RSJ News
Brodeur on defining journalism
09-25-2009
John Brodeur, founder and chairman of Boston-based Brodeur Partners, meets with Reynolds School of Journalism Dean Jerry Ceppos (right) and professor emeritus Warren Lerude (center).
By Tammy Krikorian
The fields of journalism, public relations, advertising and marketing are blurring.
John Brodeur, founder and chairman of Boston-based Brodeur Partners, said that is the main message taken away from a meeting he and his staff had recently with Reynolds School of Journalism Dean Jerry Ceppos and professor emeritus Warren Lerude.
“In the past, the fields were competitive and almost suspicious of each other,” said Brodeur, an RSJ alumnus. “Media channels are so diffused now … the worlds of public relations and the media have gotten closer. There’s not as much contentiousness, rivalry and competition as there once was, which I think is a good thing.”
Still, Brodeur said, it is the responsibility of journalists to be accurate and fair in their reporting and the responsibility of public relations professionals to be honest and accurate as they promote products and companies.
As the journalism, public relations, marketing and advertising fields are making the transition to a digital world, Brodeur sees the future of newspapers and television news in doing less stories that are more in-depth and analytical.
“There aren’t two or three news cycles anymore,” Brodeur said. “There’s one and it’s 24-7. Newspapers have had to move to a very online presence to beat those that could scoop them – bloggers and consumer-generated content. I think that we’re going to turn to the New York Times of the world for context, analysis, more in-depth reporting – digging deeper into stories than the surface.”
Brodeur said media will also need to provide a more global perspective.
“Someone has to make sense of this messy world and traditional media will do as well, and in some cases better, than most,” he said.
As students prepare to graduate from college and enter the work force, Brodeur’s advice is to “move aggressively” and to recognize that it won’t be easy.
“This has been a double storm – one was the world of journalism got turned upside-down with the Internet and the second is that the recession hit,” he said. “It’s a world where what you do in school counts, your grades count, your learning count and your extra work – such as internships – they all count.”
Brodeur said it’s the work done outside of school that will set applicants apart.
“If somebody did an internship, even for free at local agency or newspaper or digital company, that person’s going to have a better chance for at least getting an audience,” he said. “And we get dozens of those every week, résumés from really fine schools in the area. Those that exhibit curiosity in the field beyond just school are those that get an interview,” he said.
Brodeur is a graduate of the Reynolds School of Journalism, where he was named the outstanding journalism graduate and later alumnus of the year. He also earned a master’s degree from the Harvard Kennedy School.
Prior to founding Brodeur Partners in 1985, he reported for United Press International and the Reno Gazette-Journal, served as the first Public Affairs Officer for the Nevada School of Medical Sciences, worked as press secretary to Sen. Howard Cannon (D-Nev.) and chief of staff for Rep. Jim Santini (D-Nev.) in Washington, D.C.
Brodeur built Brodeur Partners into an award-winning global organization with clients including IBM, American Express and the American Cancer Society.
The company was acquired in 1993 by Omnicom Group, Inc., and selected Agency of the Year by PR Week in 2001.
Brodeur recently created two new consulting companies, one devoted to higher education branding the other specializing in digital business strategies.
He serves as a trustee and advisor for several non-profit and corporate boards.
