PR Pros To The Rescue

by Laura Miller — March 23, 2006 - 4:14pm
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PR Week's Hamilton Nolan offers a candid, if not glib, analysis of the Project for Excellence in Journalism 's third annual "State of the News Media" report, which looks at major trends in American news media. "Not surprisingly, into the maw of overworked journalists and reticent corporate owners comes the PR industry. The simple fact is that the less staff a newsroom has, the less time a reporter has to devote to gathering news, and the more receptive a reporter is likely to be to a PR pitch," Nolan writes. "Reporters themselves would undoubtedly chafe at the idea that friendly PR pros are happy to step up and do their jobs for them. But deadlines are deadlines, word counts are word counts, and Happy Hour at the bar next door to the newspaper's office ends at 8pm sharp. The Project for Excellence in Journalism may have unwittingly signaled the beginning of a new 'Project for Excellence in Media Relations,' which will offer tired journalists an increasingly tempting crutch."

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PR Week, March 20, 2006

Comments

PR influence on coverage and design

Submitted by ejs on March 29, 2006 - 7:12pm.

I'm not sure which bothers me more: the impact on regular content (that is, words and subject matter) or the impact on design (via stock photos and other artwork). The availability of art drives so many decisions about story play and design, and I've seen well-done artwork, supplied by PR departments, drive the entire content of features pages. In a culture where design often has more impact than articles, I have to wonder.

unfortunate quotation

Submitted by jb on March 24, 2006 - 11:06am.

You may want to reconsider which portions of Hamilton Nolan's commentary on the third annual "State of the News Media" you quote. I am not certain precisely what Mr. Nolan was trying to convey, but his choice of words is unfortunate. The word "maw" refers to the jaws, gullet, throat or stomach, especially of a voracious carnivore. Besides seeming to characterize journalists and owners as voracious carnivores, the literal meaning of the sentence conjures a vulgar picture: Substitute "throat" for "maw" and put the subject first, and you will see what I mean: "[T]he PR industry...comes...into the..." You get the idea. About Mr. Nolan's precise intended meaning I could be mistaken, but I presume that is not it. Perhaps a little judicious editorial pruning is in order.