The "dark side"?
Is public relations the dark side? Does that make journalism the light side?
In an article in The Guardian entitled "The Pulling Power of the 'Dark Side,'" (http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,,1996281,00.html) David McCormack writes that promising journalism students, and well renowned journalists are being wooed away from the once shining glory of the newspaper industry and entering the field of public relations. Although it is clear from the tone of the article that McCormack does not really believe that public relations is an evil and corrupt dark art, but rather a more lucrative field than journalism, titles like this only add to the pervading view of the PR industry. The perceived struggle between journalism and public relations is also part of the reason that our industry often gets the short end of the stick. For, if journalists are the muckrakers trying to clean up society by exposing hidden truths and corruption, than public relations officers must be the obstacles on their path, trying to throw a wrench in the works by giving journalists misleading information and trying to spin stories. The key to dispelling this myth is by revealing how journalists and PRO's work together to create stories, that the relationship between these two field, although rocky at times, is an interdependent one where they rely upon each other to accomplish their goals.

Are public relations officers who work in the not-for-profit sector the antithesis of the PR boogeyman?
NGO's like Greenpeace, Amnesty International and many many others are viewed by the general public as always being the good guys, the small but determined and valiant David in the David and Goliath story. It is also generally believed that those employed in the not-for-profit sector have more lofty goals than those working in big business, surely they must considering their relatively meager salaries. Perhaps this is why, despite all the scrutiny that the public relations field undergoes, those working for NGO's are rarely, if ever, targeted for scrutiny. Yet, the public relations tactics employed by the not-for-profit sector are no different than those used by big business. If anything, they may be deemed more manipulative because the aim of such organizations is generally to tug at the heart strings of individuals. So, although they are not reviled like many in public relations are but, rather, are seen as heroes, they are engaged in the same work, using the same means and hoping for the same outcomes.