Journalists working with PRs – how to avoid conflicts of interest
Time to read: 1 minute
Can a journalist comfortably hang out with PRs?
Our in-house writer and working tech journalist Sandra Vogel explains how it works for her…
Some say journalists and PRs are chalk and cheese. They want different things. They see the world in different ways, and it is impossible to work in both camps.
But that’s not true. It is possible to be a freelance journalist who also works with PRs. There can be significant benefits to working in both camps.
I can bring to PR clients an understanding of what journalists might be looking for because I know what I would be looking for. Meanwhile, when doing freelance journalism, I have a feel for what it is like to be in a PR’s shoes, which can help me get the best from them and their clients.
Working on both sides of ‘the divide’ isn’t to be taken lightly
There can be difficult situations and challenges, sometimes meaning saying ‘no’ to particular opportunities.
For example, it is important not to write about an organisation as a journalist while working with them as a PR. In my book, the only exception to this rule is if whoever has commissioned the work is aware of the PR side of things and gives the OK. And the PR side is also fully aware and gives consent.
If a commissioning editor asks me to write about something and I work for or have recently worked for the company involved, I say so. That gives them the option to find another writer. If a PR wants me to do a piece of work that might compromise or affect my relationship with an editor, I’ll turn it down and tell them why.
Journalists, PRs: Never break confidences
As a journalist, I am told many things I can’t make public until a certain time – or indeed, I can’t ever make public. The same goes as when working with PRs. Often, agreements are signed that prohibit disclosure. But even when there aren’t formal agreements, keeping schtum with insider information matters.
I don’t find any of this to be a problem. Keeping a professional distance between the two ‘sides’ is not difficult when you work with editors and PR bosses who understand and share the same ethics. A good PR boss won’t ask a journalist to push a particular client forward with a commissioning editor. And, frankly, if a PR ever did ask me to do that, I’d just walk away.
