Call me old fashioned, but in spite of Fox News, I still believe in the importance of the free press. Just take a look at the journalists under attack every year in other countries to remember why journalism is an important aspect of a democratic society and needs to hold itself to the highest standards.
In spite of all that—I love everything behind the concept of “brand journalism”—it just needs to be called something else. How about this? Simply “good PR.”
A recent article on Ragan.com did an excellent job exploring this trend—basically, the trend of hiring writers with a journalism background (compared to writers with only a marketing background) to write well-written copy, press releases, Web content, blogs, how-to articles, etc.
And this is really nothing new—for years journalists have known that the real money is in public relations; former journalists have been hired by companies for their writing skills; and freelance writers, such as myself, have pieced together a living through public relations gigs and writing journalism articles.
So why all the chatter now about “brand journalism?” I think it’s because, with SEO an important aspect of Web marketing, and consumers looking to the Web to instantly find information about topics or answer questions, quality writing has become paramount.
Is this writing actually journalism? The writers may be using the skills they use working on an exposé for a newspaper or magazine, but writing for a company—even an “article” that will run in a newspaper or magazine—is not journalism. It’s just writing.
And that really does make all the difference.
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