Guest post: Unlike Australia, in the UK the journos actually play nice
In this guest posting Australian PR David Skapinker looks at the difference between media relations in the UK and here.
Brothers, sisters, why can’t we all just get along? I speak, of course, about the on-going and eternal battle between journalists and PRs.
I have worked in PR in Australia and I currently work in PR in the UK and there are some really interesting differences in how PRs and journos work with each other.
You would think in the country that produced Absolutely Fabulous and Absolute Power; in a country that has something like 10 national newspapers; in a country where every second person you meet works “in the media” and in a country where front page news is literally Susan Boyle putting on lipstick (I’m looking at you here The Sun editorial team), the relationship between PRs and journalists would be even more strained in the UK than it is in Australia. After all, if the population is three times as large, surely that means three times as many press releases to wade through and delete?
We all know the tired arguments:
Journalist: “PRs are nothing but gatekeepers trying to spin a positive angle and keep the real news out of the news.”
PRs: “Journalists are lazy and rude.”
Here are, as far as I see it, the major difference between the relationships between UK and Aussie journos and PRs:
- There’s a whole lot more media here. Journalists actually need to compete for stories and play nice with the PRs.
- PR seems to be a more developed industry in the UK with. From my experience, PR has moved passed the stage of educating clients that they might need PR to rather educating how the media actually works (i.e. no right to check copy, what a deadline actually means to a journalist, etc)
- PRs have higher access with the clients. In Australia, and of course I’m generalising here, but from my experience it seems that PR is a function of marketing rather than a valued process that can add value and work with marketing. Although C-Suite execs will still make whatever choices they want here in the UK, at least PR is at the boardroom table from the beginning
Clearly this is not an exhaustive list, but these are the major differences I’ve noticed in my time in the UK so far.
In both professions, there are examples of good and bad. I have seen my press releases end up in the Aussie broadsheets several times word for word (much to my and my client’s delight). I have even called a journalist to talk through a media release I was offering exclusively only to receive a barrage of abuse because I deigned to call, get hung up on and then receive a phone call two days later abusing me for giving the story to a competing publication.
And yes, some PRs are an absolute waste of time. One PR person I know actually thought it would be a clever idea to rely on the web for a nugget of information to include in a media release, stating that the staff of a certain American talk show host had been killed by an anonymous letter filled with anthrax as part of a release on some survey about the workplace.
Now, I do not believe for a second that all Australian journos can’t stand PRs. Some of my best friends are journalists I have met along the way. But for some reason there is still the belief amongst a lot of journos that PRs are in most cases a hindrance rather than a help.
Likewise, some PRs in Australia see newspapers and the broadcast media as their plaything, and do not appreciate that the job of the journalist is not to find a way to make your press release less like advertising, but to agitate, dig and find the truth.
I don’t want to sound preachy (perhaps too late?) but the reason things seem to work well over here is that journalists seem more likely to step into the PRs shoes and consider their perspective and vice versa.
There will always be a constant struggle between journalists and PRs, but come on, right now we all just sound like a bunch of whining Poms.
David Skapinker is originally from Sydney, where he worked at Markson Sparks PR. He now works in London in-house for one of the world’s 500 largest companies.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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Can’t say I’ve noticed a huge difference, having worked here and there but the media sure is smaller here, and I love how everyone knows everyone 🙂
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I have worked in both markets. There is a symbiotic relationship – that you cannot change, love or hate it. But at the end of the day, you earn the respect of the journalist by not wasting their time. If you can eradicate the basic errors that piss them off in the first place, then you will get less of a verbal bashing. Unfortunately, a few bad apples can spoil it for everyone. The same that lazy journalism can let them down too.
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I completely agree with you David. And journalists actually pick up their phones in the UK!
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Come a long way since VM david!
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Interesting…although having started my PR career in the UK, I actually found that many journalists (particularly in London) had an assistant or ‘gatekeeper’ of their own to try and get through. Moving back to Oz and continuing my career, I have found Oz journos to be much more friendly and accessible.
