, and it's important to make sure that doesn't happen. Credibility is so important as a journalist, and that should stay intact.
It depends on the medium. I think as long as someone maintains journalistic integrity while working for a publication with certain standards, they can wear other hats as well.
I also think that a blog is a blog, and no matter what profession someone is in or how much integrity it requires, they can blog about whatever they want. Just because Becky writes for Examiner.com doesn't mean she can't write whatever she wants in her blog (unless she signed some sort of confidentiality agreement).
As a recent journalism grad with experience working at magazines, huge national newspapers and online start-ups, I can say with confidence that objectivity doesn't exist. Every publication has its slant, whether political or social or economic.
I don't consider most bloggers journalist,it's a pet peeve of mine, and I've written about it many times. A journalist can blog, but most bloggers are not journalists. I have to agree with Kait, just writing about an issue does not make you a journalist, nor does re-hashing the opinions of others. It makes you a blogger, maybe a pundit blogger, something that is fun and sometimes informative, but it's rarely journalism.
I don't consider most bloggers journalist,it's a pet peeve of mine, and I've written about it many times. A journalist can blog, but most bloggers are not journalists. I have to agree with Kait, just writing about an issue does not make you a journalist, nor does re-hashing the opinions of others. It makes you a blogger, maybe a pundit blogger, something that is fun and sometimes informative, but it's rarely journalism.
I tend to agree that journalists are not objective and if they had an impartial view about the subjects they wrote about then this would make for a very dull read.
PR specialists tend to follow a more clearly defined objective, corporate angle or strategy but this does'nt necessarily make their opinions worth less than a jounalists with a subjective view.
Of course they can! They'll be labled as company shills, but who cares? :)
They can. One of my friends does both freelance journalism and stacks hours at a PR firm. He pitches to the same editors who assign work to him.
Unless you're working as PR for Blackwater and as a hard news journalist investigating human rights abuses in Iraq, I can't see a problem.
By the way, Examiner.com is not journalism.
I think that it's perfectly acceptable to do PR and also write for a publication as a journalist, as long as YOU remain a professional. For example, I work in the financial industry, so I would not write about my own company or its competitors (or really the industry in general). If I were to write a soft journalism piece like where to buy the best hat this Christmas, that's really got nothing to do with my day job. The fact that I might have to interact with other PR pros while writing that article is the same as any other journalist might have to do in the course of writing a story.
In reality, it's exactly the same as having a second job. You must make sure there's no conflict of interest. Since Rebecca apparently works for a hospital and writes about restaurants, I don't see how it's unprofessional on either end. And I also think it was very professional of her not to rat out her colleagues as practicing "bad PR". It reads more like a do-this-not-this list, which I don't see a problem with. PR people write that in their blog all the time, and many of them are former journalists. Does it really matter that she's a practicing one?
The blog that prompted me to write this post was a PR "pro" writing an article about the best PR "pros" to work with, as a writer, in that town.
You can't write about your other industry without it smacking improper.
Stop using your companies pre-printed thank you notes. Hand write a thank you note! Hand writing is much more personal and it shows you care. More...
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