Aha!

Today I had my lightbulb moment.

I’m still stunned at this heartbreaking revelation.

I requested a meeting with my company’s President and the Sales & Advertising manager to get a grip on what was expected of my role in the development of our website.

As they explained the purpose of our firm and how we operate I felt my skin begin to tingle.

I saw the light.

I now understand what kind of business I am a part of and why I am lacking in understanding this writing style.

Public Relations is the OPPOSITE of Journalism.

Clients PAY us to write positive stories about their business or service. They PAY us. Now anyone who has come from an accredited School of Journalism knows for a fact that the rule of thumb in journalism is ACCEPT NO MONEY for a story unless it’s your salary. Be as objective as you can. Tell the whole story.

After our meeting my head kept spinning as the words pounded louder and louder. “Public Relations is NOT Journalism” “Public Relations is NOT Journalism”

We may use the same venues to display our work but as a writer when I tell a story I’m trying to be unbiased. I keep thinking back to Dr. Rosenraad’s Ethics class and how he made sure we knew what was right and wrong and I know for a fact that involving advertising sales with editorial is WRONG.

But it’s only wrong if you’re a journalist.

In PR, sales and editorial go hand in hand. The client pays us to write feature stories and press releases about their event. We promote them as best as we can through the different mediums. After our efforts are exhausted we wait to see if anyone publishes our stories or mentions the client in any news medium. If they do, we get a copy and send it to the client to prove that we are doing our job.

The company I work for has an EXCELLENT track record for accomplishing this.

It’s just…I’ll have to shift my moral standards to make this money. I mean, I guess I could do it, but will I be able to function everyday writing happy go lucky promotion pieces about companies and products even if I don’t agree with them?

That’s why I stopped doing artist bios. It was so difficult for me to say all these great things about these artists when I would NEVER listen to their music if someone wasn’t paying me.

Wow. The truth is…

I don’t think I’m a public relations professional.

I know I’m a journalist.

Oh Lord… What do I do?