Oversimplifying two professions with one quote
“Journalism is printing something that someone does not want printed. Everything else is Public Relations”
-George Orwell
For me, journalism aims to inform. Sometimes the information a journalist seeks to spread is unfavorable, but not always. So, I would say this excerpt is false. More so, I do not think reporting on natural disasters, scientific advances, weather, sports (and so on) fits either of the two categories demarcated in the saying.
The quote at best can be used to fit specific contexts. If you look at investigative journalism where journalists dig and dig to uncover their stories, sometimes as opposed to their moral values, and would do anything for a newsworthy headline- George Orwell’s above saying would be as effective and accurate as the value of pi.
But this is oversimplifying an entire profession.
More than that, Public Relations can also have negative connotations attached. It is not all positive if we rely on what this quote says. Negative PR as a concept exists. For one, Kanye West’s entire career seems to revolve around it. People like him thrive on controversy and making questionable statements. It keeps them in the spotlight.
So, the above quote is not the absolute truth. It is at best a one-liner that can be used to start your next political piece which will probably, most definitely, be something along the lines of- ‘the state of things is bad and it hurts, but listen to this thought-provoking yet completely ambiguous, and vague quote from a great man which makes me sound smart.’
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