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Journalism or public relations?

P

paskinn

pfm Member
I earned a living in journalism all my working life.I like and support audio mags, I try to understand the pressures they are under.No sensible person can assume that personal opinions will not colour a review.In the end these things are a matter of opinion, not rock-solid fact.

Given all that,I still have one question to ask of reviewers Alan Sircom and Roy Gregory. It is this:

In what ways can the assesments you offer to readers of 'HiFi Plus' be reliably distinguished from the writings of a public relations agency?

Any clues which help me make the distinction would be most welcome.
 
Funny enough I was reading something today from the Hi-Fi plus.... about the new Hicap DR. Looked a lot more like PR than Journalism to me. Indeed, I would go far as call a lot of it propaganda. But this is a criticism of our media in general at the moment. So much of it seems beholden to the interests of corporations or ruling elites.
 
It's not just the music press. PR releases are the basis of a huge amount of journalism nowadays. Cuts mean that hacks can't look for stories, so take PR puffs which are hand fed them instead.

When you see a TV hack doing a piece to camera it's a fair bet that they sound like a PR man for the the government department or company they are reporting on. Because they were just briefed by him.
 
Gave up on HiFi+ for the reasons cited above as well as the one-man-show reviewing it featured last time I picked up a copy when travelling (and the times before that too).



If you want some food for thought, look up reviews in different magazines concerning the KARAN 180 power amp...
 
hughjampton said:
[...]PR releases are the basis of a huge amount of journalism nowadays. [...]
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I get the impression I am being ripped off when half of a review is visibly PR or interview extracts (basically PR again). And then the journalist adds insult to injury by not detailing useful/essential details (like whether the Chord QuteHD has a time delay buffer which can or cannot be switched out for film use - current issue of HiFi World).)
 
I'm sticking with HIFI+ till they reach issue 100 then calling it quits. The quality of writing took a nose dive when Gregory left. Even though I could never trust a word he said his writing was exquisitely constructed and always a joy to read.
 
uncl_nigel said:
I get the impression I am being ripped off when half of a review is visibly PR or interview extracts (basically PR again). And then the journalist adds insult to injury by not detailing useful/essential details (like whether the Chord QuteHD has a time delay buffer which can or cannot be switched out for film use - current issue of HiFi World).)
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Quite, the bit that always kills me is pretty much all loudspeaker reviews that never mention a word about placement or positioning. Even allowing for the fact that you cannot hope to replicate it - some clue as to the type of space, layout where they might work best or fail, should be the first consideration.
 
sq225917 said:
I'm sticking with HIFI+ till they reach issue 100 then calling it quits. The quality of writing took a nose dive when Gregory left. Even though I could never trust a word he said his writing was exquisitely constructed and always a joy to read.
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I agree abut the writing and the confidence one could put in the writers... but I am obviously less patient than you - I stopped subscribing quite a while back.
 
Continuing from SteveS1, another thing they always "forget" to mention is whether the mains transformers of power amps behave themselves or buzz like a hive of bees...
 
I have some sympathy for audio journalists since it doesn't pay to incur the wrath of the community that they cover all the time.

So I take reviews with a pinch of salt and use them mainly as a guide to shortlist gear to audition for myself.
 
Singslinger said:
So I take reviews with a pinch of salt and use them mainly as a guide to shortlist gear to audition for myself.
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Exactly, and I'm sure that's what the writer intends in most cases.

A good magazine covers new and unfolding stuff within the industry, perhaps indulges the old folk with a little nostalgic look back at days gone by, includes some interesting editorial and contributor comment, and reviews kit and music to wet the appetite.

We have four monthly uk hi-fi magazines covering a tiny market and it must be bloody hard aiming your particular publication at enough readers within that limitation. Whatever the editor does, some will complain.

We'll miss them when they're gone, well I certainly will.
 
positive_energy said:
Funny enough I was reading something today from the Hi-Fi plus.... about the new Hicap DR. Looked a lot more like PR than Journalism to me. Indeed, I would go far as call a lot of it propaganda. But this is a criticism of our media in general at the moment. So much of it seems beholden to the interests of corporations or ruling elites.
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Funnily enough, I'm currently getting it in the neck for daring to suggest that the HiCap pre-DR is not a good match for the SuperNait.

Not what you'd call positive enough for the faithful, apparently.
 
Purite Audio said:
Hopefully something with some integrity will rise from their ashes.
Keith.
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That's a bit harsh IMO.
Many of those running and contributing to the magazines over the years are hi-fi enthusiasts just like you or I. The difference is they've to balance information, facts and opinion on the one hand against generating a revenue stream from both readers and advertisers on the other. You try it!

Don't for a second think that say killing the printed audio press and moving to forums/blogs would bring a solution, for we already see some (not this one) pandering to commercial pressures.

For the most part the main four publications (News, Plus, World, Choice) maintain a reasonable balance and there is no problem if you take them as an entertaining and informative read, rather than gospel.

We have examples where on the face of it, a publication can exist outside of advertising pressure - (Critic) and virtually nobody reads it. There have also been examples in the past where the writing has been overwhelmingly dry, measurement driven and factual, and those went the way of the dodo.

There is no alternative to rise from the ashes IMO because whatever tried would surely be constrained by the same pressures.
 
Purite Audio said:
Hopefully something with some integrity will rise from their ashes.
Keith.
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Be careful what you wish for.

When Berlusconi pulled the plug on his French operation - and in the process canned the surviving audio and home theatre magazines, the market for audio and home theatre products in France dropped by more a third in a year. This was not echoed in photography or other consumer electronic sectors.

Why do you think brands like Elipson suddenly became interested in worldwide sales after ignoring the rest of the world for almost half a century?

You may not like what we do, but what we do helps you do what you do. And if we don't do it, your survival gets harder by an order of magnitude. Even if you aren't the least bit interested in the magazines and the dealers and the rest of that infrastructure, if it goes away, the bigger fish in this pond have a feeding frenzy to survive.
 
Got to say that I feel that World peaked under David Price and has been the poorer for his (and others) leaving, but still a worthwhile read. It's a bit scary that the internet has very limited comment on a lot of hifi gear and most of it seems to be people seeking to re-inforce their buying decisions. :eek:
 
Alan Sircom said:
Be careful what you wish for.

When Berlusconi pulled the plug on his French operation - and in the process canned the surviving audio and home theatre magazines, the market for audio and home theatre products in France dropped by more a third in a year. This was not echoed in photography or other consumer electronic sectors.

Why do you think brands like Elipson suddenly became interested in worldwide sales after ignoring the rest of the world for almost half a century?

You may not like what we do, but what we do helps you do what you do. And if we don't do it, your survival gets harder by an order of magnitude. Even if you aren't the least bit interested in the magazines and the dealers and the rest of that infrastructure, if it goes away, the bigger fish in this pond have a feeding frenzy to survive.
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You make his job ten times easier?
 
I must say, I think part of the problem is that a large majority of the people interested in hi-fi are 'grumpy old men' who enjoy moaning, even though they actually like the magazines generally.

I do feel sympathy for Alan and others who work at the mags.
 
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