Even the PR people are worried about business journalism's future

Kari Hanson, director of corporate communications at Zoominfo, has some interesting perspectives about two recent events in business journalism on her First Person PR blog.

The two events are the resgination of PC World’s editor because of what he perceived to be meddling in the editorial content and News Corp.’s $5 billion “friendly offer” to purchase Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch.

Hanson wrote, “We all know that the lines between editorial and advertising are sometimes crossed, but the most respected news outlets have always held strong to the separation. If publications who are struggling to maintain a print presence start blurring the lines, it will have a dramatic impact on PR. More specifically, anyone who does PR for the underdog, a start-up or any company without a major advertising budget, will have an uphill battle.

“The second set of articles that have me worried is news that Rupert Murdoch wants the Wall Street Journal (check out the NY Times’ take). I’ll admit I’m a recent graduate of Outfoxed and now cringe when I hear Fox reporters saying ‘some people say …’ But sadly, the first thing that went through my head when I heard was ‘wow – I wonder if that means the WSJ will start giving better stories to the companies supporting George W?’ That view is a little cynical, but having such an important business publication tied to someone who likes to pre-determine news is never a good sign. The WSJ reporters are already trying to stop it. I doubt the deal will happen. But if it does, it makes me wonder if PR will need to adapt.

“It also reminds me that while social media is new, cool and interesting, we still need to pay attention to the print dinosaurs.”

Read more here.