A fortnight ago I wrote about negativity in this column. Boy, did that touch nerves. Among the many responses two stood out. The first email came from a well-respected journalist about a pitch they’d received: a new product and UK first, apparently. The trouble was said product wasn’t new at all. It had appeared in 2019 and was being relaunched after it had been mothballed during the pandemic. The only thing that was new was the branding. You can’t just make stuff up, the journalist harrumphed: “More and more I’m seeing ‘putting a spin’ become outright BS.”

A few days later a PR told me about a press trip which had required a week’s hospitality. The return for an investment of several thousand pounds? A column of print you could have covered with two matchboxes

The two are connected.

Journalism and PR have always involved elements of sharp practice to stand up our respective stories. But as budgets are squeezed the pips are squeaking on both sides. I know many journalists would bristle at being sold a pup. Simultaneously, I know PRs are under ever-more pressure from clients to justify fees.

There are no easy answers – I saw that “first” story in a couple of nationals, so expect the PR campaign was deemed a success. But it strikes me the gripes of the journalist and PR essentially came down to issues of trust. Travel is a small sector and playing fast and loose with the truth for coverage is a short-term strategy whichever side of the fence we’re on. I’d be wary of future pitches from a PR who had been economical with the truth. Equally, I’d be surprised if PRs didn’t red flag a journalist who failed to deliver what was expected. (I’m not talking about negative reviews here, incidentally. That’s a different matter.) In both of these cases, clarity from both sides beforehand might have avoided bad feeling.

Journalists and PRs rely on our relationships with each other. At the risk of sounding utopian, like a media ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon, a little integrity goes a long way. You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.