For the younger reader, Flack is a (sometimes) derogatory term for a PR practitioner, while Hack is a (similarly sometimes) derogatory term for a journalist. They come from a time when a ‘them and us’ mentality existed, and neither really trusted the other.

(It was a time – before digital and social – when the media were fiercely independent and suspicious of being caught up in ‘spin’ and when PROs felt the media only wanted the bad and the controversial and were prepared to be selective with the truth to get it.)

But things change, and so do ways of working. Senior journalists realised that there were lucrative opportunities on the other side of the fence, and PR consultancies found that clients responded well to having journalists around the table.

(The best combination – blatant plug for 4TC here – is where experience in communication is partnered with experience in journalism (preferably not in the same person). The two skillsets are very similar, but they combine to deliver the best of both – focusing on the story and telling it well, with an eye at all times on messaging, impact, risk and results.)

Flacks and Hacks, then. Working together. Still different, but now more similar, often found in the same place, and sharing a defining characteristic. Their humanity.

Which is more than can be said, of course, for the latest arrival to the party, the AI-driven communicators. Let’s call them the Macks.

We happened across this opinion recently:

“PR is (….) disappearing. Both journalism and PR are on the downslide as brands will start to communicate directly with AI tooling.”

While this is, most likely, true, it completely fails to recognise that the Macks aren’t – as yet (and until the arrival of AGI) – capable of doing what the Hacks and the Flacks can.

They don’t understand nuance, shades of grey, light touch and emotional resonance through well-crafted copy. They certainly don’t get ROI, measurement or brand strategy save on the most prosaic and box-ticking of levels. And, evidenced by recent events, they absolutely aren’t troubled by ethics.

What’s therefore likely is a two-tier ecosystem of communication.

• For those who value quantity over quality, fast-food, cookie-cutter content delivered at low cost, and who are focused solely on the PSO in PESO, then the Macks will be there to take your dollar.
• For those who want engagement beyond transitory clicks and likes, who want real stories told with humanity, communicating tailored messaging to discreet audiences, who want words crafted for subtlety, words that count and that drive engagement – the E in PESO – the flacks and the hacks (and 4TC) will still be here.

The old adage ‘buy cheap, buy twice’ will still hold true, mind. AI-generated content may deliver short-term, but it doesn’t build, engender or establish.

And when it comes to the same AI models deciding which sources to highlight and quote – well, they don’t like their own content.

They like the earned media that they, and their fellow Macks, cannot deliver.

Photo by Gabriele Malaspina on Unsplas