Newspapers Turning their Hand to PR? Ha!

Scott Douglas: Anybody familiar with the old newspaper term, ‘marmalade dropper’?

It referred to any newspaper story so shocking that it would cause genteel readers to literally spill their breakfast while reading the morning paper.

Such stories were (and probably still are) the Holy Grail for daily newspapers, though I suspect they might now have a different name in the internet age when people consume news at any time of day.

The point is that our journalist pals must have metaphorically been choking on their cornflakes this week, when news broke about the barmy plans being floated by one senior newspaper exec.

Neil Benson, Trinity Mirror’s editorial director (regionals), is the man who surely caused a fumbled toast-fest of Guinness record book proportions.

Mr Benson wants to turn our beleaguered local papers into money-spinning PR companies.

His rationale?

“The best PR agencies are often run by ex-editorial people. People who worked in regional press know what it takes to hit the spot in terms of press releases and they how to package it.

“So why don’t regional publishers think about launching an arm’s length PR agency.”

I know Neil Benson of old. He was my editor during a spell at the Newcastle Chronicle many moons ago – and a good man to work for with purpose, clear thinking and decisiveness.

So, I can only hope that on the day he delivered this little gem to the Society of Editors conference he was badly hungover and had to come up with a speech just half an hour before he took the stage.

It’s difficult to know where to start on the depth of the flaws in this proposition. Admittedly, I haven’t read Neil’s full speech – only three separate reports I was able to find in publications dedicated to PR, journalism and the media in general.

I also listened to a piece of audio where Neil rather bafflingly described his idea in terms of “Chinese walls”, “separate profit and loss accounts” and the “core skills” of newspaper “service providers”.

Not much in the way of detail. Just the kind of management speak unlikely to win over many newspaper staffers when they finally recover from their cereal-induced coughing fits.

I don’t know who should be more insulted?

Hard-pressed journalists on local papers who have fewer bodies than ever to deliver more content in ink and online. We know how much they love being bombarded by press releases and follow-up phone calls from PR people - no doubt they’re thrilled at the prospect of reversing roles.

Or the nation’s PR professionals, who are typically portrayed as evil spin doctors, or perma-lunching schmoozers with few abilities beyond glad-handing. They’ll be delighted to hear the latest assertion from newspaper-land that there’s nothing to PR except how to “hit the spot” with press releases.

Personally, I’m more disappointed than insulted.

I’d love to see journalism in general - and newspapers in particular - somehow survive and thrive despite the dwindling revenues of the web freeconomy.

Let’s all hope that asking local reporters to knock out press releases to be shovelled into their own papers isn’t the best solution the industry comes up with.

Scott Douglas is founder of Scottish public relations agency, Holryood Partnership, and also of multimedia specialist, Deadline Press & Picture Agency.