posted by Doyle
Mike Arrington of TechCrunch and Dave Taylor of the Business Blog at Intuitive.com have again launched the “is PR dying/does PR just suck?” discussion (TechCrunch here and Intuitive here).
In the end, I think both say the same thing in different ways: Bad PR is bad (some of it, to quote the late, great Michael Jackson, is “really, really bad!”), and quality communications counsel is more valuable than ever.
TechCrunch in general, and Arrington in particular, likes nothing more than to point out the worst in the PR industry. While I’d like to see TechCrunch point out some good PR people they work with from time to time (have to believe there are a few… Michael?), but for the most part, I can’t really argue with the gripes that Michael and the staff put forward. Dave’s issue is well taken, in that Michael’s most recent post indicts the entire industry for what he seems to be some reasonably isolated poor counsel.
I’m happy that Dave and Michael have continued this conversation, as it’s an important one to have. There’s been a fundamental shift in the “hack and flack” relationship with the rise of social media. Put simply, reporters now can — and clearly will — point out mistakes. Ten years ago, that just didn’t happen. No matter how irritated a reporter may have been with a PR person, no editor was going to give him/her six column inches to call the PR person out. Today, however, that’s just the kind of content that keeps blogs interesting.
A PR person called out often enough for legitimate issues will soon have a scarlet letter with other bloggers, other reporters and eventually clients or corporate colleagues. This kind of communication, when used effectively, can elevate the conversation between the two camps. It can also be abused, so both sides should exercise caution.
The need to communicate with bloggers, members of the media, etc., is a critical skill, and one that I believe is become more, not less, valuable. Maybe the problem is the term “PR.” I’d like to think my company offers effective communications strategies and tactics, not just PR.
Thoughts?
1 response so far ↓
1 Lisa Greim // Jul 6, 2009 at 9:45 pm
From one of the greatest movies of all time, "Muppet Treasure Island":
Mud Bunny: [sobbing] Dead Tom's dead. Long John shot him!
Walleyed Pike: But Dead Tom's always been dead. That's why he's called Dead Tom.
OK, just to be different, let’s talk about the Death of PR. A discussion about the Death of PR comes around once a quarter. You can set your watch by it.
What everyone wants to kill is not PR, per se. It’s BAD PR. Like Dead Tom’s demise, bad PR is nothing new. And like Dead Tom, it’s pretty damned obvious. Dead Tom is a skeleton in a tricorn hat. Bad PR has been characterized as a blonde in a black dress, but in defense of the many kick-ass, yellow-haired, black dress-wearing women in PR, I think bad PR is a blonde in a black dress whose sole success metric is how many phone calls she can make in a day. She could be calling the bus station for all it matters.
While you boys are fighting, I'll just be over here doing boring stuff that works to make great things happen for clients.
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