London, England -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/26/2010 -- PR may be at the cusp of its evolution says Major Players, the UK’s leading creative industry recruiter. The digital boom, the birth of the media hub and the fall of the journalist may have sparked the beginnings of a new trend within the industry that could inevitably lead to a new focus for PR – content. So, is this really a new trend and if so what effect if any could this have upon how PR jobs are recruited in this changing landscape?

Birth of the ‘Media-Hub’
Back in February of this year, Global PR giant Edelman hired Richard Sambrook, the former head of BBC News as ‘Chief Content Editor’ in a move to help its clients develop their digital presence further by focusing on quality content generation.

In a recent interview, Richard Edelman offered some insight into what he felt was happening within the industry and why the decision to hire Sambrook was made: “Every one of our clients needs to become a media company, to tell its own story and to do so, not just through podcasts or having employee bloggers but having an authoritative set of information that is easy to access by this ever evolving 24/7 world of media. We’re not trying to create a substitute for media; we’re trying to improve access to the corporate knowledge base.”

Content content content
Tone, style, format – it all boils down to one thing, content. Whilst liaising with the press is an integral aspect of any PR role its importance is weakened by the decline in stature of the journalist. They are no longer the gatekeepers; this has been proven by the rise in digital media and the many redundancies faced by journalists during the economic downturn. As such, content generation is becoming an increasingly important skill to possess for the PR as it enables companies to bypass the journalism gauntlet, primarily where online content is concerned.

PR briefs appear to be containing more requests for candidates with the ability to generate quality content, as opposed to more emphasis upon media relations. Jon Gloyne, Major Players recruiter for PR jobs said: “I have noticed that over the past few months the job briefs we’ve been getting do place more emphasis on possessing the ability to write strong content; clients are more selective in terms of their recruitment process, particularly the larger agencies. Writing tests are becoming more stringent, but this shouldn’t really be an issue for PRs as generally they should already have a strong writing ability.”

Evolution of PR
So the PR talent has the capability, perhaps it’s just a case of brushing up, particularly for those new to the industry. Jon continues: “I don’t think that these adjustments will have any impact upon already established PRs, perhaps more with juniors and recent graduates. I’d suggest putting some extra-curricular work in to bump up your writing skills if you’re new to the industry. Work experience placements with publishing houses and PR firms would be a good start.”

These new developments could offer tremendous scope to candidates looking for , the likelihood of new content driven teams being set up within agencies or even in-house is higher due to these new advancements in communication channels. The ‘dark side’ may be evolving once more.