Roles of Journalist and PR Professionals

Role of a Journalist:

The journalist’s agenda is to provide accurate and authentic information to the society. And keep in mind to provide unbiased news to the audience.

The newspaper, which we read daily, or the news, which appear daily on television, has got a huge back team and hard efforts to deliver the correct information to the audiences. So there takes place different types of jobs of the journalist in a media house.

For example:

- Researching stories

- Writing hard news and feature stories

- Shooting photographs and video

- Editing stories

- Checking facts

- Planning issues

- Laying out pages

Role of Public Relation professionals:

The work products from public relations professionals are intended to influence public opinion and are designed to promote and protect an individual or organization's image and products.

There are many jobs in public relations, including publicity, event management and publication design:

A PRprofessional's job involve:

- Press releases: One way the publicity goal is accomplished is by sending press releases to newspaper, magazine and web journalists. A press release contains information needed by a journalist to write a positive story about the PR professional's client. The public relations specialist must know how to write, edit and photograph information for the press release. The professional must have the skills of a journalist and a photojournalist, and understand how editors and producers work.

The public relations professional crafts a compelling news story designed to gain a reporter's attention. Newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations, channels and networks, and news websites always are on the lookout for fresh story ideas. The goal of a press release is to fulfill a journalist's need for news while enhancing the client's public image. The press release clarifies why the client's product, service or history is important.

- Making contacts: PR professionals cultivate relationships with journalists. They research who might write about the client's interests. Then they contact those journalists to discover the types of stories being sought. They also determine how journalists like to receive story pitches. A journalist is more likely to pay attention to a press release that's timely, from a known source and targeted to the journalist's need. Publicity efforts also include email, messaging, telephone calls, visits and meals.

- Media kits: Public relations professionals create press kits or media kits. Journalists often request press kits as a follow-up to a news story release that interests them. The kit contains information the journalist needs to understand what the client does. That might include:

                       

•               Profile feature stories about executives

•               Quick facts about the client organization

•               The company history

•               Photographs and videos

•               Detailed product descriptions and samples

•               Recent press releases

•               Business cards of the PR professionals

- Interview prep: People who work in PR are regarded as experts in media relations. Often they are asked to train other employees on how to communicate in interviews.

- Press conferences: A PR department frequently is responsible for organizing press conferences to reach many print, broadcast and Web media all at once. Of course, not all news merits a conference, so there must be more to a conference than just reading a release. Journalists will attend a press conference only if it promises to announce a timely event and includes interesting visuals, expert presenters and important officials.

- Crisis management: Public relations professionals manage crises. An old adage says, "All publicity is good publicity." However, really bad press can tarnish the image of a business, corporation, agency or institution. A public opinion survey in 2007 discovered that 15 percent of consumers said they never again would purchase a recalled brand. PR professionals create crisis management plans as best they can in advance to be able to respond proactively if damaging newsbreaks.