Date posted: 26 January 2012 Category: general
Old school vs New school
I recently read a blog post focusing on one blogger’s idea that PR officers are either old school, or new school – two different disciplines of PR which required different skill sets depending on the age and length of time spent working within the industry.
I’ve been in the PR industry for three years and I do consider myself a ‘PR newbie’ but don’t agree that PR can be divided into two ‘schools’ of practice.
It’s inevitable that those new to PR will regularly use tools that haven’t always been available, including social media and email. Since my first brush with PR as an eager 18-year-old, I’ve already seen the retirement of tools which were vital only a few years ago. Paper cuttings are being replaced by digital services, text messages are becoming less frequent, making way for mobile email and services such as BBM and WhatsApp and magazines and newspapers are read more online than in print.
As journalism evolves and social media becomes a more vital PR tool as illustrated in Verity’s blog, an 18-year-old entering PR today will certainly have a different outlook, experience and skill set even than my own.
Vikki reaffirms in her blog post that PR and journalist relationships are as important as ever – while the blog post I’m referring to claims that ‘reporter lunches’ and telephone calls are no longer worthwhile. Some journalists are very much still in the stone age, as opposed to the digital age, and value the time you spend updating them on strong news and providing hands on support.
The Approach team has worked in PR for different lengths of time, in different sectors and for different clients. If I was looking from the outside in, I couldn’t pigeon-hole any of us as strictly ‘old-school’ or ‘new-school’, but as chameleons with diverse skills, experience and interests. My point is, that it’s important to move with the industry and relate with people by the means they prefer, instead of sticking to one type of practice, however comfortable you might be there.