Ex-journalists share the inside scoop on transitioning to PR
Alexander Liddington-Cox speaks to several ex-journos-turned-PRs about their transition to the other side of the fence. As one anonymous contributor succinctly puts it: ‘PRs think they’re smarter than journos and journos think they’re smarter than PRs.’
The new media journalists hitting the job market right now are some of the most talented in a generation and communication industry recruiters will be looking for ways to hire them.
However, journalists raised in the era of Buzzfeed, VICE and Business Insider Australia have had a radically different experience to their industry elders. Recruiters should understand what this means to get the best out of them.
Gee this resonates. Glad to know I’m not the only one!
Good overview – the calling the shots piece resonates.
As a journalist, everyone wants to have lunch with you
As a PR, everyone wants to avoid having lunch with you
That’s how it goes.
Seen a lot of journalists come into PR and do well as media trainers, account managers etc. Also seen a lot come in under some vague ‘content’ role and get very frustrated, very quickly.
One point I would add to. You mention newsrooms having a toxic atmosphere. In my experience, PR offices can match this and more.
“Write” has a different meaning in business than in journalism; one that emphasises writing’s ability to stimulate, clarify and refine cognition. So if business journos self-admittedly are not strategic thinkers who understand business drivers, why on earth would you ask them to write a CEO’s op-Ed? Interview the CEO and ghost-write and/or edit the piece for sure – but not create the original thought.
It doesn’t concern me that my comments yesterday were not published, but I remain of the opinion this story should have been proof read before posting.
Poorly written copy impacts on the credibility of both the writer and the publisher.
Most “journalists” have been in PR their entire careers. Everything is spin, everything is aligned to a particular orthodoxy, and never let facts get in the way of hype and hysteria. That’s journalism. That’s also PR.