PR and journalism may be related, but they don’t always get along.
In trying to reach my goal of becoming a writer, I have had to decide what type of writing I would enjoy doing. In the process, I narrowed down my choice to journalism or public relations. On my path to discovery, I have spent time as a journalism intern, and now I have spent the better part of this summer interning with Cookerly.
Starting out, I thought journalism would allow me to summarize information gathered and try to artfully, yet impartially, pass it on to the public. PR, on the other hand, would give me the ability to really get behind one issue or client. While this isn’t entirely false, there are a few more subtle complexities in both professions that I never noticed until trying them out.
You say tomato, I say…
Even though I have read hundreds of press releases, I still thought writing one would be similar to writing an article. Honestly, it’s not even close. Similar words have very different meanings in the two worlds.
As a journalist, there is a list of vocabulary you can’t touch. You must painstakingly leave your words void of subjectivity. While both a press release and an article both search to inform, approaching them is really tackling two different beasts.
The grass is always greener…
It seemed to me as though the people behind the press release never much cared about the journalist. Now, from a PR perspective, I occasionally find myself envying the journalist just as I used to envy PR. You may not get to pick a side as a journalist, but you do get to pick your story. If a certain idea doesn’t jump out to you, then you move on to the next release. However, when you represent a client, you may have the ability to decide what ideas will best serve the client, but you are still constrained by the product or service the client represents.
I’ve learned it’s important to remember that choosing your subject matter will present a unique challenge no matter which profession you choose.
It’s all in the family…
Journalism and public relations are kind of like your average siblings – you love them because you have to, but that doesn’t mean you always like them. I used to think that journalism had the upper hand (I’m sorry, but I did.) I realize now though that the world of media doesn’t play favorites. Everyone has a role to play and they need each other. Just like any brother or sister, they may have different personalities, different ideas and different interests, but at the end of the day they come from the same place. It is a struggle to inform the public in the best way possible.
Even if you don’t always love the other side, you have to respect it. It would be challenging to have public relations without journalism, and journalism would have a difficult time without public relations.
Personally though, I love and like them both. I suppose that makes me the black sheep of the family…
As senior vice president at Cookerly, Mike Rieman specializes in building and maintaining relationships with the media and has an excellent track record of landing significant placements in print and broadcast media including USA Today, Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Money Magazine.
As design director at Cookerly, Tim serves as the creative lead in the development of branding campaigns, print collateral and digital media for clients across a broad range of industries, including consumer, professional services, healthcare and technology.
As vice president of Cookerly, Sheryl Sellaway uses her extensive corporate communications background to lead consumer PR efforts, deliver strategy for marketing programs and share expertise about community initiatives.