When I left journalism back in 2005, I did so with one message ringing loud and clear: "It's a one way street. Get this wrong, and there's no way back."
Such is the relationship between journalism and PR that these were the words of encouragement from my then news editor - and to be honest, I was flattered to be getting anything.
But one person who has proved that the road from journalism to PR is by no means a one way street is Chris Holland , who has not only gone back to being a hack, he's even gone straight back into his last job as a journalist - the one he left 24 years ago.
I caught up with him a matter of weeks into his new (or should that be old) job - as business reporter for the Bradford Telegraph and Argus.
Back then, the title was Industrial Correspondent, and he'd been in that job eight years when he left in 1984. Like most, he had served his time as a general news reporter at the T&A, and four years prior to that training at the Shipley Times and Express.
With 15 years experience of journalism, eight of which were covering business, Chris' first job in PR was, quite naturally, at the CBI.
But it was another 19 years - eight at the CBI followed by 11 in house at Bradford and Bingley, before he took his first agency role at Green Communications.
And it was following two years at Green, followed by a further two years of consultancy work for NFU Mutual and law firm Addleshaw Goddard, that brought him full circle to reporting on business for the T&A.
Phew - that's some CV!
So with all that experience of both sides of the fence, what really surprised Chris about working in PR?
"The main surprise was the amount of briefing that I had to give to senior business people," said Chris. "The level of paranoia about the media was startling.
"The other big difference was how long it could take from starting a project to actually seeing some results. The need to meet tight deadlines became a thing of the past (except for answering press calls)."
Some 25 years on, those I speak to who are just making the move now say exactly the same thing! But they also add that they begin to see journalists differently from this side of the fence. Was that the same for Chris 25 years ago?
"What surprised me most about journalists, in some cases, was how much they rely on PRs to write their stuff for them," he told me.
"In others, particularly personal finance, it surprised me how knowledgeable they were on their subject. Having been a journalist helped enormously in dealing with journalists as they recognised that you understood their needs."
But with understanding their needs comes understanding what drives journalists ... and that can soon have you looking through rose-tinted spectacles.
"I initially missed the immediacy and the objectivity of being a journalist," said Chris. "I suppose I also missed the profile that regular by-lines provides and being at the centre of things. I never missed the poor pay."
Which is why you never returned, until now?
"I suppose not too many PRs go back into regional journalism as the pay remains poor in comparison. But having been on both sides of the fence I see it as an advantage in doing my job.
"I came back because I needed a job and was interested to see if I could still cut the mustard as a journalist. It suited my personal circumstances to move back and so far I’m enjoying it."
Seeing how Chris has managed to shift from one profession to the other, then back, seemingly effortlessly, almost makes a mockery of the way the relationship between journalism and PR becomes so strained at times.
But who better to evaluate why that is than a man with a staggering 40 years working either in or with the news industry.
"I suppose there are still some PRs around who just don't understand the world of newspapers," Chris told me when I asked him why he thought that relationship was often fraught.
"Dry ice and dancing girls type PR was never my thing, but badly written press releases (from which I am now suffering) and nuisance calls about stories of no relevance continue to give PRs a bad name.
"On the other side some journalists can be unnecessarily rude and arrogant and treat PRs like dirt.
"What we shouldn't forget, though, is that these are exceptions to the rule. Most people on both sides of the fence realise that they need each other."
So the relationship isn't all one way - and nor is the career path.
1 comments:
I too have walked on both sides of the line.
As a PR, while the money was better, I found it frustrating not to tell the story, but instead to tell the story my client needed. Often while I was trotting out the 'lessons have been learned' schtick, I was thinking the client deserves to be battered for this!
It was also an eye opener to see first hand how some journalists treat PRs - manners and courtesy were in short supply at times.
Although it did not work out and I am now back in journalism at the Echo in Liverpool, I am glad I have that experience in the bank and I have used things I learned as a PR more than once.
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