“Did you find the transition to public relations, having been a journalist for so long, to be difficult?” asked Stephanie Fagnani, a freelance writer, who’s got a pretty regular gig with Corporate Training & Development Advisor.
Fagnani has been writing for various newspapers, magazines and newsletter for 15 years, and has become a regular contact. She’s a diehard journalist who adheres to each and every tenet of journalism. Her questioning came during a phone conversation as we discussed the parameters of an upcoming briefing with one of my clients. And given what we went through to get this briefing secured, her questions weren’t meant to be offensive; in fact they were dead on.
After 15 years as a newspaper reporter and editor, coming into the world of PR was an eye-opening experience. There were certain oddities of the job I needed to overcome, and Fagnani, it is my belief, was asking to make sure I was OK with these changes, almost in a friendly, colleague sort of way.
In journalism you are taught, the facts are the facts and that is all you report. And as a former editor once said to the staff at my first place of employment, “You jealously guard the integrity of your work.”
While setting up the briefing, I was instructed to contact Fagnani and inform her the client wanted to see the story before it was published. Coming from my former professional background, I knew that request wouldn’t fly. However, understanding my new role, I asked.
Result of request: Denied!
I was instructed to go back to Fagnani and ask if the client could at least see the quotes and paraphrases that would be used in the story. Again, I knew the outcome before I acted on the instructions. In fact I laughed within, heartily.
Result of request: Denied!
Even as I have moved on, the old journalist in me still lingers. And when such requests pop up, I have to restrain myself from telling the client they are stepping over the line. But again, new role, new game plan.
Old habits die hard, they say, but in this new role I think it’s more a case of rethinking what once was considered second nature. This is the flip side of journalism, and therefore the old rules don’t necessarily apply. That is undeniable.