A few weeks ago I saw a terrible PRO. She was insensitive, unscrupulous and unethical. She was brash, domineering and inflexible. Not only was she unlikable, she was also incompetent. Luckily I didn’t meet her in the flesh, as she was a fictional PR woman portrayed on television, in BBC’s comprehensive school drama Waterloo Road.  PR people are not usually painted as particularly nice characters in TV dramas, but this was the worst portrayal I’ve ever seen. This woman made Edina from Absolutely Fabulous look good in comparison. So I wondered why the script writers thought that it was believable to portray a PR person in this way? You can understand a politician or a banker being shown unsympathetically, but why a PRO? Whenever I tell people who don’t work in a related industry that I work for a PR magazine, they often have a sketchy idea of what PR is, or what PR people really do. And the name Max Clifford often gets mentioned. I get the impression that the hazy image they do have of PR is not a positive one. But then again, probably not as negative as the idea they have about journalism. So as a journalist who works in the PR sector, it is hard for me to impress people at parties with my job, as this is seen as frivolous at best and unscrupulous at worst! So to help me win friends and influence people, it would be a great help if PR had a better image with the general public. As a journalist who completely depends on the skills and help of PR practitioners, I know what a talented, conscientious and hard-working bunch you all are. It would be nice if everyone else did too.