3 PR Jobs I might not want right now

By Linda VandeVrede on June 17th, 2009 In Best Practices

June is turning out to be a weird month PR-wise.   Here are three PR jobs that would NOT be really fun right now:

1). Cruise ships - a search has been launched for a 50-year-old woman who fell overboard on a Carnival ship Holiday.  Why do passengers keep falling off the ship?   Are they drunk?  Suicidal?  Is there too little supervision on deck? Are the railings too low?

2) Cold medicine - FDA warns that Zicam may harm a user’s sense of smell.   Were the clinical trials not long enough?  Is there anything we use these days that has actually been proven helpful over the long-term?  Now THAT would be news.

3) Politicians – Nevada Senator John Ensign admits to extramarital affair.  You’re helping promote a conservative senator and his message of family values, and then this happens – how do you address his constituents? 

What would you say?  How would you handle it? 

People outside the profession sometimes think PR is “fun” because you get to meet a lot of people and “plan parties.”  Yeah, right.

3 PR Jobs I might not want right now

Comments

Marketing Sociologist Says:
June 17th, 2009 at 1:04 pm

As for cruise ships, add another ding. Paradise Valley resident Ken Carver lost a daughter at sea. He formed International Cruise Victims (ICV) – http://www.internationalcruisevictims.org/

If you follow Carver -http://www.eturbonews.com/9500/traveltalkradio-interview-ken-carver-president-international-crui, and have followed the news, it appears going on a cruise is as dangerous as walking on Phoenix’s “Avenues” part of town – come on, you’re following the news. It’s ALWAYS on the Avenues section.

Once upon a time, PR practitioners had a dream that those plying PR skills should report to the top echelons of a company; raising the field to the level of professionals like doctors or lawyers. Thanks to the way employers hire, PR practice has denigrated to “intern” level. Why haven’t professional marketing and communications groups fought this trend? So you don’t need to worry about taking these jobs. It’s not your fault – you have no impact on how the company operates; same as the accountants or someone who orders supplies. That’s where the “PR is ‘fun’ because you get to meet a lot of people and ‘plan parties’” mentality has gotten us. The ditz on Sex in The City has done more damage than all the bad practitioners in the field. Oops, they’ve done it together.
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