The PR flacks are taking news and press into their own hands, crying down on journalists "You're not God anymore." (Yeah, we're familiar. This is the same source of beef the mainstream news media has with those obnoxious bloggers.)

At this year's PR Week magazine awards, flacks claim that they, too, are the gatekeepers of news journalism when it comes to great products. The fact that they make money off product placement is in no way biased to their judgement or brand preference, right?

“In a world where we don’t have a belief in a single source, you don’t have a Walter Cronkite anymore. P.R. is the discipline on the rise,” said Richard W. Edelman, president and chief executive of the public-relations firm Edelman.

“P.R.,” he said, “plays much better in a world that lacks trust.”

Edleman no longer has to schmooze his way into the Washington Post; now he can just post his own press on a blog. And while we agree that pampering a WaPo is a pretty futile effort, the lifespan for PR via blogging is surely brief. Once every flack and pubbie gets their own blog they'll all be filtered out like Viagra spam. Our advice? Keep the gift baskets comin'.

Especially over at mags like Allure and Cosmopolitan, the real PR goldmines, there is still tons of shmoozing to be done. Beauty editors expect at least 500 free products a week for a mere photo credit in the well.

And, of course, this whole theory will go kabosh once Katie Couric is over at CBS, once again restoring the public's faith and trust in the news media.

Publicists Lauded for Flackery; P.R. Gods Get Freedom From Press [Jason Horowitz, New York Observer]