The incredibly popular journalism/PR/other meedja types #journchat has had a suggestion put forward to it by a moderator-wannabe. Journalism student Ethan Klapper is proposing that #journchat kicks out the PR types and becomes reporter only.
Now, it’s a sweet idea, but there’s a few flaws in it: he misses the point that #journchat was set up to encourage dialogue between journalists and PRs, to be a place where they could learn from each other, so to suddenly exclude one side of the conversation seems distinctly anti-social in an age of social media.
Also – and I know he’s speaking from an American perspective where the unemployment shit in journalism has really yet to hit the fan – he’s very dismissive of what PRs do and offer (in other words: he should be listening more, instead of dismissing) and is actually burning bridges with people he may need to be nice to in years to come because as the cuts hit badly, US reporters will discover what already know: sometimes you just have to deal with PRs.
He also moans about the chat going so fast that he couldn’t keep up, to which I can only say: welcome to your future. Yes, the chat goes quick, but the challenge to you then is to have content – something to say or tweet in this case – that’s so compelling, everyone else has to stop their chat to talk with you. That’s the same in any field of journalism – what you write or say has to be the best, has to be better than what everyone else is writing about . No one enjoys the amount of stuff they have to juggle these days, but you have to try. And you always have to shout loudest and have the best lines in the competitive crowd.
Ethan’s comments remind me of someone who spent more than 15 years in what is regarded as one of the most competitive markets in the world before moving over to PR (helluva good looking guy too). Ethan has a lot of energy about him, I hope he learns how to channel it, he could make a hell of a journalist – which would be good for him and the PR industry.
(and yes, I know, still haven’t got #mediachat running this side of the Atlantic…)