Most Americans are very wary of the public relations industry, and perhaps they should be, what with all the “spin doctors,” cosy relations with top tier editors, and other sinister plots to shape the public understanding of key issues as funded by powerful parties.
Then again, of course, it never really works like that. Public relations is by its nature a much more delicate, subtle, and slow motion battle to organise and present the facts available to ensure that the public understands the issue, company, or individual, and is able to make up their own mind given all the information. There is no magic wand, there is no big red button, and, more and more, there is certainly no “PR pro” who just picks up the phone and dictates what tomorrow’s headlines are going to be.
To prove the point, you can look at the opposite example of improving public relations, when powerful companies hire firms to stir up negative press regarding its competitors. This is precisely what happened when Google came out with its social networking platform, Google +, and its main competitor, Facebook, decided to indirectly seek revenge. The whole scheme backfired miserably, but it should stand as one convincing reason not to be afraid of the public relations industry. There are some jobs that just can’t be done.