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The UK media were dilligent about developing detailed feature summaries (when I worked in London) which enabled the PR team to go and develop, research, source information that directly responded to the topic. I am sure that journalists would free up a lot of time and get eradicate a lot of pointless phone conversations if they spent some time on this aspect of managing a features calendar. Jeez – it might even help them sell ads. There are some exceptions but one word feature sysnopses (sp?) are the rule here.
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I originally started a career in PR 10 years ago in London but my recollection of trade media, in particular, is very different to David’s! I still remember the names of several journos that had a reputation in the PR community for being aggressive, arrogant with overly inflated opinions of themselves as well as having terrible telephone manners. That said, different times. Dot.com boom-time – standards of both PR and journalism were more lax at that time …
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I too have worked in both markets. I think to speak broadly, in the UK the media are not only resigned to the existence of what is now quite a mature industry; and developed an approach to deal with it – to ride the tiger so to speak. They have moved beyond complaining about the fact that PRs have an agenda, and instead they’ve taken that on board, and worked out how to make the best of the situation.
The problem here I think (IMHO) is that journalists still seem in denial of, and to some extent unwilling to work *with*, PRs and instead work *in spite of* the PR industry. In view of the sheer number of PRs in this market, and the budgets invested, this seems ultimately futile.
But like Emily, my memories of the UK were from the dot.com era when perhaps the environment was more conducive to harmony…
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I arrived in Sydney a year ago and before that have always worked in PR in London.
From my perspective its swings and roundabouts – the vertical media can be much more pleasant out here (the tech crowd for instance), but other than that I don’t see that many differences.
However the points about the client are spot on. Clients in the UK listen to PR advice much further up the organisation and you have to waste less time on convincing someone to actually *do* some PR. Means in the UK you can get stuck into PR (and be more creative and strategic) while in Australia you are still sitting on the starting blocks.
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Having spent eight years working in PR in the UK and three in Australia, I’d agree there are some distinct differences. Agree with Dan that the UK media are more diligent at putting feature lists together which I think helps both sides. Like Emily and Gareth I remember journalists in the UK that would slam down phones, reduce colleagues to tears etc. Think in general journalists are more approachable here but more reluctant to work ‘with’ PRs. This may well be through PRs not approaching journalists with creative ideas for stories or opinion pieces for their publications or a reflection on the level of dross they get in their inboxes everyday. Wouldn’t want to lump all PRs or journalists into the same bag!
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I have to agree with David on this one. I’ve found that working in Ireland and the UK there is a much more developed sense of PR at a higher level in organisations.
I also found that in Australia I had issues with the lack of respect for PR people on both the side of marketing execs and the media. There seems to be a lack of planning in the media, no one adhers to timings and timeframes and more than once I’ve been burnt giving exclusives to journalists.
The other issue I have in Australia is the sway advertising has on editorial. I would never even attempt to even hint at adspend when talking to a journalist or editor in Ireland, it would be an insult to their integrity and mine.
All in all, there seems to be a mutual lack of respect between PR people and journalists, in fact PR people and most people in business in Australia.
Again, this is simply my experience and may be an extreme experience, but as far as I can see there is only one agency I will ever work for in Australia that I absolutely respect and admire.
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I too have worked in both markets and have seen huge differences in the Australian media over the course of the last three years. The localisation of Australian media can make it difficult to achieve national reach with strong stories. Rather than pitch a story to one outlet, you have to pitch to a number of different journalists and give them all different angles – unless you are lucky enough to have your story syndicated.
When I first arrived in Australia, I was surprised at how highly commercial stories could get a run mainstream news, but that is rapidly changing. Now I find that even a whiff of commercialism sends most journalists running. However, to David’s point, there is still a lot of education to be done to make clients understand that journalists don’t want to run stories with their brand plastered all over them.
There is no one rule that fits all for clients, journalists or PRs.
