In defense of PR
PR practitioners know that bad news simply gets more attention than good news does. That’s even true for the PR profession itself.
Complaining about PR people is popular.
It’s also easy, because there are lots of bad examples and we don’t fight back. I understand. Bad PR stories are like car accidents. While I cringe and hold my breath, I can’t look away from the gruesome details.
There are entire blogs dedicated to bad PR: Gawker‘s PR Dummies, the BadPitchBlog, and, yes, very often Twitter. Rafe Needleman’s PR Pro Tips blog takes a more helpful approach and he has even highlighted good PR tactics.
Pop culture doesn’t do PR professionals any favors, either. When I tell people that I run a PR firm, they leap to a mental picture of Samantha Jones from “Sex and the City.” My reality is much less glamorous (although we do have standing desks). As the mother of two, I’m usually more involved in diapers and chicken nuggets than nightclubs and celebrities. My reality needs to be more thoughtful too. I spend my days learning about the trends that are shaping our world and the next.
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