As an intern at Orangefiery this past summer, I had the opportunity to apply my journalism major to a new field. Comparing my experience at Orangefiery with my internship for a local news website the previous summer, I noted a number of similarities between the two industries.

Effectively Reaching Target Audiences

An anchor of my work both in journalism and PR is the goal of making sure people are informed in an effective way with content that is tailored to the target audience. In journalism, we’re delivering the most important news in a way that appeals to the main interests of the publication’s audience. In public relations, we’re communicating about a brand by sharing content they care about.

For both, it’s important to be thorough and contextualize. Public relations is also very strategic in terms of how you tell a brand story. Both industries often work with social media as an essential tool to this process, given how important social platforms are to how people get their information today.

Developing Trusting Relationships

Both industries work hard to develop a trusting relationship with their target audiences and the general public.

Journalists work to make sure they have good practices and are transparent so the public can trust that they are a reliable source. Especially in the era of fake news, there is a lot of emphasis on making sure both sides of a story are addressed. Similarly, corporate brands are developed and activated in a way that focuses on building trust.A successful brand can hold significant
meaning to its publics and the PR team is responsible for communicating that meaning in an authentic and consistent way, developing trust and familiarity amongst its audiences.

Writing For Impact

Writing strategically is also critical to both industries. The pyramid structure of journalistic writing with the simultaneous goal of keeping stories entertaining and placing the readers in the scene with color is not dissimilar to writing press releases, social posts and pitches.

Keeping Pace With A Fast-Moving World

Finally, both jobs require staying on top of issues and breaking news and pivoting quickly when it is needed. Being first on a major story in journalism and responding to an issue quickly in PR are one of a journalist’s and PR practitioners’ most important duties. In both industries, we put processes in place to help us keep track of issues and conversations as they evolve.

A Day In The Life: Journalism and PR

My day-to-day experience at each job also had a lot of similarities. I worked with social media graphics, captions and metrics. I analyzed data to inform content decisions. I made sure content was consistent with the brand and effectively informed target audiences with tailored messages.

In both jobs, I conducted landscape and background research on various communities and industries to inform my work. Knowing the context and “bigger picture” allowed me to have an accurate perspective of the industries and issues associated with my work. While interning for local news, making myself aware of the community’s culture and events before creating content was essential to providing content my readers would value. In PR, doing landscape research for clients provided similar insights to inform strategic approaches and content development.

For both jobs, I kept a close eye on the issues being discussed in mainstream and social media. As a journalism intern, I also kept an eye on local organizations and leaders via social media each day to make sure I was aware of important happenings in the community. Even if I did not end up covering those stories, they provided insights into what the community cared about.

In both jobs, reaching out to strangers for stories was a norm. It’s important to know how to relate to people and make a good impression. In turn, helping people understand the vision and the story you’re sharing is important. Relationships between sources and writers are important on both sides.

Working with Orangefiery this summer was a great experience and taught me to adapt. I am so thankful to my supervisors for helping me navigate the industry and am grateful for the many new skills and experiences I will apply in my career.