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I’ve enjoyed working in both markets too and while there are clear differences – size, sophistication and attitudes to PRs/journos, there are also things each country can learn from one another. I left the UK in 2004 and my first impression was that it was easier to achieve coverage here for unknown brands or random topics. Reporters are much more open to a pitch here, whereas in the UK they are working entirely to their own agenda (hence the detailed features briefs). There’s a lot more relationship building between journalists, PRs and their clients in the UK (boozy schmoozing) but it leads to a greater understanding all round and better results. At the end of day, journalists and PRs have to learn to work together better as neither group is going anywhere.
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Nothing like an article based entirely on generalisations and anonymous anecdotes to build the credibility of PRs – regardless of which country they work in.
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The UK media being more accepting of PR does not make them more proggresive.
Please check your grammar and spelling before your next press release.
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“…but the reason things seem to work well over here is that journalists seem more likely to step into the PRs shoes and consider their perspective and vice versa.”
A lot of journalists step over into PR at some point in their career (and a few go back the other way) in the UK. I’m one of them and. anectodally, it seems like a growing trend. I wonder if more journalists now consider that from the outset as a potential future career move, hence the better empathy with PRs.
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Having worked in both markets and soon returning to Aus, I think one of the reasons why UK media may have more respect for PRs is because of the higher value assets UK PRs offer journalists.
When you are offering exclusive C level exec access, most journalists are going to be receptive. Australian media, unfortunately though understandably given the size of the market, are not often given this type of access. Instead on big stories they have to rely on a local exec often removed from the nexus of the news.
Perhaps this, which if course is no no fault of the PR or the journo, is the reason for the difference in respect levels for PRs between the markets?
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There is a lot of focus on the disharmony between PR and journalists in Australia but I think there are a few factors that are overlooked. I agree that the PR industry is less mature and less sophisticated in Australia – this means that PR managers often come from general support roles or from somewhere else within marketing. This often results in a very transactional approach to PR. Second, Australians has strong opinions but its also a conservative country. I think corporate Australia is generally quite content with the status quo, which means a lack of thought leadership. Its very hard for PRs to ‘consult’ their clients out of this mindset and it takes a time to educate clients.
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Lots of whinging about the relationship between journos and PRs. I have worked a a journo and a PR in both Australia and UK. Never really had a problem as long as you are professional at all times.
The gray areas come with PRs who think it’s all Ab Fab “Sweetie Darling” – just because your can be buddies with journalist doesn’t make your product any more compelling! Think about editorial integrity people and develop workable programs with that in mind.
While the forward features lists were great in the UK, I disliked that paid advertorials featured so highly in UK PR and seemed to count as PR when evaluating for the client.
I think there are pluses and minuses to both markets, but like that I can contact a journo directly in Aus. As long as you have a compelling story for your market, you can get coverage anywhere I think, and that is the key.
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David, thanks for writing this. I found it really interesting.
I have worked in PR both here in London and also back home in Brisbane. I was a journalist for several years at The Courier-Mail in Queensland as well.
The simple truth is that if you have a good story journalists will listen. It’s all about the story, how you pitch it, when you pitch it and who you pitch it to.
The beauty about London is that if one paper turns you down you have nine others to go to.
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Like most of those commenting here I’ve worked in PR both in the UK and Aus – also Hong Kong and China but that’s a completely different kettle of fish.
David, your article is interesting though I do find it a bit of a generalisation. Like most of us I’m sure we’ve experienced clients who “get” and don’t “get” the value of PR both in the UK and Aus. In the same vein, I’m sure we can all draw up a list of journos and PRs in both markets that we respect and those we don’t. The main difference for me has really been the size – less media, less clients and a smaller PR community makes things friendlier and more relationship based. There’s many a time an ex client has become a colleague and a jounro become a client.
Oh and the other big difference, the weather’s better here too!! Maybe we should start a Poms in PR club – there’s a lot of us around…
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