Where does one draw the line between journalism and public relation?

This dates some 5 years back, I was freelancing then for a youth mag. I was a curious little girl who was simultaneously learning about media and journalism to be specific. I remember calling up the editor of the mag and suggesting a story idea. The idea was to go to different designers and check out their collections? How it suited the young generation etc? I had emailed the idea to the editor and followed with a phone call to check if it sounded good enough of carry. Instead, I remember she snapping at me saying, that she is not interested in PR stories.

I was startled. ‘PR’ the word was an alien to me. I did hear about this profession but was unaware about the job per se. So, I was hurt when she snapped at me and rejected my idea.

It was only after a few months when PR was taught as a subject in my class, that I learnt why she refused to accept my idea. But it’s not like the mag never carried any PR articles. Though, I am glad she snapped at me then, because in years that followed I was very careful what stories I suggested to the editor.

Whether you are a freelancer or an employee of a newspaper or any other media, threat from doing a PR story is very much prevalent.

A press release must only be the peg of the story not the story.What a journalist needs to do is find what is the press release talking about? That sets the agenda and a journalist can then look for a story angle which has to be different from the press release. The article then must answer the 5W’s H.

This is an art which a journalist needs to have and only then can he/she be called a journalist. Otherwise there would be no difference in the two professions. Obviously, here is where the talent of the journalist is put to test.

Some cautions, do not be friendly with PRs. Be Professional. Avoid any gifts from them. It’s tricky to have yourself in their good books and still maintain dignity to your profession. After all they are excellent source of information, you cannot ignore.

Check this article which is on the same line:

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