Public Relations vs. Journalism

Public Relations Rises Above Journalism

The field of journalism has quickly succumbed to the ever-evolving career of public relations. Many businesses are choosing to fill their practice with employees that are educated in dealing with the public.

The Newspaper Association of America reported that newspaper advertising revenue fell from $49 billion in 2000 to $22 billion in 2009. Comparatively, PR agency revenues have jumped from $3.5 billion to $8.75 billion between 1997 and 2007.

Old-fashioned journalism has been watered down and replaced with a fast-paced, dominant career. This factor has been in the background for many years and is now surfacing.

Michael Schudson, author of “Discovering the News,” describes the rise in “publicity agents” and how government leaders were not always on board with the new “middleman.”

Although there was a time that the nation’s leaders distrusted PR professionals, after World War I the idea began to resonate with the public. It was stimulated by the communities demand for real news coverage, and not filtered information.

The differences that have occurred in the career of public relations over the last few years are substantial.

The Internet has become a more direct way to bypass the press and produce content straight to the public. This can be beneficial and also detrimental depending on the situation.

Another interesting part of this puzzle is when self-interested parties produce their own stories and make the public believe it is a reported story. Local television stations are running paid content that are considered hidden public relations agendas.

Although this strategy is not considered ethical, it is escalating to new levels in present media.

Front groups is a form of hiding the PR agenda, and it deals with when a person or organization supports a certain product or candidate and does not reveal that they are being paid by the company.

The Chamber of Commerce is an organization that deals with front groups and uses them in order to fund their efforts.

The health-insurance trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans contributed $86.2 million to the Chamber to fight the Obama health-care plan, and that is something that is to proved in either company documentations. 

Drew Armstrong, a reporter for Bloomberg, researched this exact topic and explained, "They said this was one of the most sophisticated operations..." 

Front groups and other forms of public relation scams are diminishing the public's view of PR professionals in today's society.