The Winner is Public Relations

I like Christie Blatchford's columns in the Globe and Mail, she has a no bullshit attitude when it comes to digesting issues and making sense of them. Yesterday her latest column called the The Winner is Public Relations caught my eye.

There are a few things going on this piece that while separate became interconnected via IABC/Toronto's annual Ovation awards. While the Leaside girl's hockey league ice-time issue does not affect me (don't have a daughter, play hockey or live in Leaside)Christie's attention towards IABC/Toronto caught my attention in spades.

First off, my opinions are that of an individual member of IABC/Toronto and in no way reflect that of the executive board and other members. I felt uncomfortable with the implication that PD and networking events were mixers.

For me IABC/Toronto is for professional development and networking with the goal of full time employment and furthering my communications career and I don't regard it as dating pool. Yes I am single and yes there have been a few female communicators that caught my fancy over the past few years but I have not acted on it because I am there for professional not personal reasons.

I don't know if Christie has much experience attending professional association events but I can safely speculate IABC/Toronto events are not that much different than those held by any other professional associations like HRPA (Human Resources), CMA (Marketing professionals) or CICA (Chartered Accountants).

Personally I don't care what Christie thinks of me as a communicator or her opinion on my profession in general. She's free to hold whatever opinion she wants, it's a free country. While we have drummed in our head on how journalists think and view the world, I think a fair number journalists have a very weak understanding what we do.