A recent Forbes column caught my interest about the “devolution” of public relations given the rise of content marketing and self-published content by companies and entrepreneurs looking to promote themselves.

Former journalist and PR agency owner Robert Wynne comments that the shift toward free content online – coupled with the decline of print publication subscriptions and falling ad rates – has changed media forever. Indeed, print publications have struggled for the better part of a decade; editorial teams are all-too often pared to a bare minimum, and companies can no longer take it for granted that a publication will cover their news.

As a result, this evolving media environment is driving many organizations to embrace content marketing to promote their products and services. This type of owned content can range from blog posts, newsletters, social media posts, videos, infographics and slideshows. Paid content is also on the rise, which includes “advertorial” sponsored articles, as well as traditional advertising. Many long-time reporters from outlets such as the New York Times and TechCrunch have left the journalism world behind to take communications or marketing positions in the corporate world, signaling a growing need within businesses for experienced writers and content producers.

“Whether this trend is good, bad or neutral doesn’t matter,” Wynne writes. “Self-produced content, paid or free, is here to stay.”

Explaining Content Marketing

The Content Marketing Institute explains content marketing as “the art of communicating with your customers and prospects without selling. … Instead of pitching your products or services, you are delivering information that makes your buyer more intelligent. The essence of this content strategy is the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.”

The key here is “instead of pitching your products and services.”

So does the rise of content marketing and owned content – as well as sponsored and paid content – signal the devolution, if not the outright demise – of public relations? After all, isn’t our business founded on the practice of pitching our client’s products and services to media?

PR’s value in today’s new media landscape

It’s true that we pitch our client’s products and services to journalists, but the important nuance here is that PR professionals shouldn’t be selling or marketing as part of our jobs. Even with the explosion of owned content being developed by many companies, the role of a PR contact is to be a resource for journalists, and ultimately to earn media placements.

After all, despite the changes in the media industry, reporters still cover news, write feature stories, conduct in-depth investigative pieces, and produce editorial journalism. While publications might be accepting more contributed content than in years past, there are still editorial guidelines to which those articles adhere.

If anything, the role of public relations is not deteriorating, but becoming more important than ever as part of a company’s communications strategy. Our role should be to connect journalists with sources and content that provide context and perspective on the news and issues their readers care about. Sure, telling your client’s story is paramount, but so too is positioning that story within a broader industry landscape and tying it to trends, breaking news, and competitive news.

Our audience in this instance should not be the buyer or end user of our client’s products, but the journalist. PR professionals can – and should – leverage owned content as part of their media outreach strategy, but our craft centers on being able to translate those materials for journalists, and ultimately earn a media placement.

Businesses must take a multi-pronged approach that encompasses owned, paid and earned media. These three strategies are not interchangeable. Knowing how to frame a story in a compelling, credible way for editorial audiences is a valuable and much-needed part of an organization’s communications strategy. As owned and paid content continues to play a larger part in the overall marketing mix via content marketing, let’s not be quick to dismiss the importance of PR in facilitating and securing earned content. There’s room for all three elements at the table.