An Unlikely Convergence: Journalism and Public Relations?

September 9, 2012

I am sitting at my dining room table, enjoying my daily ritual: a post-lunch “digestivo.” I became partial to a good digestivo when I was a U.S. Navy public affairs officer, based at a NATO military headquarters in Naples, Italy, serving as a senior NATO spokesperson. After lunch, before going back to work, I would usually stop off at the coffee bar next to my office to have an espresso with my Italian friends. Now, my digestivo is a home-brewed double shot of authentic Italian espresso (Kimbo, an Italian roast that “represents the Neapolitan coffee culture”).


My Italian friends explained that a shot of espresso after lunch helped grease the digestive system. I knew better, though. Decades of experience in the public relations profession had taught me to recognize a good “line” when I heard one. You see, Italians don’t swill down their coffee like many people in other coffee cultures. They actually use a cup of coffee as a reason to slow down, take a break from the fast pace of work, and enjoy the company of friends – a wonderful relationship management tool. (Strange, though. I find the espresso does have the added benefit moving the digestive system, in fact, like clockwork!)

Suddenly, while glancing through the main section of the Sunday edition of The New York Times, a column about the no-man’s land between newspaper readers and writers interrupts my reverie. I am reading and re-reading “My Turn in Between the Readers and Writers” (September 9, 2012, p. 11) by Margaret Sullivan, The New York Times public editor, only five days into her new job.

Public Editor Margaret Sullivan,
The New York Times

As I read the column, I’m doing a double take. Ms. Sullivan, a former editor, reporter, and columnist for The Buffalo News, is explaining how she intends to operate in her job. And the points she is making about operating as an editor and journalist nearly match the exact points that I teach my communication students at Marist College (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.) about operating as a public relations professional.

Given the long history of animosity between writers that were once known for “yellow journalism” and public relations “flaks” that could spin any story, I am wondering what is going on here. I left my full-time public relations career in 2000 to pursue my teaching career. Have the journalism and public relations career fields converged that much since I took up residence in the “ivory tower” of higher education? Perhaps not, or at least let’s hope the two fields have not converged. Healthy skepticism among journalists and public relations professionals helps keep everyone honest, which benefits the audiences of our respective communication efforts. No, I believe the similarities between Ms. Sullivan’s profile of a good editor and my understanding of what makes up a good public relations professional have simply evolved.

Consider, for example, Ms. Sullivan’s first objective: “Put readers first.” Absolutely. Since Ben Franklin and other Revolutionary War writers, editors, and publishers, journalists have served their readers a literal “marketplace of ideas” in the United States. And in public relations, the work of professionals like Ivy Ledbetter Lee in the early 1900s paved the way for recognizing the importance of publics. Lee was among the first public relations counselors to urge respect for public interests as well as organizational interests. His counsel to powerful business leaders like John D. Rockefeller proved very effective in forming good relations between organizations and publics. Decades of research studies in public relations since the 1900s have proven Lee right. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, public relations scholars like Dr. Linda Childers Hon and Dr. James E. Grunig discovered that the value of good public relations does not come down to simply making money for an organization. Instead, the value of public relations can be defined in terms of the quality of relationships between an organization and its many publics (see Hon & Grunig, 1999, Guidelines for Measuring Relationships in Public Relations).

Also, long gone are the days when journalists “set the agenda” for readers and listeners. Today, social media trends generated by readers and listeners drive what editors choose to lead the news. Now, publics set the agenda. And even the slickest public relations tactician can no longer rely on spin as a tactic, with so many audience-generated news sources standing by to check facts. We must remain centered on our audiences and their stakes (e.g., needs, interests, and concerns).

Second, Ms. Sullivan expressed her intent to “encourage conversation.” For many years, journalists and public relations professionals alike have competed with each other to get their respective points across to intended audiences. They often communicate these points with each other’s help; however, at times they go around each other to avoid having intended messages filtered or manipulated. In reality, the “story” always ends up being more accurate and newsworthy when journalists and public relations professionals cooperate. Journalists need a few news subsidies and well-placed sources to report news accurately. And any self-respecting public relations practitioner will admit to needing reliable journalists to provide “third-party” credibility.

This competition between journalists and public relations professionals over controlling the story simply clouded the vision of what communication professionals should have been doing: having two-way conversations with audiences, or listening to what mattered to audiences as well as transmitting self-important messages. Yes, Ms. Sullivan is right. Journalists and public relations experts both should work to create “a village square for discussions” and “invited other voices in.”

That’s the way to communicate in this era of exploding social media: focus on listening and using what you hear to address audience needs as well as organizational needs. Cooperating, communicating collaboratively, and building mutually-beneficial, long-term relationships with audiences do lead to success. The public relations field is now moving in that direction, finally. Only recently, the Public Relations Society of America, the world’s largest organization of public relations professionals, updated its definition of public relations, based on suggestions by thousands of members. The new definition espouses the principles described above: “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics” (see What is Public Relations?).

Third, Ms. Sullivan advocated in her column the need “to promote transparency and understanding.” Again, I couldn’t agree more. Public relations practitioners now understand the value of providing strategic publics with information they need. Just before I retired from the Navy after nearly 30 years on active duty, I helped to lead the public information efforts behind NATO’s operations to implement provisions of the 1995 international peace agreement that ended nearly three years of war in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Like Ms. Sullivan’s goals, the goal of our public information program was quite simple: “gaining and maintaining broad [public] understanding for the mission.” Also, very much like Ivy Lee’s efforts more than 80 years before, we based our public relations plan on three principles: “a proactive public information policy; a free and open media access policy; and complete, accurate, and timely reporting” (see Siegel, 1998, Target Bosnia).

Perhaps the fields of journalism and public relations are converging. Or maybe this is simply the result of an evolution in the communication field driven by consumer use of advanced technology and the effects of game-changing social media. In any case, I am all for it; and I admire Margaret Sullivan’s approach to her new job with The New York Times. I hope she succeeds.

Now, back to my digestivo, which makes me wonder, “Could the Italians have it right after all?” Might the explosion of espresso bars around the world have some positive effect on journalists and public relations professionals who continue to meet over a cup of coffee, and then find time to slow down and form good relationships?

Mark A. Van Dyke is an associate professor in the School of Communication and the Arts at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.