On this point we are in 100% agreement. The trend for hiring drones, both PR and marketing, will come to a head sooner or later because it will eventually affect revenues.

The other trend that I have experienced first hand during my career is executive management putting underlings [or managers like me] out on the front line during a crisis for fear that their personal reputation might be damanged. Nothing says ‘guily’ like putting a non-executive in front of journalists, editors or reporters to discuss the issue/crisis at hand.

I am pessimistic about the future for anyone contemplating a career in a corporate PR role. Companies are more interested in hiring young people willing to be drones for a (relatively) high corporate salary, read scripts to reporters, know nothing about the business or trends affecting the industry and its customers. And then, when those young people have a few years of experience under their belts (and higher salaries) they will be tossed under the bus and replaced with still younger and inexperienced people.

Continuity and relationship building are the antithesis of what this trend is all about. And the companies who do this (you all know who you are, Chrysler included) will reap what they sow. They have simply concluded that the reputation damage doesn’t matter to them any more.

It’s a lot like China. They don’t care if the Yettumsville Gazette writes about the pollution or oppression in Beijing, as long as Matt Lauer waxes eloquent on the Today Show about how beautiful everything is.

Honestly, I understand the logic behind this move since both are responsible for communicating on behalf of the company, but that’s basically where my understanding ends.

In addition to some of the issues you mentioned regarding privacy -vs- openness, I think the speed with which each of these departments operate must be entirely different.

In PR, people have to be ready to drop everything when a journalist/blogger expresses interest in covering their company. That also means having a direct line to executives and quick access to all background information, images, video, etc. In general, that means having the ability to bend over backwards to make sure every question is answered and every resource is shared — and shared quickly!

I can’t imagine that anyone with a background in HR has ever had to really scramble in the same way. Sure, they have peaks and valleys in their workload — but it’s more seasonal. In PR, changes can happen daily and sometimes hourly. Not to mention that writing employee handbooks and company policy is an entirely different discipline that writing press materials and marketing copy…

However, the Detroiter in me can’t help but remember that we are talking about Chrysler in 2008 — a company that has a product line that is so totally out of sync with what consumers actually want, it’s ridiculous. I keep thinking that maybe this is their way of saying, “why bother?”

Whether it’s intentional or not, the messaging behind this decision only seems to confirm that the leadership at Chrysler really couldn’t care less what anyone outside the company might think.