The relationship between PR professionals and the media can be vexing due to a symbiotic reliance that both parties at one time or another resent. And no doubt, there are PR people out there who do nothing to uphold the reputation that we fight so hard to hold on to with writers and editors. But Gene Weingarten’s column in this week’s SDUT really got me steamed. While I understand that he was “trying” to be funny, he unfairly lumps all PR professionals into a pile of mediocrity.

What really got me is how disingenuous it is for the UT to print such a skewering of PR. We all know that the UT has seriously slashed its editorial staff resulting in people who are juggling 3 and 4 jobs, with no pay increase by the way. The result is that those writers and editors rely on PR pros more than ever to secure photos, provide background info, arrange interviews and more for them. They simply can’t handle the work load. So to print such a mean spirited piece would seem to bite one of the hands that feeds them.

Gene also expresses the desire to “expose the unholy alliance between the PR industry and the soulless marketing industry..”. Wake up Gene, PR is an integral part of every real marketing campaign in this country. This is not a new development. Just smart marketing. If people are being “cajoled or deceived into making silly, discretionary purchases they cannot afford” is that the fault of PR, or the banking institutions which continue to provide endless credit to people who can barely pay their rent or the individuals themselves who seem to take no responsibility for their actions?