As City AM makes a PR man editor, why a dose of PR might not be such bad news for newspapers
‘PR agency owner claims PR skills increasingly important’ might not be the ‘man bites dog’ headline we’re all looking for. ‘Young PR appointed editor of City AM’ gets closer, however, and the two are linked.
New City AM editor Christian May
City AM’s appointment of 28-year-old Christian May, who is currently head of communications at the Institute of Directors, has been greeted with surprise in many quarters.
His lack of editorial experience is deemed sufficiently noteworthy to be referenced in the opening sentence of the Guardian’s report on the move, which also highlights scepticism expressed on Twitter.
Yet this same scepticism is rarely directed at seasoned journalists moving into senior PR roles, which has become too commonplace to surprise.
Indeed, contrast the reaction to the City AM appointment with the news a few weeks ago that the Daily Mail’s political editor, James Chapman, has been appointed as director of communications to the chancellor, which was labelled a "coup for George Osborne”.
As well it might well be, since journalists’ connections, writing skills and understanding of newsworthiness can be invaluable in PR.
Surely, however, in an age when print sales are declining and readers expect content to be free, a media outlet choosing to draw on traditional PR skills – including the ability to combine creative and commercial thinking, communicate effectively and instinctively understand and engage different audiences – shouldn’t be seen as an aberration.
After all, those who succeed in this ever-more competitive landscape will be those most in tune with consumer behaviour: commercially-minded PR professionals could be formidable assets for newspapers, and even a welcome antidote to their ‘ivory tower’ tendencies.
Alongside their greater focus on understanding consumers, those who have reached the top in PR have frequently spent years considering how journalists think, and how to generate excitement in the media – important skills for those wishing to succeed in editorial roles.
If there’s anything that will count against Christian May, it’s the dearth of media titles that have recognised this.
How will a team of journalists take to a PR guy calling the shots? While PRs have become accustomed to former journalists managing their division, journalists aren’t used to being managed by a PR.
It could prove impossible for a PR professional to command the credibility internally and externally to succeed in an editor role and galvanise teams through the strength of their leadership alone.
That’s a shame because journalism could benefit from an injection of the creative and commercial thinking that led to the dance magazine Mixmag creating a media network that generates native advertising revenue on YouTube, or the Guardian membership scheme that’s designed to engage readers through partnerships, live events, education and affiliation.
PR professionals turning up in senior editorial positions have the potential to become powerful drivers of a cultural shift in journalism, which in turn could be essential to the survival of legacy media brands.
And while it’s perhaps inevitable that PRs will struggle to gain credibility in the newspaper world, when we consider the buzz around Christian May’s appointment, it could even be viewed as his first PR coup for City AM. Perhaps things bode well for him and the title after all.
Warren Johnson is founder and CEO at W Communications