| RE: "Investigative reporting under attack," by Amy Steele, Cover, November 30-December 6, 2006.
As a professional communicator and president of the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) Calgary chapter, I was taken aback by Amy Steele’s article. I don’t necessarily disagree that investigative reporters are overworked and underpaid. As someone who’s been on both sides of the fence, I remember too well the long hours, constant demand for churning out copy and the small paycheck every two weeks. However, I don’t agree that the demise of Canadian journalism can be placed on the shoulders of communications professionals.
Communications professionals do not aim to "mimic the process of journalism" but to support it. It’s absolutely necessary that "public relations people have a better knowledge of their subject area than journalists." How could a journalist have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of every current newsworthy topic? How would medicine function if the patient had better knowledge of medicine than the doctor? Just as an informed patient is a benefit to the patient-doctor relationship, an informed communicator, knowledgeable in the business of news production, can be a great asset to a time-crunched journalist.
Professional communicators, such as members of IABC, follow a code of ethics and, in today’s society, we are accountable to not only our companies but all stakeholders of our business — employees, customers, investors, the communities where we operate and, yes, the media. Our goal is to work with reporters to ensure the information they have is accurate and timely for their readers. We follow the news cycle to ensure the information we provide is relevant and we also understand that reporters are still the gatekeepers. No matter how well-crafted a press release may be, the reporters still decide what stories get told and to what extent.
Like journalists, we take our jobs very seriously and are committed to keeping the public well-informed. Whether we work for a private company, a public institution or anything in between, we are accountable for ensuring our information is timely, relevant and accurate.
Public relations is not the Hollywood cosmetic surgery style of news delivery. We are no more "spin doctors and propaganda artists" than reporters of the National Enquirer are investigative journalists. Professional communicators look to create strong relationships with the media, as our partners — a partnership built on trust, accuracy and reliability.
We respect the journalists who work so hard everyday to get the story out to the general public. Although, sometimes, it may seem we are on different sides of the fence, in reality, we are all working together to ensure we live in an informed society that can make its own decisions.
Shauna Lowry, ABC,
IABC/Calgary President
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