Journalism and Public Relations

“At the end of the day, we’re storytellers. It’s just our stories have a different purpose.”  ~ Jacquie Hoornweg

This week in my Journalism Fundamentals class, we covered the differences and similarities between journalists and people who work in Public Relations. We had a Global Class with two individuals who have worked in both PR and journalism: Jeff Gaulin and Jacquie Hoornweg. Their perspectives, ideas, experiences and advice were very interesting.

      

[image from Twitter.com]                    [image from PJVA.ca]

Jacquie Hoornweg                               Jeff Gaulin

Here is some of the information that I learned on January 3rd, 2018.

I first learned that having an education in journalism is a good foundation for any job in communications. The skills you acquire in any journalism course will assist you if you are hired into a PR position.

Journalism skills are applicable to any profession in the communications field. This was the most accurate and reassuring statement I remembered from the interview.

One of our speakers, Jacquie Hoornweg, started explaining some differences between PR and journalism. She told us that journalists focus on content and go deep into a story but communicators go broader and use the content provided to their overall advantage.

For all of our classes, myself and the other students feel confident about what journalists do. However, Hoornweg spoke with us directly about communicators, outlining what most jobs in PR entail.

Communicators, such as people who work in PR, build a brand around themselves. They work for and represent an organization. Communicators address, involve ad engage the public to appreciate their company. Communicators have to understand their audiences and what they value. They manage relationships genuinely between their organization and others. They help companies reach mutual beneficial outcomes when difficulties arise. Communicators sometimes act as mediators.

I also learned that journalists work solely for the media while Public Relations employees work only for their organization.

Despite their apparent differences, there are many similarities between the professions.

Journalists are primarily focused on genuine fact. Communicators remain truthful and transparent, ready to be ethical and honest.

I found the conversation to be eye-opening and inspiring. I’m in school for journalistic purposes, but I can apply the skills that I’ve learned to any job in the communications field. How amazing is that?!

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To learn more and watch episodes of the Global Class, click here.