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No Champagne Uncorked Here

No Champagne Uncorked Here

By: Suzanne McGee, Account Director, Fusion NY (@mcgeepr)

PR Disaster’s headline yesterday caught my eye: Not PR Disaster; 50% of Aussie newspapers PR-driven. PR analyst and author Gerry McCusker sarcastically notes that PR pros must be celebrating the results of a survey that shows half of Australian newspapers publishing PR press releases or materials verbatim in their publications.

I disagree with McCusker’s claim of glee. While it’s great to suggest story angles and provide reporters with thought leaders to interview and quote, I want a solid article, not a parrot of corporate speak. I think we underestimate the public when it comes to reading something that sounds “markety.” It doesn’t do either profession any favors. In fact, it makes both PR and journalism lazy and thoughtless. Neither can afford to exist in today’s world.

Both media and PR should not rely on releases alone as there can be more to the story than facts and quotes. It behooves both of our professions to demand more from each other. At the end of the day, it benefits all of our readers.

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