Clueless hacks
This ought to get your attention, from an article by Trevor Butterworth in STATS, George Mason University’s website “checking out the facts and figures behind the news:”
...it???s…a truism among journalists that most PR hacks are clueless; clueless about how the media actually works, clueless about what their clients actually do, and just generally clueless about everything.
The article suggests that the other side of the coin is characterized by devious PR reps who sound like they know what they’re talking about but are actually out to outsmart journalists.
Another story appearing in the media recently—this time the Orlando Sentinel—explores local government mismanagement of a PR agency’s work, but raises the question:
Why does the Expressway Authority need a public-relations firm in the first place? The problem at the authority is not bad public relations; it is bad management. When your house is eaten up with termites, you don’t hire a painter; you fix the house.
My asking this question is getting redundant, but when is somebody—PRSA, IABC, IPRA, anybody—going to step up and start doing some PR for the profession? To those of us working in communications, it’s clear that we don’t put makeup on pigs. We create dialogue and consensus. We build understanding. We foster an environment that supports constructive negotiation. We create opportunities for two-way and multi-directional engagement. But the tales of public relations activities that achieve these kinds of goals on behalf of clients are not visible to offer any balance.
I’ve been down this path before, but seeing multiple artricles like this on the same day is just discouraging.
10/30/06 | 4 Comments | Clueless hacks