Wanted: More Lions, Fewer Lambs

If there is anything in this world of ours that has ups and downs, ebbs and flows, smooth times and rough waters it is relationships. That is as much of a truism as gravity itself. There is one particular relationship in our lives - an important one - that right now is not in a good place. I am talking of the one between public relations practitioners and journalists or the press. It was not all that long ago when the two were looked upon as being natural adversaries. Journalists would try to dig up information and ignore the public relations officers who tried to either stop them, distract them or limit their efforts. Journalists were loyal to the purity of the news and the PR types were loyal to whoever or whatever they represented. Things have changed.

PR practitioners, sadly, seemed to have gained the upper hand as journalists appear to be losing that sometimes annoying, yet admirable tenacity that earned them the tag: "The Fourth Estate." I do not believe the quality of journalists themselves has declined. Rather, I believe a combination of reasons have combined to make them far too dependent on public relations professionals. Dwindling revenues of the companies that employ them, staff cutbacks, a greater dependence by the media conglomerates on advertisers, stronger desire of corporate and governmental heads and boards to control their images, and the rise of social media are among the key factors that are taking out much of the bite of the journalism profession.

As a public relations practitioner, I supposed I should be glad to have journalists more dependent on me for information about the institution I represent. After all, it places me in a more commanding position to control what is said about my employer and thus makes it look as if I am all the better at my job than perhaps I really should be. Truth be told, I miss the days when reporters were more lions than lambs; less dependent on so-called chief information officers. Yes, it made my job more difficult; but I firmly believe our society was and is much stronger when it has access to unfiltered, less scripted information.