Journalism Skills That Translate Into The PR World

This is a reprint of a November 2011 blog post by David Bunker, a writer for Abbi Public Relations.  The link I posted earlier this year seems to be dead, but the content is well worth the read.

Journalism Skills That Translate into the PR World

The newsroom and the public relations desk have been trading talent for decades. But recently the talent has all been heading one way — away from the newsroom and into the PR field as newspapers shed talent and journalists seek another field where writing, interviewing and critical thinking are valued.

And while journalists are changing titles, they are retaining a lot of the skills that made them successful newshounds, bringing some hard-news focus to the historically softer and fluffier public relations world.

Here are some of the skills successful journalists are finding success with at public relations firms:

Hard Facts, No Frills: Press releases are notorious in newsrooms for their superlative adjectives and wandering descriptions. Journalists, many of whom have spent half a lifetime editing out the frills and non-news in thousands of press releases, are experts at cutting out the unnecessary and delivering the facts. It’s a skill that delights newsrooms gutted to a bare bones staff, who often use a press release penned by an ex-journalist without changing a word.

A Nose for News: Journalists who have years of practice pitching story ideas to their editors understand what makes a mention in the paper and what makes the front page. They know how to fold a clients’ public relations message into a larger trend story or a current events piece, without making it sound forced or over-hyped. It’s something Public Relations professionals work at, but rarely understand as innately as the reporter who has sat in hundreds of editorial meetings weighing what constitutes news. That eye for genuine news allows an ex-journalist to pitch a press release that fits into a newsroom’s thought process or sparks a new, genuine news story that the newspaper, magazine or website will feature prominently.

Critical Thinking and Client Relations: Often what a client wants to see in a press release, and what a magazine, newspaper or website wants to see in a press release are wildly different things. Ex-journalists at a public relations company are able to speak with authority to clients about the flavor, facts and focus of a press release that will get it noticed by news organizations. A hyped-up press release that pleases the client, but gets now press traction, helps no one.