Making the career jump from journalism to PR is now a “chasm”, according to a recent PR Week piece. Having made the hop from journalism to PR myself, I think journalistic experience has never been more vital.
The changing skillset required to success in modern communications means that moving from journalism to PR is a “chasm” rather than a step. That’s the view of recruiter Gavin Ellwood.
While I can see where Gavin’s coming from in that statement – and I wasn’t at the event to hear the full context – I think that there’s a great deal a journalist can offer, especially at an agency without any pressroom experience.
Many journalists could – and have – made the switch.
From PR to journalism and back
In my early communications career I fell into PR, then moved to tech journalism for a couple of years – which is where I learned as much about how not to do PR as the converse – before moving back and evolving over the years towards integrated comms.
But just those two years in tech PR – plus some freelance writing stints since – were critical:
- Journalists understand audiences: If a publication does not resonate with its audience, especially online where distraction is closer at hand, then it will not compete
- Journalists know what makes a story and can tell it: Do communications departments really understand what makes a story? Is that why so many press releases are self-serving and written for C-suite approval rather than jargon-free and interesting to the target audience?
- Many journalists are trained in SEO: With competition to rank highly, publications understand the value of search, and many train their staff. In an era when Google’s algorithm updates have made PR more valuable than ever, how many PRs have had SEO for PR training?
- Journalists work quickly: I was an early Internet journalist in 2001. Being able to turn around copy quickly was essential. This is second nature to journalists, so as content marketers that makes them pretty valuable
- Journalists are connected: The have a massive network, not only of fellow influencers, but of in-house marketing contacts and often come with a high social media following
- Journalists understand how influencers work: They can nurture junior staff – to whom much of the pitching is still done – on how to effectively communicate with influencers. How many PRs get access to influencer relations training from those with pressroom experience? While no longer a journalist, I am a football travel blogger, and receive some incredibly poor approaches on a daily basis. Nothing seems to change with untargeted pitches
The challenges of moving from journalism to PR
So I’ve argued that there’s value in having at least one former journalist on the team in a content and consultancy role, but I’m not going to deny that culturally there is a massive change in gear when moving to PR from journalism.
I think many who do make the shift will adapt well, but many will be frustrated that they cannot change a lot of things about agency and client communications culture that they might want to, especially when their copy is being approved.
In addition, I really had to work on my diplomacy skills when I moved from journalism to PR, and any journalist wanting to switch should definitely spend a day or two shadowing in an agency first if possible to see what it’s like and if it’s really for them.
What do you think? Can journalists succeed in modern PR/Comms?