The new PRWeek has a Q&A with LA Weekly writer Nikki Finke, who says that fewer PR practitioners appreciate the role of journalists, and journalism, these days. As she puts it:

The minute you get them on the phone, you already have four strikes against you. That you exist on this planet, that you are daring to ask a question, that you’re trying to write any kind of truthful story, and fourth, that you’re a miserable human being, and part of a race of mankind who should be wiped off the face of the planet. It’s impossible.

I’ve always thought that the meaner the flack is, the meaner the press will be against the client. And I wish clients took that into account when they do the hiring. They may think they’re getting a pit bull, but it’s the press who’s gonna bite them. Look at the greats in PR, the real old-time greats…these were people who were and are very engaging with the media. You actually got the feeling they liked reporters.

Finke lays it on a bit thick, but I agree that fewer PR folks today fully understand and appreciate journalists — a trend at least partly attributable to the fact that more corporations are tapping beancounters or slick marketing types (rather than, say, former journalists) to lead that function.

That said, I don’t think PR pros should kiss up to reporters, either, which is the model that Finke seems to prefer. Personally, I love and respect journalism — and that’s why I have no problem letting reporters know when they are being irresponsible or discourteous, and thereby discrediting their profession.

Sorry that I’m catching this a bit late, but there’s a nice story in Slate about the positive impact Jim Romenesko’s blog has had on the practice of journalism — specifically, providing a forum for journalists to act as watchdogs for the profession.