Once upon a time…

…there was an incredibly enthusiastic and irrepressible young journalist. To him, the glass was always half full, not that he was much of a drinker! One day, he had to catch a bus into the village to buy more typewriter ribbon. He planned to use this time to fact-check and spell-check his work before submitting it to his editor. “You are such a perfectionist!” The wise, old gentleman would kindly chide him whenever he handed in his copy a little late.

In the next village, there lived the most charming and charismatic inventor you could ever hope to meet. She also had to catch the bus to visit the local ironmonger, who she had commissioned to make more phalanges. Phalanges were a critical component in her latest invention.

Well, it must have been fate…

…for on that day, these two jovial people just happened to sit next to each other. Both were outgoing, possessing exceptional social skills and soon fell into a happy rapport. In no time, the earnest inventor told the curious journalist about phalanges and their properties in extraordinary detail. The journalist had all the time in the world to listen to the long list of features each permutation of phalanges delivered. Indeed, he was gripped. Having missed their stops, they were now walking companionably back into the village together. The journalist used his psychic skills to ascertain the unique business benefits that phalanges-based engineering could deliver to his readers.

And so, with great excitement, the journalist stopped in the lane and cried, “I believe this to be the singularly most important technological discovery of our time! Even though my beat is musical theatre, I’m sure my editor will give me the cover story to tell the world all about it.”

The inventor was somewhat overcome and demurred, “Golly, that’s terribly decent of you. But do you think you might wait a while before you write anything, as I now realise I’m not quite geared up for discovery?”

The journalist nodded solemnly…

…and true to his word, the story was published sometime later. Once the inventor had taken her suit to the cleaners, she decided on her company logo and got the phalanges-based product range to stop blowing up.

Within hours of that one story breaking, everybody was talking about it. And Ashton Kutcher, Lady Gaga, and Stephen Fry were all begging to be among the first to beta-test it. The company’s share price shot up, and the inventor became a multi-millionaire overnight.

As for the journalist, he was regarded as a technology guru whose wise words would forever be commissioned throughout the land. And they all lived largely ever after…

Yeah, like that happens all the time!

If it did, there might be no need for PRs to help companies articulate their offering and deliver compelling copy to the media. But it very rarely does, and making it so is sometimes a thankless task. But the second most stressful career?