David Carr wrote in the NY Times on Monday about the scorched earth PR tactics of Fox News (When Fox News is the Story).
It seems that PR is blood sport at Fox News, and they are as aggressive in defending the network’s image in the media as their journalist counterparts are in espousing right wing ideology on their own channel.
(If Carr is correct, the hordes in the the Fox News PR department should be firing up their "apparatus" right about now and flaming me or writing blog posts in response to this one; not that I have any inflated illusions about the importance of this blog, but according to Carr it would seem that they take no prisoners).
But enough about Fox News – I write not to bury them, nor praise them, but instead to talk about the portrayal of PR in the media. So I will try to parse things a bit and isolate descriptions of the field from the broader focus on Fox News.
Mr. Carr uses the words "public relations apparatus" several times. It seems like a throwaway line, written without much thought. But a definite slam, I doubt journalists would want their reporting teams to be referred to as an "apparatus." Elsewhere he talks about a "public relations machine."
These are small points when one considers the tone of the piece and its message. Carr seems genuinely amazed that a media organization (and its PR team) can be so aggressive and thin skinned in defending its image.
We in the PR profession have become so used to being the kowtowing
supplicants that it really is jarring to read about reporters standing
in fear of crossing a "PR apparatus" (a common refrain in PR is "don’t pick battles with those who buy ink by
the barrel." All bets are off, I suppose, when your parent
organization also buys ink – and electrons – by the barrel).
Actually, if not a positive portrayal of the profession, a departure from the usual stories about clueless PR people and their clueless PR pitches, or slippery PR spinmeisters.
disclaimer: i’m way more on the liberal side of the political spectrum & don’t ever watch Fox News. I doubt I’d find myself on the kind of website that would say positive things about it either. Nevertheless, I’m going to observe that the PR apparatus is fighting a losing battle in trying to combat negative comments & coverage. Bashing Fox News is common sport in the blogosphere. Ever since choosing “fair & balanced” as a tagline, the network set itself up to be publicly shamed.
That said, wow, yeah, I’m impressed with the gusto with which the Fox PR team pursues its mission. I’d be interested, however, to know if their primary focus is reacting to (and trying to correct) negativity or if there’s any proactive outreach they do to improve the brand’s image. Sounds like 24/7 crisis communications to me.
Yea, and the irony is, the reporter concluded by saying that everyone at Fox News PR was very professional, responsive and courteous to him as he worked on his story.