We were interested to read an article in a recent New Yorker Magazine about why the public, including the media, treat PR like a pink ghetto?
The article makes the point that few journalists admit they get great ideas from press releases but that on the whole they see PR as fluffy, unimportant or ‘spin.’ On the other hand, when a crisis happens, the role of PR is elevated to one of importance partly, perhaps, good PR is supposed to be invisible.
The article begged many questions to us: why does PR have such an image problem? What actually is PR? What skills does a successful PR practitioner require?
To answer the first question, we need to think television and in particular, the ditsy Eddie (Jennifer Saunders) on AbFab. Eddie plays the stereotype publicist excellently. She swans around punching on her mobile phone, cigarette in hand, drink in the other and name-dropping throughout. She seldom works and when she does, it is a fashion shoot or a launch.
Let’s think, too of Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones. She is portrayed on the one hand as ‘with it’ and on the other, as manicured, high-heeled and shallow.
The reality is that the majority of PR practitioners MediaWise knows and works with are highly intelligent, well-educated and sophisticated thinkers. They are valued within the organisations they work in and, on the whole, by journalists and the people they work for. So why is there such a mismatch between reality and stereotype?
We think there are two main reasons. The first is that with the rise of social media, anyone can be a publicist. Ipso facto, PR is an easy science. The second is that most people do not realise that there is more to PR than publicity.
So what does it take to be a successful PR practitioner? From our perspective, you have to be a good communicator – on the phone, in writing and in person. The role of PR typically covers talking with journalists, setting up speaking engagements, writing speeches, publications, responding to inquiries, stakeholder engagement and social media.
Even that is superficial. Public relations involves strategic thinking and strategy development through to branding, relationship management and developing campaigns. A PR practitioner has to be logical, creative, aware of the law, and understand how to manage relationships.
So the next time you hear about an event, go to a rally, or get hot under the collar about something, remember the role of PR and the person whose job it is to spread the news.