Wrong Tail Fiasco - A Step Backwards for PR

It has been a few days since Chris Anderson’s now infamous post on his Long Tail blog (Sorry PR People: You're Blocked), in which he outed what he called “lazy flacks" by publishing their email addresses (and implicitly inviting spammers to have at the names).

I did not want to call more attention to his post, but, after all this blog is called Flack’s Revenge, and what kind of revenge would it be if I remain silent? 

In a way it is sad because the whole affair perpetuates stereotypes about clueless PR reps who blindly flog their pitches about.

Many of the comments on his blog called Chris Anderson to task for not taking the high moral ground. So you also have the stereotype of the imperious journalist / author who does not suffer fools gladly, and who exacts swift and harsh retribution. 

In short, like a cheap Hollywood movie or tawdry paperback, no one comes out looking very good.

Also, there’s no neat little moral of the story to take away. If anything, this tells us how little things have changed in the field of PR / journalist relations. 

The short term effect might be that people will be much more careful about whom they pitch to and how they pitch, and this is not a bad thing of course. It is all too easy for bad pitches and pitchers to be outed these days.  All those blogs need daily feeding and that ill-timed pitch might just be fodder for someone who is in a cranky mood.

Then again, journalists are being called to task like never before by bloggers.

So it should continue to be a wild ride with everyone on guard and on edge, and much thrashing about in a very contentious way.

Perhaps it is also a good opportunity for us PR folks to contemplate our proper role and methods as the nature of media undergoes fundamental shifts. The stereotype of PR people as pitching machines does not serve us well.

We need to above all be good listeners and really understand the subject matter we work with. This has always separated the good PR reps from the flacks and hacks.

Transparency is the great equalizer. Journalists are increasingly wearing their attitudes on their own blogs. Even without that, there simply is no excuse for not understanding who you are trying to communicate with.

The common thread I hear from journalists is that they appreciate the good PR folks and are after long term relationships that are mutually beneficial, not one-off story ideas.  Our calling cards are information, contacts, sources, and the ability to tie these into a story. If we play these cards right we continue to show value for our clients, employers, and the journalists we work with.

Finally, methods evolve over time, and I think we are way past the point of reevaluating the central role of email in our communications. 

There are many, many other ways to have your voice heard these days.  RSS. Blogs. Wikis. Commenting on blogs. Social networks.  I know Anderson's complaint was not about the wrapper but about the approach and content.  But email is so closely associated with Spam, and it is all so easy to label (or mis label) email as Spam. IMHO email is the lazy person's way out. 

Tech journalist Jon Udell said it very eloquently several years ago in his series of posts: Contacting me: High Tech PR in the Age of Blogs (on the subject of RSS and blogs in media relations):

What's missing... is an appreciation of how awareness flows through blogspace. Communication, in this view, is a tactical missile launched by a PR agent and aimed at a journalist. News flash: I'm the wrong target. In fact, and counter-intuitively, blogging doesn't aim at any target!

In short, I don't want you to pitch things to me. And I don't want your clients to pitch things to me either, at least not directly. I do, very much, want them to speak in their own authentic voices, about the technologies and products and services that inspire their passion, to everyone who might have a reason to care. I want your clients to explain what they do, how they think, and why their efforts matter. And so, of course -- and more importantly -- do current and prospective customers.

In fact, in the same post he referenced Chris Anderson (how ironic!)

Chris Anderson put it nicely the other day:

Blogs are a way to "publish and forget" -- you fire the information out there, and interested people will find it. [SimpleGeek] 

Comments

[Alex W]

Did you go through that list? Recognize any names? :)

[Robert Geller]

Great to hear from you again Alex.

There are a ton of names and yes I do recognize at least one we both know, however not everyone agrees that the selection process was fair as you will see if you read through the comments.

[Jon Udell]

"In fact, in the same post he referenced Chris Anderson (how ironic!)"

Different guy!

[rgeller]

Jon, thanks for pointing this out, I should have checked this more carefully