This week I participated in the weekly Twitter #Journchat, which is an hour long chat where journalists and PR students/pros come together on Twitter to discuss certain journalism and PR topics. There was one question in particular that caught my attention from last night’s chat. It asked, “PR pros: What's your advice for a traditional news/ editorial type switching to work in PR?” In 140 characters I answered this question, but now I want to take the opportunity to explain my answer in more detail. One of the best decisions I have made as a public relations student and young professional is gaining journalism experience. In college I majored in public relations and minored in journalism writing. In doing this, I was able to write for the school newspaper for two years and take numerous journalism courses. In fact, I feel like I had taken more journalism courses than actual public relations courses. After graduation I continued to grow my journalism background through freelancing for a local newspaper and blogging.
As a PR pro I think it is necessary to have some sort of journalism background. Whether it is in college, after college, through internships or even back in high school, having journalism experience will help you grow as a PR professional and develop essential journalistic skills needed in the PR profession.
Integrating what you learned as a journalist into your role as a PR professional gives you many advantages. Besides writing, one of the most important advantages of having a journalism background is relationships. The relationships you built and maintained as a journalist will benefit you as a PR pro because that makes you one step ahead of the game. Many young PR pros face the challenge of starting and building trusting relationships with journalists and with your past journalism experience you have already established those relationships. Another benefit a journalism background can bring to your role as a PR professional is that you know what journalists look for in a pitch and story. You are easily able to put yourself in their shoes and know what type of pitch a journalist looks for and how that pitch can help them get a good story. You are also more conscious of the journalist’s deadlines, which helps you to help them create the best story possible on a time crunch. Knowing the life of a journalist and understanding their profession will give you a better understanding of how to work with them as a PR pro.
Like I mentioned before, utilizing the journalistic writing skills you learned, like AP Style, and applying those to your writing as a PRo is extremely beneficial. In my opinion, more than half of the PR profession includes writing (i.e. press release, pitches, PSA’s, fact sheets, social media, blogging, etc.), so having that journalism background allows you to progress in this area of PR.In conclusion, understanding journalism is extremely important in public relations. If you are in or looking to be in public relations and don’t have any experience or knowledge of journalism, get out there and get some experience as soon as possible. A journalism background will only help you grow and succeed as a PR professional.
