Blog Categories - PR

When I told my newspaper colleagues I was leaving my journalism job to work in PR I was met with the whole range of human responses.

Some were horrified that I could leave a ‘proper job’ for the ‘dark side’, some suggested I practice my telephone ‘sing-song’ voice, some thought I’d be good at it because I’m ‘smiley’ – which coming from a reporter is pretty much a damning insult – and there were more than a few who looked a little wistful.

It’s no secret that hacks are leaving their jobs in droves and with a lack of journalism vacancies on the horizon this means a career change for most.

Kathryn Ryan stepped into the world of PR last year.

When eight months ago I decided to make the break from the news desk and move into PR I felt like I was ditching my long-term boyfriend (I had worked at the same paper for five years) for a new beau that could just turn out to be an ill-judged fling.

Although I knew plenty before me had made the jump successfully it was still a little scary.

On the one hand there were obvious reasons why the move to PR would be perfect - who better to know how to get clients into the press than someone who used to decide exactly what was and wasn’t news?

But on the other there were lots of new things to get used to – having clients, hitting AVE targets, taking part in brainstorms…

When I left my newspaper I felt I was making the right decision but wasn’t sure how my new career would turn out and whether all those times I deleted press releases without a second glance would come back to haunt me.

After five years as a journalist there are obviously things I still miss – the freebie holiday reviews, news room humour and when there’s been an amazing story on my former patch I still feel a little twinge.

But I now feel sure I made the right choice.

All the things I loved about journalism – interviewing, writing, deadlines – are still here and all those things that slowly chipped away at that love are not.

I am still not completely over my love affair with journalism but I think PR could turn out to be ‘the one’.