The Seattle Post Intelligencer, at 146 our community's oldest continually operating business, is ceasing publication of its daily newspaper today. This is a loss to Seattle in so many ways. For us in the public relations profession, it is a loss of credibility and a loss of testimony that is at the heart of the work we do. This profession was built on the relationship we have with journalists who could tell the stories about our bosses and clients to the community with an unbiased voice. It’s a third-party testimonial that states the facts and gives credibility to the content. It’s not just us telling everyone that the company is good at what it does. It’s a reputable journalist validating what we say.
I don’t know a business person who doesn’t want to show or tell everyone about the story on their company that was written in the newspaper. That story is certainly one measurement of the success at messaging that we PR folks crave. Today, most business people know that public relations is more than publicity but there is still nothing like one of our stories being reported on by the news media.
We’re definitely in an electronic world where television and radio are instant reporters. But their stories are fleeting moments in an intensely fast-paced life that we all work in now. There is also much talk about the power of the internet. Even the PI is going to “continue its bloodline” with an online presence. The news of this change in the information world is really no longer news and the young people that have grow up with the internet are now tweeting and linking and facebooking their thoughts on an hourly basis. And they know, like most of us, that there is still one element of cyberspace that is a weak link…and that is the fact that there is no editor. Anyone can say anything anywhere and it’s up to us to believe it or not.
There is something about a hard copy newspaper that feels solid. It’s somehow easier to accept when it’s in your hands in print on a piece of paper that came from a tree. Without that foundation, the news business is truly 24/7 banter that is a becoming harder and harder to accept as “breaking news”…which everything seems to be these days.
Some great journalists are now trying to find other ways to do their reporting and commentating. There are over 150 who are being released as a result of the PI closure. They will find a way to give us the facts or their opinions but it will be harder to find them and their voices will be part of the din. I’ve worked in and around the newspaper business all my life. It is truly a valuable institution and one that has made our country stronger and safer. I thought I would tell a couple of reporter stories here but suffice it to say, some of my best friends are journalists. And as I tell my students at the University of Washington, it’s a job to them. They put their pants on one leg at a time, just like us. But they do it with integrity.
I loved to visit the PI when it was in the building at 6th and Denny. It felt like a newspaper should. The news room had a buzz that gave life to the news of the day. I met many of my reporter friends in the cafeteria there to talk about upcoming stories or to explain why things happened the way they did. It always seemed like a safe haven.
We are really going to miss the Seattle PI. As PR pros, we now have fewer sources to give credibility to our stories. Fewer ears to bend about what’s happening and what’s coming up. And we have less opportunity to have the community know about the projects, programs, products and services that affect their lives. We’ve got one daily newspaper left…but there’s no one to challenge them…no divergent opinions. Seattle has definitely lost a bit of its luster with the passing of the Post Intelligencer. Don’t forget to bookmark it on your search engine!
Dan Mc
