the love/hate relationship between PR and the media The dark side divide: relationship the love/hate By Leigh Andrews There’s no denying the ‘love/ hate’ relationship that exists between the public relations and media industries. It’s been called the ‘dark side divide’, which doesn’t seem to bode well, but there is also the term ‘media relations’, which implies a relationship between PR officers (PROs) and the media that works. Whichever side of the great ‘divide’ you’re on, Sarah Martin, Agency Director of The Lime Envelope, says building a good relationship is not that mysterious, it simply depends on mutual understanding and respect for the role that each party plays in the media milieu. That, in essence, is the key to everything else that follows. Provided both sides are aware of the needs, wants and intentions of the other, a wonderful relationship can blossom. Martin adds that there are those PROs that disregard the fundamental principles that make this relationship work, unfortunately to the disrepute of the industry as a whole. Principles of newsworthiness and editors’ prerogative to publish what they deem to be relevant content are common examples of areas in which the PR industry commits ‘transgressions’. Sending a press release and then calling an editor to check if he/she has read the piece and asking when it will be published shows a disregard for the nature of an editor’s work environment and is bound to peeve the most amicable amongst them. Candice de Carvalho of Phatic Communications states: “If I was a journalist, I’d just appreciate professionalism. Fake camaraderie or affection would be highly irritating. No-one wants to feel used – both journalists and PROs alike.” Mandy J Watson, prolific tech writer, founder of brainwavez. org and winner of two 2010 South African Blog Awards, waxes lyrical about her own relationship with the PR industry. As a tech journalist, she primarily needs four things when dealing with PROs: information, review products, high-res images and as little of her time wasted as possible. “I don’t need phone calls, I don’t need parties, I don’t need gifts. When things work smoothly, it’s because information is being sent to me in a balance (not too often, not the same information more than once, and not too rarely), which I then file (I’ll follow up if/when I need something else), or my requests for information or high-res images are dealt with swiftly.” COUP FEBRUARY 2011 22