TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY, TRANSPARENCY…
March 10th, 2006
Speaking as someone who has rewritten more than his fair share of corporate press releases, I have to say that there is nothing new in the whole Wal Mart/Blogger flap. The hardest part for me was searching for some kernal of news in the three pages of single-spaced type from the flacks that would genuinely interest my readers.
And I always attributed any statement of fact to the company making the claim.
Jeff Jarvis has a similar set of rules that he’s throwing out for everyone to consider. I think they’re reasonable.
…I will repeat my rules for dealing with PR, rules that bloggers already tend to uphold but journalists do not. So this is suggestion to bloggers and a call to all journalists and news organizations to follow three simple guidelines for transparency regarding PR:
1. If a story starts as a pitch from PR, say so.
2. Any information in a story that comes from PR or a source with a vested interest should be identified as such.
3. Reveal any help you got from PR and official sources in doing a story: setting up interviews, lunches, digging up information.
If you don”t do that, we will trust you less.
I also like the fisking Jarvis offers of a flack mogel Richard Edelman. Edelman thinks he understands blogs. He doesn’t. Writes Jarvis:
Now I”d also say it”s frightening that the flacks think they are in control and ready to replace God. Plesser says flacks are the gatekeepers. He doesn”t see that this era is all about tearing down the gates and their keepers with them.
And I think Edelman”s off on his contention that PR plays much better in a world that lacks trust. No, I think it only becomes another cause for distrust: We wonder who”s behind the spin.
Whom do you trust?
My Soundtrack: The Marchers Are Coming by Dead Heart Bloom on WOXY.
I’m almost more offended not so much by them getting their ideas from flacks and not revealing, but not changing the order of the points and quotes from the emails. It’s sheer laziness, and good reason to avoid a blog that does it.
Shalom Jerry,
That’s true. You’re absolutely right. Laziness is a huge factor in all of this.
B’shalom,
Jeff