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THREAD: Why are PR professionals not critical of media? Having been in PR, I can tell you the reason: they are held back by folk who insist that a "media is always right" rule be followed, because if you alienate the media, you get no coverage. No agency or its client likes that!
And that approach fundamentally tilts the balance in the PR-media relationship towards the media. One party knows that it cannot afford to annoy the other. If a person has a sense of professionalism and courtesy, things will still be fine. However, that sometimes does not happen.
The result? The relationship between PR and media at times is like one where one person can do whatever they want, and the other has to put up with it without complaining. There is one word for it: Toxic.
It is not only the media that can misbehave - PR folks can be daft too, but their numbers are fewer. But there's an imbalance in the relationship, and that is bad for everyone involved. It is something all parties - the brands, media and PR - needs to address and fix!
What REALLY bothers is that while the problems caused by PR are mainly from inefficiency - a unit going missing, too many e-mails, half-baked pitches, little to no research, etc. - many of those being caused by the media stem from entitlement and a privileged mindset. THAT.
