When you hire a lawyer, the implicit understanding is that the lawyer is schooled in and understands the law and the process behind it, and works toward protecting their clients’ interests, providing value for their service.
For whatever the reason, the world of public relations isn’t seen the same way.
Despite being an industry rife with educated, intelligent experts schooled in the world of media and trained in the court of public opinion, public relations professionals are not viewed the same way. In fact, they’re arguably viewed more like how most lawyers are viewed: negatively.
Of course, navigating the legal world and public relations world are two very different things. Yet few opt to navigate the legal system without representation. Indeed, explaining why one doesn’t step into the courtroom without a lawyer remains a much easier ‘sell’ than explaining to a company or individual why handling their own public relations isn’t a prudent move.
Yet public relations as a profession continues to struggle with explaining the true value that it brings to the table, for companies and individuals alike.
Why spend the money?
As a still-practicing journalist, I completely get it. In the shrinking world of media, where reporters and producers are increasingly strapped for time and resources, going through a third party on the surface seems like a waste of time.
Same goes on the corporate side: Why not just fire off an email or pick up the phone and reach out to a reporter directly to get your message across?
Through my Master’s Degree in journalism and communications, not once were the letters ‘P’ or ‘R’ even mentioned. Objectivity, analysis, the “lede” and numerous other tenets surrounding the responsibility of conveying information to the public were drilled into our young and idealistic minds, but not once did anyone discuss what a PR person was, nor how they might actually help us do our jobs.
Through my years of reporting for various news organizations, I learned the value of some PR professionals: those who got the CEO on the phone faster than I would have been able to on my own; those who gave me the research and information I was looking for in a flash; those who thought of really interesting and compelling story ideas that my editors and I hadn’t considered or paid much attention to.
But for the most part, public relations people were a bane in my in-box, literally getting in the way of my job of connecting to a source or obtaining needed information, and in more than a few cases actually making my job even more difficult (Read, ‘No Comment’).
The “Dark Side”
My move a few years back to what’s affectionately referred to in journalism as the “dark side” has more than illuminated the value that a good public relations practitioner can bring to the table: Understanding what reporters, editors and producers need, and their deadlines; understanding how to shape a story that not only resonates with media, but more importantly resonates with the audience they cater to; understanding how to write a “pitch,” “op-Ed” or even talking points in a way that makes the media’s job just a little bit easier.
More than that, my time in PR has vividly illustrated the good, bad and downright ugly of what businesses and people expect to achieve through earned media: A front-page profile in the Wall Street Journal; an hour-long guest spot on CNBC; off-the-airplane, on the tarmac, media “scrums” on a cross-country product roadshow, to name a few of the the more interesting expectations put forward.
To be sure, proving the actual value of PR remains a challenge. Despite all kinds of new and exciting ways to measure “engagement,” “impact,” and “reach,” no one has yet figured out a way to prove that getting on TV or getting mentioned in a newspaper article has directly and unequivocally led to a “sale.”
Indeed, to go back to the legal profession comparison, a lawyer’s mettle is typically easier to measure – by the simple virtue of whether they win or lose your case.
Related Posts
