One of my esteemed colleagues, Jonathan Goodman, posted an additional comment on one of Mark's latest postings titled Blogger Relations - Don't Get Blacklisted!
It referenced a great article from PRWeek covering this story titled PR blacklist won't fix imperfect system, and I felt it needed it's own face time as well.
Please read the article in its entirety, but in the meantime here are some highlights:
Wired.com senior editor Dylan Tweney expresses frustration with the system, but says that journalists don't have many options in dealing with mistargeted pitches. Tweney finds reporter blacklists futile. In regards to Anderson's prior blacklist, he notes that, as editor-in-chief, Anderson's job is not to sort through a barrage of unsolicited press releases, so even without a blocked e-mail, blanketed pitches sent to an editor-in-chief would probably be overlooked.
Interesting.
Jason Falls, social media explorer at Doe Anderson, as well as a blogger, says that while he felt making a PR blacklist public was childish, it would ultimately motivate agencies to get better about pitching.
Glad to see McCarthyism is alive and well in modern day journalism.
Todd Defren, principal at Shift Communications, whose agency appeared on Trapani's list, admits the PR industry makes embarrassing pitching mistakes, but noted the imperfect system.
"In our case, it's 'spam if we do and damned if we don't,'" he writes on his blog, PR Squared. "In your case, it's spam if you don't want it (even if we truly think it may be relevant), but damned if you want a competitor to scoop you on an agency's one great pitch."
I can see Todd’s chalk-dusted hands now.
Susan Getgood, social media and marketing consultant, says that PR pros too often pitch bad stories that are not targeted to the journalist and do not address important issues. However, she suggests that bloggers-turned-journalists should also approach blacklists with caution because of the role reporters serve for the public. Traditionally, she says reporters consider it their job to be an intermediary between the public and the source of the news and to weed through pitches to find out what is newsworthy and would have the biggest impact on their readers.
A-Ha!
And lastly, just because I believe in the fair and balanced, I really enjoyed another blogger’s message to PR folk. I had been searching for parenting blogs (we’re due with our first child in September), and came across Motherhood Uncensored:
Attention PR People: If you are emailing to ask me to write up a contest, promotion, service, or anything that doesn't involve me getting paid, you buying an ad, or me receiving something really cool like a Little Giant Ladder (I'm a homeowner now. Apparently I need one.) then please skip over my email address, or send your inquiry here. We'd be more than happy to help you not piss off bloggers.
Trust me. I know what I'm talking about.
Posted by Kevin GrossmanLabels: blogger relations, media pitches, media relations, PRWeek
