Comments for an Inconvenient PR Truth

Comment on Bill of Rights by Edward Hasbrouck

Edward Hasbrouck — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 15:26:13 +0000

Like a growing number of journalists and bloggers, I have a page on my site telling journalists and marketers “How to Pitch Me”. Unfortunately, few marketers or p.r. people seem to read it, especially if they are relaying on media lists obtained from third parties.

Media directories and list brokers could do both their clients and the targets of their pitches a favor by recognizing “How to Pitch Me” pages as a mutually beneficial best practice, and by including a dedicated (optional) field in their databases for a “How to Pitch me” URL distinct from, and in addition to, the general URL of the blog itself. (It would also be mutually beneficial, although less critical, to have a dedicated optional field for the URL of a disclosure and/or disclaimer page, to include such things as the policy for accepting freebies and the sponsorship and financial disclosures required in the USA by the FTC guidelines.)

Media directories and list brokers could also include some of the principles in this bill of rights as conditions of their contracts with their customers. In particular, they could require that purchasers of their lists (1) identify the source of the list in all messages sent to addresses on the list, (2) include a valid reply address and opt-out link in all such messages, (3) delete listings on request of the data subject or if notified by the directory or list broker that the address should be removed, and (4) not contact a journalist or blogger supplying a “How to Pitch Me” URL without first reading that page and complying with its terms.

It’s the media directories and list brokers who really have the greatest power to set the norms and, to some degree, to enforce best practices through the terms of their contracts and their willingness to actually enforce complinace with those terms by their customers.

Comment on Inconvenient PR Truth Second Survey Launched – Please Help by La revue du lundi par We Are Social #12 | we are social

La revue du lundi par We Are Social #12 | we are social — Tue, 18 May 2010 09:12:58 +0000

[...] au rôle des RP avec les blogueurs n’hésitez pas à répondre à l’enquête “Une vérité RP qui dérange” qui circule en ce moment (en [...]

Comment on Inconvenient PR Truth Second Survey Launched – Please Help by We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #25 / we are social

We Are Social’s Monday Mashup #25 / we are social — Mon, 17 May 2010 16:14:48 +0000

[...] nothing to see here. But if this a topic that particularly interests you then I recommend the Inconvenient PR Truth survey that is going round right [...]

Comment on Bill of Rights by Aspectconsulting.fr » PR ou Pollution Répétée ?

Aspectconsulting.fr » PR ou Pollution Répétée ? — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 14:28:20 +0000

[...] envoi d’une quantité colossale d’informations polluantes pose l’urgence d’une charte établissant des relations respectueuses et équilibrées entre les émetteurs et leurs [...]

Comment on Bill of Rights by Sarah Lafferty

Sarah Lafferty — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:28:04 +0000

The main problem I have with the “Bill of Rights” is that it reduces the entire PR practice down to the act of press release distribution, which in my experience is – thankfully – slowly dying a death in favour of promoting ideas and exclusive stories. The latter tactics can only be executed successfully through one to one conversations after having carried out extensive research on the issue and the target publication. In that sense these tactics inherently mitigate the sort of mindless bad behaviour that press releases, by their very nature, entertain – not just on the part of PR people, but clients and journalists as well. So to summarise I believe we must be brave enough to counsel our clients against relying on the press release as a tool for achieving most PR objectives. I think that my good colleagues is the more Inconvenient Truth.

Comment on Response to the campaign – links to posts and conversation by Eva Shirokova

Eva Shirokova — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 15:13:10 +0000

The campaign in Bulgaria:

Apeiron Communication Blog http://apeironcommunication.com/blogs/corporate/неудобната-пр-истина/

CIPR Students’ Blog http://apeironcommunication.com/blogs/cipr/2010/02/09/an-inconvenient-pr-truth-campaign-%E2%80%93-a-new-beginning-or-not/

Comment on FAQs – Animation by Media relations: it’s about relationships, not spam : Behind the Spin

Media relations: it’s about relationships, not spam : Behind the Spin — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 21:24:45 +0000

[...] a comment on my blog Realwire’s Adam Parker said where I could find a rationale for their name. He sees the problem as one that people are reluctant to tackle head on and draws the analogy with [...]

Comment on Activists by Irrelevance – the new pollution? « Joujou de Normandie

Irrelevance – the new pollution? « Joujou de Normandie — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:48:45 +0000

[...] ar fi necesara din punctul meu de vedere all over the world si este construita astfel incat oricine o poate sustine. In ceea ce priveste piata autohtona, cred ca PR spamul va creste influentat de cel putin 2 [...]

Comment on Activists by Irrelevenace – the new pollution? « Joujou de Normandie

Irrelevenace – the new pollution? « Joujou de Normandie — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 08:46:02 +0000

Comment on Bill of Rights by Chris White

Chris White — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:56:37 +0000

As someone who had to deal with irrelevant press releases on a day-to-day basis at my local newspaper, I can say it is frustrating to be sent things that are in no way relevant. But conversely, as someone studying PR and slowly making my way into the industry, this seems to push some sense of self-importance to the limit.

Journalism and PR need one another, it’s an undeniable fact. Wasn’t it Peter Wilby who said “PR, far more than journalism, shapes the news agenda”. I’m not trying to suggest that PR is merely a tool for manipulation, but in taking such a hard line, aren’t you risking alienating yourselves from those whom you need? And who need you?