Public Relations vs. Journalists

Raquel Richards
rr150811@ohio.edu

When you think of a journalist, what is the first thing to pop into your head? Maybe it's writing, newspapers, articles, news, information, important. Now what do you think of when you think of public relations. Most would say social media, advertising, representing, and creative. However, many don't know how much these two careers have in common.

The world of journalism is constantly changing. New types of media are starting to replace the journalism we used to know, and it seems like we are heading in a complete digital journalism world. But it's not just the type of media that is driving out journalists, it is now a competition between careers. Public Relations professionals are starting to become a popular and demanding job. They take on similar tasks to journalists, and most journalist's are being replaced by PR professionals.

First, we should define these two types of jobs.

Journalists

This video is a perfect example of what a journalist is. It is pretty self explanatory, but as you can see, being a journalist means following a set code of ethics. This is typical in any type of job. We have a set of rules we have to follow, and a job to fulfill. Journalists put so much "out of work" time and effort, spending countless hours researching their topic and making sure they have the correct facts. As seen in the video, one of the first ethical priorities is find and report the truth. That is what journalists do. But as seen in the past, new jobs are forming that can replace the roles of others jobs. Public Relations professionals are starting to take of the role of a journalist.

Public Relations

From www.creativenoggin.com

Public Relations professionals are so many things, and then some more. We pride ourselves in being creative, active in the media world, and up to date with current trends. However, public relations is almost too broad of a term for a job title. We do so many things from advertising, marketing, promotions, writings, and sales, that it almost seems like a general term for "I can do a lot." I think that is why PR is starting to take over the journalism world.

So what does this mean?

If what they say is true, and journalism is going out of business and public relations is taking over, then we are in a whirl of trouble. Public Relations professionals, while expected to be good writers, cannot do the work that a true good journalist could do. Journalists have so much dedication, spend so much time and focus into one story that their whole worlds revolve around it. PR professions have so many tasks at hand, that it would be almost impossible to do the quality work that a journalist could do. PR professionals would not be able to live up to the ethical codes of journalism if they were expected to take over their jobs.

It is safe to say while both jobs have similar qualities and similar goals, replacing one with the other would be nearly impossible. These two career choices should continue to work together.