The Perils of the Public Relations

[tahasozgen]

I am reading the magazine, The Economist, July 3rd 2021, and there is a paragraph that I cannot understand. The paragraph analyses the function of the public relations department of companies. The author divides public relations people into three different categories based on their attitude towards journalists.

The existence of these categories is not the only reason journalists have a love-hate relationship with the PR industry. However irritating PR people can be, they are often one of the only conduits for information about a company. And many hacks in their 30s and 40s opt to join the industry as a way of earning a bigger salary. In a sense, the relationship is an ecosystem, in which both parties regard the other as the parasites.

Let's dissect the paragraph sentence by sentence:

However irritating PR people can be, they are often one of the only conduits for information about a company.

What does the word “they” refer to in this context? Does this sentence mean the same as this sentence? “Getting real information from a company is to irritating public relations people.”

And many hacks in their 30s and 40s opt to join the industry as a way of earning a bigger salary.

hacks

- to cut into pieces in a rough and violent way, often without aiming exactly: Three villagers were hacked to death in a savage attack.
- in football and rugby, to kick the ball away or to foul (= act against the rules) by kicking another player in the leg.
- to get into someone else's computer system without permission in order to find out information or do something illegal.

What does this sentence mean? Thanks in advance.

 

[Milanya]

However, irritating PR people can be, they are often one of the only conduits for information about a company.

PR people are irritating, but they (PR people) are the only way to get information, so journalists have to put up with them (PR people).

And many hacks in their 30s and 40s opt to join the industry as a way of earning a bigger salary.

Some bad journalists (hacks) become PR specialists because PR job pays better.

hack 2 (second meaning)
[ hak ]

---

noun
- a person, such as an artist or writer, who exploits their creative ability or training in the production of dull, unimaginative, and trite work; one who produces banal and mediocre work for money in the hope of gaining commercial success in the arts: As a painter, he was little more than a hack.
- a professional who renounces or surrenders individual independence, integrity, belief, etc., in return for money or other reward in the performance of a task normally thought of as involving a strong personal commitment: The senator was widely considered a mere political hack.

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[tzfujimino]

Is there a comma after "However" in the original text?

I think it's wrong.

 

[emsr2d2]

What does the word “they” refers refer to in this context? Is Does this sentence mean the same with as this sentence?

What is does this sentence mean? Thanks in advance.

Note my corrections above. Take some time to study the use of the auxiliary "do/does" in questions.

 

[Barque]

Is there a comma after "However" in the original text?

I think it's wrong.

I think there's a typo there and it should be "However, irritating as PR people can be".

 

[emsr2d2]

There's certainly a typo but both of these are possible:

However irritating PR people can be, ...
However, irritating though/as PR people can be, ...

We have no way of knowing which error was made - it was either the addition of the incorrect comma, or the omission of a word.

 

[tahasozgen]

I have made a typo. There is no comma after however.

 

[Tdol]

Try It was a typo- no need to blame yourself for something we all do.