Vremya MN 21/11/2000

Mysterious horror or normal profession

Development of the Russian PR industry appears to constantly be a spotlight topic in our country. And this seems to be unjustified. This "acute" theme is acquiring a strange image in the media.

Publications about our profession make an impression that the "Russia-made" PR is something supernatural and super powerful, but . . . filthy. With the existing coverage, a common reader might easily conclude that we, PR professionals could achieve the unachievable without hinting at how exactly we do it. Failing to find a good reasoning, the media dub our methods "filthy technologies". So everything that is clear about PR for a common reader appears to be nothing. That's why I would like to offer a rational stream and to put some order into this mess.

First, about the so-called "filthy technologies".

About a year ago our colleagues from Poland and Czech Republic, wrote us a letter asking to share our experience in rehabilitation of PR. They have often times exactly the same problem, because there are lots of similarities in the post-communist economies; and the growth of PR industry is no exception. So it is not about "morale" of our PR practitioners, it's about history and economy. What we undergo these days can be called youth awkwardness, which is, slowly but surely, growing into a firm stance of professionalism.

Second, about "complete mystery". PR is not a hocus-pocus, it is a technology. Media planning, broadcast initiation and anything else in PR is a pure technology, clear and earthy. And the mysterious image seems to arise because of some media people unwilling to understand the nuts and bolts of our craft.

The last, but not the least, is the distorted image of PR specialists as wicked geniuses with no conception of truth and honor. To put it plain, they are nothing more than communication managers. They are just the same people as anybody else including journalists. Therefore I would suggest we judge people for their wrongdoings, if there are such, and be more careful about putting tags and labels on the profession at large.

Veronica V. Moiseeva
General Director,
Imageland PR