PR People Play Second Fiddle To Journalists And Recent News Coverage of Boeing Once Again Proves That

Decades ago, when I was a fledgling reporter, some PR people would tell me, “Newspapers couldn’t survive without the information and story ideas we provide.” Of course, that wasn't true in those days. There was always plenty of news to fill the news budget without the help of PR people.

Then, as print news outlets and staffs dwindled, PR people would say, “Newspapers couldn’t survive without the information and story ideas we provide.” As in years past, that is also untrue. There is plenty of news to fill the news budget without the help of PR people.

In fact, a case can be made that if the PR industry was to disappear over night, news outlets wouldn’t give a hoot. There’s always plenty of news to fill a news budget, with hundreds of other stories that never are used because, after all, editors play God when it comes to deciding what is news and what is not.

Case in Point: The latest Boeing crisis. Unlike the two crashes of its planes some years ago, when Boeing management attempted to put the blame on others, this time Boeing management seems to be doing everything correct. They immediately accepted responsibility, made top management available to the media and created a new plan to monitor the construction of its planes.

While I have no inside information, I’d bet more than a few dollars that Boeing has retained the most self-important facet of our business to give advice on how to handle the current crisis.  That, of course, would be the crises communications specialists.

Since the latest Boeing crisis, major print outlets like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal have been running daily stories about the plane manufacturer’s problem. None of them positive. Also, Boeing’s stock 

has nosed dived. So much for the efficacy of my supposed crises communications specialists’ advice. (I wish it had been better. I own Boeing stock.)

Unlike news journalists (except for the cables) most journalists go about doing their job without blowing their own horns. They let organizations like the Pulitzer committees decide who or which news organizations deserve praise.

But in our business, PR people, especially crises communications staffers, always congratulate themselves and tell the world how important their business is. 

Of course, the business that can make or break a PR campaign, – the news business – doesn’t agree. While journalists welcome any news provided by PR people, they really don’t need it. In fact, many journalists feel that what information is provided by PR people is suspect (or fluff) and is discarded. Want proof? See how much of the background information you provided to a reporter or producer actually ends up in a news story.

So if my thesis is correct, a reasonable question is “Why do entities spend so much money on public relations?” My opinion is that it’s fear of not doing anything. And, actually, the sum of money spent on public relations initiatives is minor compared to what is spent on advertising campaigns.

The media coverage of Boeing provides an important lesson for PR people. Years ago a certain segment of the publishing business was under attack for misleading and false business practices. I represented an entity in that business that was entirely honest and approached a Business Week reporter about doing a story.

“I don’t do stories about businesses that act as they should,” he said. “Everyone should do the right thing.”

The lesson learned is that just because the person or entity you represent does the right thing, doesn’t mean it will receive coverage. What is certain to receive coverage is when an individual or entity does the wrong thing.

So how important a role do PR people play during a crisis like Boeings? If you follow the news coverage of the incident and the reaction on Wall Street, the honest answer is “not much.”

It always has been “not much,” in the far away past when I was a journalist and it is still “not much” today.

That doesn’t mean that PR people don’t play an important role in the business world. It’s just that they’re not that important to journalists.

Since 1897, the New York Times masthead has featured the famous slogan “All the News That's Fit to Print.”  The deciders of what’s fit to print are the editors of the Times and other news outlets – not PR people.

Remember that, even though the agency you toil for says the opposite. I’m certain that the executives of Boeing and of all the other entities that have received negative publicity over the years do.

If journalists and PR people were part of an orchestra, PR people would. play second fiddle to journalists: We need them. They don’t need us.

Remember that the next time you toot your own horn.