The birth of modern public relations can be attributed to P.T. Barnum in 1871, who created “The Greatest Show on Earth” by fabricating stunts to amaze the audience. Under his belief that no publicity was bad publicity, he viewed journalists as instruments for him to orchestrate.
Over 150 years later, media relations specialists are still making ploys but instead of using elephants, they catch eyes our through phones.
It’s not a show, though. Journalists can see through carefully constructed answers.
The best publicist is a journalist, because they have an understanding of how news works and can use that to their advantage on knowing how to provide the most concise and newsworthy answers that make an interesting story.
According to 4Media Group, the goal of being media trained is to have the most control over a narrative, even in crisis scenarios, give clear and consistent answers and speak with confidence and authority. Media personalities give airtight responses to pre-approved questions that leave no space for misinterpretation or backlash.
Public relations works to build and maintain a positive reputation between an organization and its target audience. While the two may overlap, their goals are inherently different.
Journalism tries to break through the facade the PR answers give. Celebrities and professionals spend years learning how to give the perfect answer that isn’t actually a response. It becomes a game of tug of war between falsehoods and the answers they’re looking for.
But for a journalist trying to get the truth from a publicist with a different objective, the lines can get blurry.
Publicists know what’s going to make their clients look good. It’s in the journalist’s power to create an accurate narrative with the information they have and to avoid adding information for the sake of building a reputation.
Then, the two have to meet in the middle to effectively communicate with each side.
A game is much easier when you know your opponent’s next move. For publicists, they can predict what a journalist will ask, what scandals make a good story and what will inevitably become the circulating headline.
It’s easy to control a narrative when you know the formula.
However, it’s another situation when a journalist asks a question a publicist doesn’t want to answer.
Journalists are often scrutinized for portraying a reality that isn’t ideal. Political figures, organizations and celebrities blame the press for “incorrect”or “misrepresented” reporting when the truth is revealed.
The fear of challenging those in power can cause journalists to self-censor themselves.
Take Megyn Kelly for example. Her tough questioning at the first Republican primary debate in 2015 made her a fearless journalist, yet she faced intense backlash from U.S. President Donald Trump and the public.
The one question she asked regarding Trump’s past comments about women, changed her career because someone didn’t like it.
When the people in power dictate what journalists are allowed to ask, and journalists comply out of fear of backlash, they lose integrity. When journalists perfectly curate answers and choke back their opinions, the goal is lost. There’s no winning in the eyes of the public.
This month, late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel decided not to broadcast his interview with Texas Senate nominee James Talarico in what FCC commissioner Anna Gomez said is the Trump Administration’s attempt to silence free press.
Kimmel said the FCC threatened him, his show and ABC, based on their editorial decisions.
Instead, Kimmel uploaded the segment to his YouTube channel, to avoid conflict with the FCC’s equal-time rule saying all broadcasts must provide comparable air time for all qualified candidates if they air one.
This act of self-censorship forces silence in the threat of retribution.
Editorial decisions shouldn’t be made in fear of punishment as it undermines the freedom of the press and does the public a disservice by removing their right to information. A weary press is a perfect environment for corruption to bloom, with no pushback or accountability.
Public relations isn’t journalism and vise versa. The two sides need to work together to print true and reliable news.
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