International Conference on Journalism and PR

An international conference in Lucerne, organized by the MAZ - the Swiss School of Journalism - and the University of Lugano, explored the problem of the interdependence of journalism and PR. For Klaus Josef Lutz, CEO of Süddeutsche Zeitung, the top management of the publishing house must shield the editorial team from increasing attempts to exert influence from outside: "A CEO must put himself before his editorial team", because the survival of a quality newspaper depends on the independence of its journalists. Nicholas Jones, former BBC correspondent, sees Internet blogs as an opportunity for greater transparency. "Nobody can hide on the Internet," says Jones, adding that false messages are often exposed in blogs. Nevertheless, he paints a gloomy picture: powerful publishers such as Rupert Murdock set the political agenda. And the parties, for their part, try to manipulate newspapers and electronic media, for example by only providing information to "agreeable" journalists. Klaus Kocks, CEO of the German consultancy CATO, provoked with the statement that journalism is a specific form of public relations that enables the publishing industry to sell advertising space. For Marion Starck, Head of Communications at Burson-Marsteller, a PR agency can only be successful in the long term if it informs the public "with integrity and transparency".
Roger Köppel believes in the "traditional strength of journalism", which cannot be replaced by PR. "A good PR man forces a journalist to question his own standards," said the editor-in-chief of the German daily newspaper "Die Welt". Stephan Russ-Mohl, Professor of Journalism in Lugano and co-organizer of the conference, emphasized that professional PR ultimately only works together with professionally produced journalism. The director of the MAZ, Sylvia Egli von Matt, pleaded for a strict separation of training. Journalism and PR should not be taught under the same roof: "Journalists must work in the service of the public. PR, on the other hand, works in the interests of a company or an authority".
Renowned journalists, media scientists and PR experts from Europe and the USA took part in the conference organized by the MAZ and the University of Lugano in Lucerne.