Home topics news News News Journalists and PR people; lessons from BOTH sides of the fence Gemma Tognini June 23, 2010 I suspect I’m about to sacrifice a few sacred cows here – consider yourselves forewarned. I used to be a working journalist. I say working journalist because it never really leaves you. Or at least in my case, it hasn’t. I spent 11 years on the road reporting, on the Chief of Staff’s desk and reading the occasional weather bulletin and news update. When I resigned to start gtmedia, colleagues joked I was crossing to the Dark Side. Dark Side of what, I’m still not sure… After seven years of running a strategic communication firm, I have come to believe that good journalists and good communication advisors needn’t be sworn enemies. It doesn’t have to be us and them. There is much that can be achieved with a bit of mutual understanding. Sound a bit like marriage counselling? Perhaps… I’m not naive either. There are plenty of times where what a journalist wants and needs is headed on a collision course with what the advisor is prepared to say or even authorised to say. But folks, that is a discussion for a WHOLE other day….THAT is not about Us Vs Them, that one is about the authenticity of the client, their strategic approach and a whole bunch of other issues. Like I said…one for another day. Back to the task at hand. In the interests of promoting good cross