Editor-turn-publicist Keith O'Brien likes the future of PR.

At a time when some bloggers and journalists are saying PR is dead, a well-respected one is betting his future on PR.

In an interview with PRNewser earlier this week, the editor-in-chief of PR Week, Keith O’Brien, announced that he’s leaving his position at the magazine to join New York-based agency Attention! PR, whose clients include The Daily Beast, Consumer Reports, SocialMedia.com and Mashable.com.

In his first post on the Attention blog, titled “Why The Future Of PR Lies In Social Media,” O’Brien said he’s making the move because he believes the public relations industry is fundamentally changing and he wants to be part of it.

Shared O’Brien:

People no longer solely consume top-down media, they create and share their own. This explosion in content, coupled with the finite amount of consumer attention, means brands must figure out new, creative ways to communicate. It is an exciting time for media and marketing, and I’d like be involved directly.

We here at Wicked PR couldn’t agree more with O’Brien. Indeed, PR is not only far from dead but it is actually best positioned to help brands leverage the social web to communicate with consumers and measure its effectiveness. True, many public relations firms continue to pitch off topic, pitch the wrong reporters or simply just don’t get social media, but those who do get it– i.e. know how to talk with consumers and not at them and know how to engage them, not push them away–can best serve brands online.

I look forward to hearing more from O’Brien after he starts at Attention on April 29, and you can expect more about the future of PR here at The Wicked Blog. Tell O’Brien congrats via Twitter @keithobrien.