Can journalists easily switch to PR?

Katie Earlam, director of creative strategy at 72Point:

• 9 years in journalism working at Condé Nast, Evening Standard, The Sun

“Aside from a strong news sense and having unrivalled media relationships, the following four skills are innate in journalists:

1. Efficient. Working on rolling news or daily deadlines gives you unrivalled response times which make you very popular with both clients and media.

2. Results-driven. A modern newsroom forces you to fixate on viewing figures, page views and engagement. This is directly transferable to measurement and campaign success.

3. Strategic. Every challenging story from door knocks to celebrity interviews requires a strategy to lift you out of the pack and walk away with the best line. This is instrumental in competitive pitches, there’s personality and individuality involved.

4. Problem solver. The pressure to deliver exclusives makes way for creativity.

“The most challenging part of moving to PR was truly understanding brand reverence and being forced to learn that not all coverage is good coverage. Really listening to a client and balancing that strong news sense with their campaign objectives and desired impact teaches diplomacy very quickly.”

Ben Skipper, account director at Bastion:

• 7 years in journalism working at Yahoo and Newsweek Media Group’s IBTimes

“My writing ability and organisational skills were what helped me establish myself in PR initially. That was a great foundation. With press releases I could apply news-writing principals to be concise and deliberate with information. Pitching too was easy enough, as again I found (and still believe) being a concise writer to be an effective way of pitching journalists.

“Initially, the hardest part was keeping my opinions to myself. My work is in the video game industry, which I also covered as a journalist. I found I couldn't be as outspoken and opinionated online or off, obviously about the games I worked on, but also because anyone could be a future client.

“Being in PR deepened my appreciation of what goes into the making and marketing games too though, so I feel like my opinions are more tempered and mature now anyway. In a sense, yes journalists can be successful in PR. However, some will just find that it's not for them.

“There are a lot of transferrable skills but they are ultimately very different jobs. I've found PR personally fulfilling, but when I made the jump I was ready for the change. Some journalists will have the passion and desire for the craft that I just didn't any more, and that's a hard thing to turn your back on.”

Pete Way, freelance creative director and strategist:

• 15 years in journalism working on The Big Breakfast, Ant & Dec and BBC

“With journalism to PR, there’s always that poacher turned gamekeeper analogy — or is it the other way round? From a creative/production POV, it’s all basically content. 

“Whether working as a magazine journalist or in live TV, I’ve always had to come up with fun and interesting ideas. Now I work in PR, I have to come up with fun and interesting ways to publicise brands.

“I was hired because I brought skills that bolstered — or at least made a case for — building and adding to creative/digital/content teams. I had production and writing experience. I’d already sat through 1,000 hours of edits. I had written about sport, lifestyle, and products for

the launch of Stuff magazine. I’d been on the receiving end of endless press releases. I had a decent production black book. And, I had a certain novelty factor having produced Zig & Zag, and Ant & Dec.

“My main problem was that no one understood what I did. At first, it felt like a show hire. But, that changed, and creativity was slowly embraced. Still, it seemed that several fellow creative/production hires fell at that early stage — more due to misunderstanding than any particular fault.

“My advice to anyone making the move from production is: stick with it. Agencies will sell you the idea that you’ll be working on the greatest projects on earth (remember, they work in PR for a reason), but that’s rarely the case. That said, there are opportunities to do genuinely exciting and worthwhile things sometimes — so consider giving up the day job.”

Mark Stuart, director at Battenhall:

• 10 years in journalism working at Future plc and Dennis Publishing's PokerPlayer Magazine

“I spent 10 years working on business and consumer magazines, then an opportunity arose that was too good to refuse.

“I was approached by the world’s biggest online poker site to be a PR manager, and I jumped at the opportunity; believing it to be the path to better career options and higher pay.

“It was a steep learning curve, partly because of a lack of training and mentorship, but I leaned into my editorial skills and experience as a team leader to add value.

“For anyone making the switch, I think there are two essential things you need: first, excellent writing skills and an eye for a good story. Those attributes will give you an advantage over PR pros who have never worked in media. Second, great people skills. The ability to talk to journalists and editors in an honest, approachable and very human way is an underestimated skill.

“I suspect journalists today are more equipped to make the switch than a decade ago. They likely already have content production skills – video editing, social production, web and newsletter proficiency, even coding – that older journalists may lack. News is increasingly moving social-first, and PR is, too. With print, and to some extent web media, in decline the goal of traditional media coverage is becoming less important than social reach.

“Ultimately though, great journalists and PRs all have an ability to tell a story clearly, concisely, and with as little BS as possible. In a world where truth is a dwindling commodity, it pays to speak the language of a journalist.”

Pádraig McGarrigle, lead corporate communications manager at Three:

• 4.5 years in journalism working at Link Publishing's Print Monthly and as a freelancer

“The worlds of journalism and PR have changed more than I can remember in my decade on the ‘dark side’ but the invaluable, core skills a journalist bring remain the same.

“Skills like being able to research a feature and become knowledgeable on a subject in a few days stand any journo in good stead for pitching new companies or products. Meanwhile, nothing beats a crisis for me as a similar buzz to reeling in a big story.

“Interviewing skills are sometimes undervalued in PR and journalists bring an ability to ask the right questions (more often than not the simplest ones) to understand a brief and deliver what a client wants.

“More recent converts can help PRs understand how a modern newsroom works where resources are spread so thin and journalists can be working on multiple beats.

"While there are lots of transferable skills, the PR industry will not be for everyone.

“From just having to please your editor, to managing multiple stakeholders and building consensus across multiple departments, PR requires different kinds of interpersonal skills and team work, than many journalists may be using day-to-day.

“A genuine passion for how a business or sector works is a must if you want to progress. Projects will have much longer lead times than the deadlines journalists are working to. It's rewarding work but, if you like the instant gratification of a regular byline, it’s not for you."