Earned Relevance

#journchat: Mine Eyes Hath Seen The Future!

Last night I participated in #journchat, a spirited online dialogue using the microblogging tool Twitter between journalists, bloggers, and PR professionals. I doth say, mine eyes hath seen the future, and it looks like a pleasant group grope.

#journchat facilitates the conversation between what can be considered one of the most adversarial relationships since the mailman and the guard dog started going at it. Traditionally journalists have been considered by flacks as sly instigators looking to snare their principals in negative news headlines and PR types have been seen as schmarmy salespeople that are always on the up-sell. The internet, specifically social media, has democratized distribution of news so much so that the once distinct lines that delineated trained journos, bloggers, and PR people are murky and muddy. Each party finds itself scrambling to carve out their respective place within the new landscape.

The brainchild of spunky @prsarahevans, #journchat has pulled back the veil that has concealed the surreptitious practices of each group. Previous #journchat sessions operated in a sort of free for all format where anyone could throw out a question and any participant could weigh-in. Last night’s session was more structured and focused on the question: “Journalists vs. bloggers vs. PR professionals: can we all just get along?“ Session moderators controlled the flow by tossing-out questions every 30 minutes, which seemed to provide good structure for the conversation.

There was a moment for me during #journchat where I could see the power of social media and the future of journo-blogger-PR relationships. That moment occurred about one hour and thirty minutes in when @prnewswire typed “Writing is what we all have in common here. We all live by words…so lets make them good.” Here was an executive at PR Newswire, one of the most well known news distribution services in the world, reaching across the table in a public format to find common ground with the “opposing” side. During these unprecedented dark times, when the news industry is being shaken upside down, the internet and social media are paving the way for acceptance of new business models and ways of sharing news. I appreciate the opportunity to be a part of the #journchat discussions; if you’re a journalist, blogger, or PR professional, I hope you will consider helping to shape the future of our relationship through it as well.

To review the #journchat discussions visit here.

To learn more about who participates in #journchat visit here.

To follow #journchat on Twitter visit here.