As the power of PR grows, there are constant debates around concepts such as the benefit of information, agenda-setting and framing. It seems that power is shifting from journalists to PR professionals.

Speculation about changes in power relations is based on the changes that the economy and technology are making to the media. There are doubts about how much news content originates from proactive journalistic research. A significant portion of news comes from PR professionals.

Changing Media Landscape

The balance between the "pure" values of the news media and external interest groups seems to be tilting towards the latter. The power of PR over the media is gaining strength, driving corporate agendas.

Nowadays it's normal practice for journalists to have a huge workload, with different responsibilities. They may write additional stories that are published only on the web, differing radically from their print work. Journalists can also contribute to the production of video content and podcasts. If we consider these facts, we can see that they may not have the time to carry out extensive research for new stories. Consequently, they may choose to rely more and more on the benefit of information produced by PR.

The True Power of PR

The influence of PR depends on several factors. PR professionals are sometimes portrayed as unreliable entities who can manipulate journalists in search of news content. But journalists are still powerful and independent figures. In addition, the growth of PR in all types of organizations means that journalists are now in a position to select a large number of ideas and stories.

A combination of structural changes in PR industry and the media is leading many to believe that PR is increasingly capable of exerting high levels of influence over journalists. Not only is the continued growth in the employment of PR professionals in large organizations driving these changes, but also the realization on the part of smaller organizations that good media relations strategies can enable them to overcome their size.

Unfortunately, at the same time there has been a decline in editorial resources. Some forms of media have lost readers and advertising revenue to the internet and have shrunk. Finally, organizations can also create their own media content and distribute it through their own channels, such as corporate websites and social media platforms.