Can former journalists become good PR professionals?

Most journalists will claim that it is of utmost importance to have previous journalistic experience to be a good PR professional. I think that there is a great deal of mystification, false myths. The biggest false myth is that PR is about media relations only. Although media relations is an important part of PR, still it is only a small part. The problem lies in the definition of PR. Too many top managers are of the opinion that the main role of PR is to create a positive image about a company, institution. Then they fall into the trap of reducing PR to media visibility, to bare propaganda, to painting rosy pictures about the company and eliminating all negative media coverage. Those who tend to identify or reduce PR to media relations seem to forget that PR is mainly about advocacy, influencing the target audiences. Influencing them through mainstream media is only one of the many communication channels. I have seen and run campaigns with almost no media visibility, yet achieving the final goal. One might argue, isn´t this then about lobbying, quiet diplomacy and not about PR? The question gets us back to square one: what is PR, what is the main role of PR? If we agree that the main role of PR is advocacy, then the connection between PR and lobbying and discrete diplomacy is much closer than that between PR and journalism. Hence, ex-journalists are much less qualified for effective PR than ex-diplomats or government officials or activists of non-governmental organizations. I am aware that this view may, and probably will, cause an upheaval among journalists. As one contributor to such discussions rightly noted, ex-journalists have a problem with their attitude once they happen to be on "the other side of the barricade". Their journalistic soul prevents them to understand the company needs properly, they tend to be very abbrasive. While their previous media experience definitely helps them to deal with their former colleagues, they often fail in dealing with the other players on the scene. They naturally reduce PR to media relations, to media visibility disregarding the work with the other stakeholders. Some stakeholders require less media exposure, or even prefer very low media exposure. This is where ex-journalists tend to fail. Nevertheless, I would not disqualify journalists for a PR profession. I fully agree with the view that: ... I think you MUST have an understanding of how journalism/journalists work in order to be a better PR person. Knowing how to create, develop and research for a story is important - along with excellent writing and grammar skills. It benefits the PR person and the journalist for the PR person to have an understanding. I don't think a background is necessary - just an understanding of how it works".

Is corporate governance dead now?

Do you think that after all those scandals starting from the subprime mortgage crisis to Bernard Madoff and Rod Blagojevich corporate governance is dead? The World thought that after Enron it was enough to adopt more stringent regulation and control mechanisms like SOX. But can measures like that really prevent moral and ethical failure? We see such failures not only in the newly emerging democracies where the political culture is still sufferring from teething problems. Local politicians, often coming from "not very rich background", see their term in office as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enrich themselves and their proxies. Partly we can understand it though we do not like it. But why do people who already are earning hundreds of millions need to cheat and cut corners to have even more? Is it because of human nature or are there systemic faults in the way Western economies are organized? Are companies which boast with slogans like corporate social responsibility, corporate governance, corporate culture, etc. and spending millions on very complex reporting systems really walking the talk? Or is it just windowdressing and empty propaganda? I would like to share with you my views and experience gained from working for top multinationals over the past 10+ years. But even more important, I would like to hear your views and comments. I still strongly believe, that in spite of the recent failures and scandals, doing business in a responsible way pays off. It pays off if it is not mere propaganda, windowdressing, but if moral and ethical behaviour simply becomes part of the company´s DNA. Maybe I am naive and don´t know how businesses operate and do not understand their needs. Such remarks I often heard and still hear when I try to draw the attention of top managements on potential problems and emerging issues. But maybe I am right and I hope I am not alone.