THIS opinion piece should not be viewed as yet another generalisation without basis, and hopefully it will be read with the seriousness it deserves.
Without beating about the bush it should be said from the outset that the primary responsibility of PROs is to disseminate accurate information, and most importantly to do it on time. PROs are responsible for both internal and external communication and should, without any excuses, be able to respond to media queries on time. They are expected to liaise and communicate with employees on internal staff matters, shareholders, stakeholders, including the media and the public at large. They are also expected to periodically update their websites with current and substantive information, to issue press releases and to address media conferences on public interest issues as they arise both in the mainstream and social media.
It has become a norm among some ineffectual PROs, particularly in the public service sector, to mask their professional deficiencies by using the media as their scapegoat of choice. But the paradox is that the majority of PROs in the public service sector are regrettably failing to live up to their responsibility. We have observed a particularly disturbing trend among them, which is to hoard even the most innocuous information and to conceal it from the public domain ostensibly to ‘protect’ the ministries and other government agencies and departments that employ them. The long and short of it is that they are doing themselves and the government, not to mention the taxpayers of this country, a great disservice.
They are supposed to provide information on what projects their ministries are engaged in and how these government projects benefit citizens. They are obliged to respond promptly to media queries, for we work under constant pressure and deadlines to provide a much-needed service just as they should. When information that is injurious to their employer – the government surfaces, whether true or false, they should respond as soon as they can, or face the consequences. A PRO who responds to negative publicity, by keeping quite is definitely in the wrong business and a liability. Your job requires you to be pro-active and to cultivate and maintain constant contact with media houses and journalists in order to utilize fully the right of reply if the occasion demands.
Public information is just that – public and taxpayers have a right to be informed about what government is doing, they do not need PROs who act as unsolicited gatekeepers. Public information should be provided on time and not weeks or months after irreparable damage has already been inflicted on the integrity and reputation of their employer. The expression ‘no comment’ appears to have become a mantra and in any PR 101 class is considered a no-no. No comment often creates the wrong perception, especially the perception that there is something to hide. On most days of the week the multitude of so-called PROs are never at their desks, which is a downright shame. Even when some PROs organise media event they shamelessly invite the media at the 11th hour and in most cases these events end up not being covered. When their bosses do not receive basic publicity the same PROs conveniently shift the blame onto the media for not providing coverage and for “only looking for sensation,” which is a blue lie.
Journalists are tired of being made scapegoats for the failings or non-performance of many PROs, who earn salaries for not even lifting a finger. Those tasked with disseminating public information should be proactive lest some unscrupulous journalists write stories containing grossly distorted information, without as much as a squeak from the PR department. PROs who place costly adverts in the media to respond or counter what they perceive as negative press when they could have done the same without paying a dime are not worth their salt and are an embarrassment to that profession.