Rating Depictions of Public Relations Professionals in Movies & TV
For people whose job it is to present brands and their key messaging clearly and creatively to the public, public relations professionals often have a hard time doing public relations for themselves. The industry gets a bad rap for seeding careers that only involve going to parties, meeting celebrities and cleaning up the public image of companies embroiled in scandals.
I partly blame this reputation on the depiction of PR pros in movies and TV, like Scandal and Sex and the City. Because we PR pros are often behind-the-scenes, the only perception of us is what can be seen on screen.
Since there is a wide range of depictions of public relations professionals on the big and small screen, what better way to help change public perception of PR than to rate these depictions from an insider’s perspective.
To keep things consistent, each portrayal will be judged in three categories:
The accuracy of the depiction compared to what PR professionals do in real life
The believability of the professional’s job
Whether they really are a PR professional or if another job title suits them better
Scandal
The first portrayal on our list is Shonda Rhimes’ political thriller Scandal. Scandal centres around Olivia Pope and her crisis management firm as she tries to navigate the political scene in the White House. Olivia Pope’s official title is crisis manager and she and her firm often work to fix political situations which take place in the White House.
Olivia’s job title does seem to suit her. She spends most of her days cleaning up extreme political crises, from affairs, to international relations, often solving them through illegal means such as bribery, fraud and even murder. While we often have to put out corporate fires and crises in the world of public relations, our crises communications normally involve saving and improving public image through legal means.
Olivia and Co. are the invisible hands that pull the strings behind the scenes in Washington - they are far from average PR professionals. Their jobs are made less believable by all the lengths they are willing to go to maintain the good image of the President and the rest of the White House.
Rating: 4/10 – Are Olivia and Associates really PR professionals? While Olivia and her associates are often solving political scandals and saving the political image of the current White House, their jobs are a far cry from what every day public relations professionals and crisis communicators do. A better title for them may be “political scandal fixers" or public affairs consultants.
Sex and the City
Moving to a more light-hearted depiction of a public relations professional, Sex and the City’s Samantha Jones owns her own public relations firm. The series follows Jones and her three friends as they navigate their lives in New York City. She depicts a glamourous and easy-going lifestyle of a PR professional, without much clear responsibility or definition of what her job actually entails.
Samantha seems to be the standard for the depiction of PR pros in movies and television - travelling the world, hanging out with celebrities and attending parties, with no real indication of what her job description includes. She is even the namesake for the “Samantha Syndrome”, referring to the way PR pros are depicted in movies and television. The portrayal of Samantha as a PR professional is far from accurate, adding much to the reputation PR pros have for living an extravagant lifestyle.
Our jobs as public relations professional span many areas, such as media relations, crisis communications, social media, editorial writing, strategic counsel and more. While sometimes we get to plan and attend events and interact with media personnel, it is far from the 24/7 glitz and glamour that Samantha shows on screen. It is much more hands-on scrambling and working till the last minute to make sure everything runs smoothly.
Rating: 3/10 - Is Samantha really a PR professional? Not only has she given us the bad name we have been working to rectify since she first graced our screens, but her portrayal continues to be unfairly cited as the PR pro “standard.” She is who we all would like to be, but unfortunately that’s not how PR works in the real world. A better job title for Samantha might be influencer or socialite.
The Bold Type
Our next entry on the list comes from The Bold Type, a show that centres on three women who, much like the main characters of Sex and City, are trying to navigate their personal and professional lives in New York City, all while working at the same global women’s magazine.
Kat Edison works as the social media director for the magazine, Scarlet, prior to becoming the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief. As part of her job, she is in charge of promoting the magazine’s digital presence and growing their online audiences through social media campaigns. She runs all of their social media platforms as well as contributes to their website. Her tasks very much align with her job title.
As social media has grown, it has become a bigger part of public relations as we work to build brands’ online audiences and presence. Kat Edison’s role is very similar to what we often do for companies who require social support. While her role is much more targeted solely towards social engagement and growth, Edison falls undoubtedly into the category of PR professional.
Rating: 8/10 – Kat Edison’s portrayal is much more in line with average PR professionals and what we do on a daily basis. No depiction is perfect however, and some of Kat’s storyline still revolves around glamourous parties and social activism.
Honourable Mentions
The West Wing – 6/10 – The political advisors seen in The West Wing include titles of communications director and press secretary, who focus on speech writing, controlling the narrative and holding press conferences--all tasks needed to help the Presidential public image. While the political affairs and threats are much less extreme than Scandal, The White House’s communications team still spends most of its time cleaning up daily crises.
The Queen – 5/10 – Based on the true story of Princess Diana’s death and the Royal Family’s response, The Queen does not show traditional public relations. The film instead focuses on the contrasting crisis management tactics of the Royal Family and the newly elected Prime Minister and how they try to influence their public images. While Prime Minister Tony Blair’s PR attempts gained him public favour, the Royal Family’s silence is a lesson in what not to do in times of crisis.
Thank You for Smoking – 2/10 – This film follows a Big Tobacco spokesman as he lobbies on behalf of cigarettes and denies their negative effects on the body. One thing we are not as PR pros are spin doctors. We use authentic and honest stories and information to place our clients in the best light, and take responsibility when there is negative PR.
It seems that most of the time, when PR pros are shown on screen, it involves politics, major crises or the life and times of the extremely glamourous. While they make for great drama that keeps us coming back to watch again, we’re still a long way from getting accurate and believable depictions; but, as our roles continue to grow and expand, the PR industry’s image of itself will only continue to improve.