Unions? Aren't they for factory workers? Well, actually no. Some say they've never been more revelant than today for people in public relations.

By Chris Morley

In my years in the regional media, one of the most common career paths is from mainstream newspapers or broadcasting to PR.

When this happens, those who were members of the NUJ often think the union will not be able to represent them in their new work or is not appropriate in some way as they no longer regard themselves as a journalist. This then leads them to resign from the union.

However, the real situation is quite a bit different. The NUJ does represent PR professionals (this is part of its constitution) and we welcome them into membership. In fact we have something like 2,000 members in this sector.