Whenever I read or hear the word flack to describe a public relations practitioner of some sort, I cringe. Yes, I have a sense of humor but those of us working in the communications business deserve better and it shouldn’t be perpetuated. Years ago it may have been more common for press agents for movies or theater to be called flacks but I think it’s outdated and derogatory.
The PR field today encompasses a proficiency and understanding of a rapidly changing media environment and a variety of tools available to ensure success. Designations such as public relations representative, PR pro, PR executive, PR practitioner, PR specialist, communications expert, media relations pro, spokesperson, communications strategist, press secretary or publicist are much better than flack.
When PRSA decided it was time to update the definition of PR it gathered feedback from members, academics, students and the public. It announced this winning definition in March 2012:
“Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
Flack should be replaced with a better alternative.
Here are a few examples to illustrate my point:
A column started last year on Talking Biz News is written by a New York based PR person with the pseudonym Frankie Flack. The column is well written and makes fair points but I hope they reconsider the blogger’s pen name.
There’s a blog written by another PR professional simply called “The Flack.”
PR Newser is a MediaBistro site which is often tongue-and-cheek. A recent post discusses a Yahoo! Education piece about the sunny career outlook for PR pros but it refers to PR pros as flacks and reporters as hacks. (!)
There are a zillion types of PR people many of which specialize in one area or another for agencies, nonprofit organizations or entrepreneurial shops. Others are employed as in-house counselors, editors, writers and internal communications executives by large and small businesses.
Regardless of the type of marketing communications that we practice, we all have one thing in common – we work diligently on behalf of the companies or clients we represent to achieve their desired goals and deliver measurable results.
So let’s bid adieu to flack.
Happy New Year.