corporate GARY NEILL “My concern is not necessarily that journalists become


deliberately biased. Rather, it is that financial dependence on corporate clients can subtly influence decisions about who to quote, what stories to pursue and how aggressively to challenge powerful organisations.” Ruzicka sees the issue as more complex. “What gives me a


lot of comfort, even though I’m working in house, is that these institutions care about the rules and make sure they are compliant,” she says. However, she sees inherent tensions: “We all need to sell something and they’re going to beat their chest and say they’re the best. Tat doesn’t always sit so well.” Nonetheless, she also sees continuity between her current


role and her journalistic background. “Te more I can help end users understand their product,


the more I am being a journalist because my role is in explaining and making things clearer.” Te distinction, she said, lies in transparency. “Te audience


understands corporate communications have a commercial purpose, whereas journalism carries different expectations.” Most journalists who undertake corporate work insist


they can separate the roles. Problems arise when others do not. For example, last year I posted a request for expert


comment through a professional network. Another group member, who had used their PR credentials to join, then pitched my idea to a rival publication. To me this illustrates how blurred professional boundaries can create ethical problems. Te issue is not corporate work itself. Journalists have long


supplemented their income through training, consultancy or commissioned projects; concerns arise when commercial and editorial activities become difficult to distinguish. In addition, straddling journalism and PR can require a


cultural adjustment, which can be a shock to the system. Smith says one of the biggest surprises was how much his


professional behaviour needed to change: “Where straight talking may be expected in journalism, your client’s staff and their clients are VIPs, so a very polite approach is necessary. “A journalist may rightly consider themselves to be a


gatekeeper for their audience; as a PR, you are no longer the most important person in the room. You must be the lukewarm water between the ice of your client and the fire of the journalist.” He also found out far more about the industries he covered:


“As a third-party PR, I learned more about the workings of the sector in a year than I did in 10 years covering it as a journalist.” Lewis also points out that a white paper on AI she helped


write for a corporate client gave her the knowledge to write news and features on the subject. Smith says: “Working inside organisations often provides a


deeper understanding of decision-making processes, regulatory requirements and commercial realities. Tat knowledge can ultimately make journalists stronger reporters if they later return to editorial work.” Te overwhelming view among those interviewed is that


yes journalists should take on corporate work – provided that clear ethical boundaries are maintained. Te former editor who moved into corporate


communications sees no contradiction. “I never gave it a second thought,” he says. “If the idea was


good enough and they were reliable on deadlines and decent copy, I’d commission. We are professionals and


theJournalist | 21


we are simply using our skills to earn a living.” Perhaps the more uncomfortable question is not whether


we should undertake corporate work but whether we have alternatives. Many reporters now derive the majority of their income from corporate clients. One journalist tells me two to three articles of journalism have served as a shop window for more lucrative consultancy, training and content work. It may also be why so many talented journalists can no


longer earn a living from journalism alone. Smith, who has now returned to journalism, believes good


journalists will always be prized. “It’s a skill set that cannot be replaced by AI and, as the public become more educated, they will realise that too.”


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