More than eight years have passed since I left the Dark Side and joined, well, the Dark Side.
Isn’t it interesting how people in journalism and public relations refer to one another in the same endearing way?
Truth is, I hadn’t been in my new office at Independence Blue Cross in Philadelphia for two hours before I’d heard the litany of grievances that my new employer had for my former colleagues at The Philadelphia Inquirer (and the rest of the media, for that matter).
Biased. Agenda-driven. Arrogant. Biased. Only interested in bad news. The list was long, and each charge was supported with anecdotes — some of which, I admitted, were pretty unflattering for a profession that claims to be fair and objective.
So began my three years in public relations, one of the most challenging and interesting periods of my career. Like many journalists have done in recent years, I had left a newsroom that was shrinking fast, and turned for a job to a profession that I had treated with great skepticism. Today, thanks to what I learned during those three years, I think quite differently about PR and about journalism — and the roles that both will play in a democracy that requires credible information to thrive.
What about you — the journalists-turned-PR professionals? What has your experience in PR taught you?
In this week’s Poynter career chat offered you a chance to talk about what it’s like to make the transition from journalism to PR.
