SPINdustry isn’t terrible: An Entertainment PR background perspective

Image copyright of Life.com.

I finally got to watch SPINdustry last night – and frankly, I normally don’t talk “hot topic” type posts, but I’m a little irritated some of my colleagues reaction to this show. Was it justified? Maybe. I’m not really sure.

A big chunk of my internships were spent in entertainment public relations, working for two major motion pictures studios. The reason I don’t tell people? It’s because similar reactions happen to what I’ve been reading all week. They make assumptions when I say I would fetch water/food, take press from place to place, sit in on interviews with my boss to make sure they went smoothly, and cold call for a big portion of the day for event promotion.

That isn’t everything, and the entertainment publicists I know work their tails off on a daily and weekend basis. Many on the entertainment side have an advertising degree and background. The traditional public relations aspect of this industry is crafting media alerts, press releases, putting together clip books and pitching media to get them to events constantly. (Who wants to tune in to that?)

It taught me about building relationships, understanding media and putting your client first. The strategy learning and tactics came during my first entry level job at a tech PR firm.

Yes, Spin is a horrid word and does not describe this industry. However, it’s a reality show on E! Television that is going to show drama, OMG moments and fun. A lot of the boring footage is on the cutting room floor. I don’t want to tune into a TV show where I watch them craft media lists, news releases and cold call all day. The TV demographic/audience they are trying to reach isn’t interested in that.

It’s not all glitz and glamour

The whole getting bottle water for the paps? I can recall a time where I had to fetch FIJI water (No Dasani, please!) at the request of a celebrity – in addition to his 3 page request list faxed in for his PA Tour. Much of that industry encompasses catering to celebrities and their publicists. It might seem easy, but it is a part of the job – just as checking Google Alerts might seem menial, but it all adds into the foundation of this field. It adds into to the press tours, the red carpet events, and the positive trade coverage.

It’s a Friends type industry

The media that covers these clients is small, and publicists know them very well. There isn’t usually a need for a media list, because you know them. You instead work on building relationships, calling and e-mailing them frequently to catch up, and making small talk at events you attend. The scene where Jonathan is texting to see where they are at? This is typical behavior. Those in entertainment PR are some of the most personable folks I know.

Most celebrity publicists are close friends, and might not have training in this specific industry. They do, however, understand the celebrity’s personal brand, how they will react at events and their strengths. They will be your biggest ally when it comes to coordinating events.

The Bibles

For Command PR (Warning: Lots of Flash), it’s about the pictures at their events – that’s the confirmation that the event was a success. They are an L.A. based company, and that is a big chunk of the media they work with. For the clients I interned for in Dallas (in field offices) the publicity coordinators would get to the office between 5-6 a.m. on a Friday to check trades. Any mentions had to be cut out, scanned and sent to the studio by 9 a.m. CST. Most I know in traditional make it to the office by 8:30, especially on a Friday.

Women in Public Relations

We aren’t all perfect – and we aren’t all clones of each other. Is it fair to judge someone based on their personality, and say they are making women in public relations look bad? I focus daily on educating, informing and helping others to see what this field is all about. I go to networking events outside of this industry so others, and potential clients, know what I’m all about. What other people do? That’s their thing. It’s exhausting trying to change others and be high and mighty that I’m *somehow* better. (Not.)

Before pointing fingers, we should point it at ourselves and make call to actions on what we can improve – bad pitching, presentation of brand on social media, strategy and improving tactics.

Dig what you read? Share with others:

Kristina Allen

Thanks for writing this post Lauren. It's good to see the flip side of the coin, although there were definitely some choice moments in the show that I wish were left out -- but I suppose that has more to do with the people and not the practices. I'll definitely keep your points in mind when I watch the show again.
Kendall Young

I as well just tuned in to the "SPINdustry." It does show a lot of the glitz and glam of this industry, but there is definitely gritty work that is involved. The people who are watching these shows do not see what is actually done behind the scenes (and like you said, who would be interested in watching them make cold calls?).

Thank you for shining a light onto this new reality show. I am looking forward to hearing more from you about the "SPINdustry" and other new reality PR shows!
laurenfernandez

This will probably be my only post on the topic - I tend to shy away from "hot topics" and prefer to focus on community, branding and public relations/marketing strategy. It was something I felt strongly about, and something I could relate to myself personally.

Its always interesting to see what is produced, and what is actually filmed.
MCafiero

Thanks for writing this post and sharing the other side. I think we all work in our PR silos and eventually have this skewed view of what other PR industry practices may be. I this speaks to a larger issue - we're so busy helping our clients (and ourselves, to some extent) that we forget there's a bigger world of PR out there. We need to educate each other instead of attacking one another.
laurenfernandez

I like your point about education - I think many of us forget to take a step back and look at ourselves, because it can be easier to attack rather than point the finger at ourselves. Ultimately, its about what you're willing to approve, learn, engage and educate.
Meredith Bay

Thanks for posting this - you're right, a lot of the boring stuff was most likely cut (p.s. I love Google Alerts, too! Ha). But can we also agree that the female members of the office aren't the best PR role models? Ultra-mini skirts, undressing in the middle of the office? I'd rather not see that.
laurenfernandez

Some agencies, especially in L.A., don't have as strict of a dress code. Yes, it was definitely inappropriate for what I consider work attire. Their agency might have more lax guidelines. I can't make assumptions on dress code without knowing the ins and outs of the said agency.
Jerod Morris

Wait...checking Google Alerts isn't glamorous? What did I miss?

That I actually enjoy that probably explains a lot about why I love my jobs so much.
laurenfernandez

I love checking my Google Alerts - but again, I'm kind of a nerd like that. It's exciting to see what is being said about your client, read news on industry and stay well informed.
patrickbjohnson

Love the post! I think if a lot of people took a step back and realized that before it speaks about an industry, it is a television show. If everyone in the world took everything from TV seriously, we would all die. I'm glad you wrote this post. Hopefully others will see it and take your post into consideration before they assume something about a profession, a show, and a person.
laurenfernandez

I couldn't agree more. TV tends to blur the line on any industry - I talk with lawyer friends all the time about 'Law and Order' and about only 30 percent of that show is accurate.
Jerod Morris

"If everyone in the world took everything from TV seriously, we would all die"

This may be the most true statement anyone will read all day.
laurenfernandez

Agreed on that!
Evan E. Roberts

I feel like this post was written for me, as I very bluntly dismissed SPINdustry as a glittery, gimmicky, watered-down version of what entertainment PR really is like. But you post helped me to step back a bit. I was definitely looking at the show from an academic "PR is a management function" POV and didn't think about how much of the day-to-day is really not included in the final episode. I've started to notice that each kind of PR has it's own majority tool set, and what may be good for one kind of PR, isn't necessarily right for another. I'm still learning and I think in all of the hoopla and noise (and having @JonathanCheban tweet me to "barf"), I forgot to think critically and analyze what this really is. So I'm going to say that for my part, no the negative reaction wasn't justified. Plus I didn't even watch the show (still haven't). But now I think I'll at least give it a shot. Thanks Lauren
laurenfernandez

In the PR field, it's easy to become silo'ed and only see it from a certain standpoint - and many also can believe that their sector is somehow better than others. I definitely don't think you did that, but this is part of where that post came from. I'm proud of my experience and all I've accomplished in such a short time - but I really don't like talking about entertainment PR, because of those reactions.

Do I think this show demonstrates part of entertainment PR? Yes, but its also supposed to be fun and light hearted, to attract viewers. They aren't going to show the countless hours spent preparing for events or the crazy running around. Do I think I'll watch it again? Probably not.