Because I am all kinds of wrapped up in all kinds of things, I mark things that strike me to post here in email, and then promptly forget about them until they are such old news it’s just not worth it. But this recent story from ProPublica is one I actually keep coming back to.
Having worked on both sides of the fence (PR and journalism) the depth and breadth of this story really got to me because I have always felt they are almost one in the same. This is over-simplifying of course – as there are a multitude of examples as to how they are separated on both ends of the spectrum – but in the span of my career, I have been witness more to a muddling of the two.
Now, with the inclusion of social media, there’s even more of a muddle. I frequently find myself asking, “Is this written/opined by a journalist, a PR person, or an ‘expert’ blogger?” and rarely figuring out the difference. For many, it bodes well. For many, it does not.
So, just passing along some food for thought. You can’t always believe what you read on the internet, right? Or maybe anywhere else for that matter?
A quote from the story:
“In their recent book, “The Death and Life of American Journalism,” Robert McChesney and John Nichols tracked the number of people working in journalism since 1980 and compared it to the numbers for public relations. Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, they found that the number of journalists has fallen drastically while public relations people have multiplied at an even faster rate. In 1980, there were about .45 PR workers per 100,000 population compared with .36 journalists. In 2008, there were .90 PR people per 100,000 compared to .25 journalists. That’s a ratio of more than three-to-one, better equipped, better financed.”
I agree. There IS only so much one can do.