Journalism & Public Relations

Journalists use Public Relations as if it were a tool, yes; but PR also uses the media as if it were a tool as well.

Journalism wants to inform the public. In some instances, their only source is the PR of a company. For journalists, the PR is a well of information; a resource, a gold vein, meant to be tapped. PR is one of the Media's information gathering tools.

However, PR often uses the Media as its own tool. If a company wants the world to know something, then they have a few different options. One would be advertising, or using some form of mass communication. This is usually a little expensive. Another would be the internet. However, when it comes to what everybody pays attention to, the news, not every company has all the resources. That is, not too many companies have their own television channel, broadcasting equipment, studio, etc.... So what's cheaper than buying or creating your own news corporation? Hiring a few PR guys. PR uses the media in place of having their own stuff. PR uses journalism for their cameras, recorders, newspapers, and audience. Journalism is one of a corporation’s tools for distributing information about them selves. Through a PR guy, all a corporation has to do is put the information out there and hope that journalists pick it up.

That's how Journalism and PR are symbiotic. The relationship, however, is a love-hate one. The information that journalists want and the information that PR representatives provide are not always the same. The media often wants the dirt, the scandals, and the bad news. No (good) PR rep is going to provide all the details about a company’s scandals.

Journalism and PR need each other, but they don't always want the same thing. They each use the other as if it's a tool, but unfortunately (from the view of the operator) the tool always seems to have a little resistance.