Jumping the fence isn’t as easy as it looks
Making the switch from the solitary profession of journalism to the team sport of PR was tougher than imagined, writes Ben Oliver.
Whether deleting emails with zeal or bitching to colleagues in the newsroom, pouring scorn on the erratic, misguided or plain bizarre PR pitches was always a fun sport.
But having now worked in agency for two years after nearly a decade in journalism, I can say without hesitation that not only do I now fully appreciate the pressures of agency – it’s a hell of lot harder than what I used to do.
Please don’t misunderstand; journalism has it’s own extreme pressures, exacerbated in recent years by fewer journalists producing more copy – since 2012, News Ltd, Fairfax and Channel Ten have cut around 3000 staff, mostly in editorial roles – and additional expectations around social media. Burnout in journalism is, unfortunately, all too common.
Well said
As a former journo who has been agency-side for many years, I completely agree.
(It’s a pity you didn’t take a sub with you to your new job, though. Your article could use a copy edit.)
Bravo!
Where was Ben a journalist at and what rounds was he reporting on? Degree of difficulty varies greatly depending on the sort of journalism you are doing … need more info than what is being offered to really form an opinion on what he’s saying.
If you’ve just figured this out now, I’d say that most of your colleagues are light years ahead of you.
Great read. It’s not easy coming from corporate into the agency world either, but hard work and great fun equal great results.
Interesting read. Though, not everyone switching from journalism to PR ends up doing agency work. Some of us switch across to in-house positions and thrive in the environment where you are facilitating the daily relationship between the media and the organisation, rather than working on specific campaigns or projects. The rewards come the longer you stick with it. Like a journalist developing an intimate knowledge of his or her round, a good in-house PR professional can become an excellent ally for the business while also providing journalists with what they’re after: a good yarn.
thank you!
Thanks Ben, I really enjoyed your opinion piece and think it’s such a true account of the skills and challenges of our PR profession.
I’ve always thought that those journalists who believe they are too cool to even talk to PR’s ought to reconsider their positions in life as that PR could one day be your colleague or employer. PR is not an easy job and it is a team effort. Worth thinking about next time there are redundancies on offer.
Some good points in there, but I think one of the main differences between journalism and PR is that to make it to a respectable level in the PR industry, you need sound business acumen. Developing a communication strategy for a large-scale merger/’acquisition transaction, for example, requires a whole lot more than writing ability. You need to understand investor relations, regulatory matters, HR policy and industry politics so that you are able to offer strategic counsel to your client.
Good on you Ben. That was a great piece. I reckon you will do well.
Great read! I’m a journalist turned PR as well, although I do think journalists have great transferable skills to go into Public Relations. It’s advertising people who struggle to cross over to PR the most in my opinion.
Good on you Red!
Clearly Ben needs to be taken down a peg or two,
Good read, you’ve been fair and I truly hope you don’t trolled.
However, there are more shades of grey than the tennis vs decathlon analogy might suggest. I’m in B2B publishing, and for better or worse, it’s also a decathlon. As print and online ad sales get squeezed, we’re offering all sorts of agency-style services around custom content, lead-gen, event management and the rest. I know we’re not alone.
I jumped the fence and find it far easier, pressure wise, and better paid. But, and this is big but, I much prefer the satisfaction of print journalism. If there were better-paid jobs in print I’d be back there in a heartbeat.
Sorry – I was skeptical before I read the article and then you lost me at:”– since 2012, News Ltd, Fairfax and Channel Ten have cut around 3000 staff, mostly in editorial roles – “.
Count up call centre staff, ad sales reps, prepress and printing staff, photographers and then try and tell me “mostly journos”.
“Please don’t misunderstand; journalism has it’s own extreme pressures…”
Yes, but at least you had a sub to look after your appalling grammar. It’s spelled “its”, not “it’s” or “it is”.
Would you write “journalism has it is own extreme pressures” ?
You don’t deserve to call yourself a journalist.
Geez Julia lighten up will you! Do you ever read Herald Sun online and see the amount of copy errors on there? You’ve picked one error and he doesn’t deserve to be called a journalist. Eye wood think ewe arrggh floorless!
I have done both in-house and agency after getting frustrated with journalism. I have no regrets. I loved it. The PR agency was a top-tier organisation in Sydney and it was the most challenging and exciting role. I love to pitch!
Wow Julia! Do you actually read the news?! I see errors every single day.
Shame on you for being so petty.
Some interesting points but I think you’re way off the mark when downplaying the importance of teamwork and communication in journalism. It will differ from newsroom to newsroom but in my experience (10 years as a journalist) brainstorming and contact sharing is common and crucial – perhaps now more-so than even given the climate.
As a journalist who ‘jumped the fence’ about 21 years ago, I have to say that many journalists make great PR people – a) because (usually) they can write – and write well; and b) they understand what a journalist is looking for and how they should approach them. They also understand about deadlines!!!!! I think there’s enough crap said about PR people (and journos). Why don’t we just agree that there’s a real place for both, and that we can both live in harmony 😉