The Difference Between Public Relations and Journalism

To understand the difference between journalism and public relations, consider the following scenario. Imagine that your college announces it is raising tuition (something many colleges are doing due to drops in government funding). The public relations office issues a press release about the increase. What do you imagine that release will say? Well, if your college is like most, it will probably stress how modest the increase is, and how the school still remains very affordable. Itll probably also talk about how the hike was absolutely necessary for the face of continuing funding cuts, and so on. The release may even have a quote or two from the president of the college saying how much he/she regrets having to pass the ever-increasing cost of running the place on to students and how the raise was kept as modest as possible. All of this may be perfectly true. But who do you think wont be quoted in the college press release? Students, of course. The people who will be affected most by the hike are the very ones who wont have a say. Why not? Because of students likely to say the increase is a horrible idea and will only make it more difficult for them to take classes there. That perspective doesnt do the institution any favors. How Journalists Approach a Story So if youre a  reporter for the student newspaper assigned to write an article about the tuition hike, whom should you interview? Obviously, you should talk to the college president and any of the other officials involved. You should also talk to students because the story isnt complete without interviewing the people who are most affected by the action being taken. That goes for tuition increases, or factory layoffs, or for anyone else whos ever been hurt by the actions of a large institution. Thats called getting both sides of the story. And therein lies the difference between public relations and journalism. Public relations is designed to put the most positive spin on anything done by an institution like a college, a company or a government agency. Its designed to make the entity look as wonderful as possible, even if the action being taken — the tuition increase — is anything but. Why Journalists Are Important Journalism isnt about making institutions or individuals look good or bad. Its about portraying them in a realistic light, good, bad or otherwise. So if the college does something good — for instance, offering free tuition to local people who have been laid off — then your coverage should reflect that. Its important for journalists to question those in power because thats part of our primary mission: to serve as a kind of adversarial watchdog keeping an eye on the activities of the powerful, to try and ensure that they dont abuse that power. Unfortunately, in recent years public relations has become more powerful and ubiquitous even as newsrooms across the country have laid off thousands of reporters. So while there are more and more PR agents (reporters call them flacks) pushing positive spin, there are fewer and fewer journalists there to challenge them. But thats why its more important than ever that they do their jobs, and do them well. Its simple: We are here, to tell the truth.