Will Industry Learn from the Media’s Troubles?
Will Industry Learn from the Media’s Troubles?
For the most part, news people – radio, TV, print – whether they handle investigative, food, business, sports, weather or other reporting and whether they are editors, reporters, columnists or reviewers have a common bond. While they compete for readership, viewership, listenership and stories; they also seem to share the hurt when “one of their own” is damaged. When one crosses the ethics line most of the people in news organizations feel it damages the credibility and value of all journalists.
Unlike newsroom staffers, public relations people tend to distance themselves from the problems saying that was him or her…not us. How fortunate we are not to have a code of ethics as journalists do yet still feel a transgression by one doesn’t affect us all.
But it wasn’t the marketing, finance, operations or engineering manager who developed the public relations strategy for Enron, Adelphi, MCI or Martha Stewart. It was professional public relations people inside and outside the organizations.
Pain or Relief
Did we feel a professional pain? Or was it a sigh of relief?
Our response has typically been that we now have the opportunity to provide management with “objective” professional counsel and guidance. By implication we say “those” people weren’t professional.
Wrong!!
In our opinion the problem is that along the way in our struggle to be raise our craft to the level of professionalism, public relations practitioners have lost touch with our roots.
To paraphrase Breslin’s statement…”PR people don’t climb the stairs anymore. They study crisis management. They study positioning. They study cultural management. They study political and international science. They do everything but get their hands greasy researching and writing.”
Ten – 20 years ago public relations practitioners studied journalism and became proficient reporters and writers. Then they took what few public relations courses that were offered along with studies in speech, psychology, business management and other disciplines. Many began as journalists before moving to the PR profession. They carried with them that journalistic and writing training and background.
Two Codes
They also carried with them the code of journalism ethics that had been drilled into them every year they were in school. They practiced it as they researched, wrote and edited articles and columns. When they moved to “the dark side” as publicists they continued to write well and with integrity.
Spin doctoring, cultural messaging and issue management came later.
While PRSA has a credible code of ethics how widely is it embraced and enforced not by the association but by our peers?
You have to wonder how much of today’s communications activities are designed to educate, inform and pursued our various market publics?
How much is designed to increase stockholder value?
We can say our job is different but journalists face the same struggle public relations professionals have – satisfying both shareholders and their wide ranging publics. They also have a major advantage over PR people. Good writing is the first requirement for getting a job in the field, not just another checkmark on the recruiter’s form.
The publications also took immediate and public action.
The New York Times and other media outlets reassured their internal and external publics – including stockholders – that their first was concern was their charter for existence. Rather than clouding the issues and denying the problems – not that others may not exist -- they reinforced their standards and enhanced their credibility and integrity.
Can we say this is the case for most of the public and private enterprises?
Credibility Is a Constant
Our profession – and the people we work for – should take a lesson from The New York Times and other journalistic organizations. Credibility can’t be a sometimes convenience. Addressing problems quickly, accurately and openly reinforces stakeholder faith and value.
But then they do have an advantage over public relations practitioners. They realize their shareholder value rests almost entirely on clear, concise and factual communications. They respect the power of the written and spoken word.
Despite the recent rash of public disclosure – and rapid response to correct the situation – we believe that for the most part the media has people who are honorable, industrious and follow journalism’s generally accepted professional guidelines.
Now if public relations practitioners will forget the elevator and climb the stairs…
#######
Will Industry Learn from the Medias Troubles - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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No public relations professional can have any feeling but pain for The New York Times, The Salt Lake Tribune, The Hartford Courant or other publications that have been painted with the recent ethical scandals. We have faced – and continue to face – our own corporate governance and professional issues.
For the most part, news people – radio, TV, print – whether they handle investigative, food, business, sports, weather or other reporting and whether they are editors, reporters, columnists or reviewers have a common bond. While they compete for readership, viewership, listenership and stories; they also seem to share the hurt when “one of their own” is damaged. When one crosses the ethics line most of the people in news organizations feel it damages the credibility and value of all journalists.
Unlike newsroom staffers, public relations people tend to distance themselves from the problems saying that was him or her…not us. How fortunate we are not to have a code of ethics as journalists do yet still feel a transgression by one doesn’t affect us all.
But it wasn’t the marketing, finance, operations or engineering manager who developed the public relations strategy for Enron, Adelphi, MCI or Martha Stewart. It was professional public relations people inside and outside the organizations.
Pain or Relief
Did we feel a professional pain? Or was it a sigh of relief?
Our response has typically been that we now have the opportunity to provide management with “objective” professional counsel and guidance. By implication we say “those” people weren’t professional.
Wrong!!
In our opinion the problem is that along the way in our struggle to be raise our craft to the level of professionalism, public relations practitioners have lost touch with our roots.
To paraphrase Breslin’s statement…”PR people don’t climb the stairs anymore. They study crisis management. They study positioning. They study cultural management. They study political and international science. They do everything but get their hands greasy researching and writing.”
Ten – 20 years ago public relations practitioners studied journalism and became proficient reporters and writers. Then they took what few public relations courses that were offered along with studies in speech, psychology, business management and other disciplines. Many began as journalists before moving to the PR profession. They carried with them that journalistic and writing training and background.
Two Codes
They also carried with them the code of journalism ethics that had been drilled into them every year they were in school. They practiced it as they researched, wrote and edited articles and columns. When they moved to “the dark side” as publicists they continued to write well and with integrity.
Spin doctoring, cultural messaging and issue management came later.
While PRSA has a credible code of ethics how widely is it embraced and enforced not by the association but by our peers?
You have to wonder how much of today’s communications activities are designed to educate, inform and pursued our various market publics?
How much is designed to increase stockholder value?
We can say our job is different but journalists face the same struggle public relations professionals have – satisfying both shareholders and their wide ranging publics. They also have a major advantage over PR people. Good writing is the first requirement for getting a job in the field, not just another checkmark on the recruiter’s form.
The publications also took immediate and public action.
The New York Times and other media outlets reassured their internal and external publics – including stockholders – that their first was concern was their charter for existence. Rather than clouding the issues and denying the problems – not that others may not exist -- they reinforced their standards and enhanced their credibility and integrity.
Can we say this is the case for most of the public and private enterprises?
Credibility Is a Constant
Our profession – and the people we work for – should take a lesson from The New York Times and other journalistic organizations. Credibility can’t be a sometimes convenience. Addressing problems quickly, accurately and openly reinforces stakeholder faith and value.
But then they do have an advantage over public relations practitioners. They realize their shareholder value rests almost entirely on clear, concise and factual communications. They respect the power of the written and spoken word.
Despite the recent rash of public disclosure – and rapid response to correct the situation – we believe that for the most part the media has people who are honorable, industrious and follow journalism’s generally accepted professional guidelines.
Now if public relations practitioners will forget the elevator and climb the stairs…
#######
Will Industry Learn from the Medias Troubles - To learn more about this author, visit Andy Marken's Website.
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Joe DagerJoe Dager is President of Business901, a progressive coaching company providing no-nonsense direction in areas such as Lean Six Sigma Marketing and organized referral marketing. What others say: In the past 20 years, Joe and I have collaborated on many difficult issues. Joe’s ability to combine his expertise with “out of the box” thinking is unsurpassed. He has always delivered quickly, cost effectively and with ingenuity. A brilliant mind that is always a pleasure to work with.” - James R. If you want to learn more about Business901, start a conversation with us. We can be found @ Web/Blog: Business901.com Web/Blog: FundingYourNonprofit.com LinkedIn Profile Follow me on Twitter - Visit Joe Dager's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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