The recent brouhaha (I wrote this post so I could use the word “brouhaha”) over The New York Times’ decision to bar tech columnist David Pogue from serving as a paid speaker at PR conferences underscores the perpetually fraught dynamic between journalists and PR professionals.
Arthur Brisbane, the paper’s public editor who moved to take action against Pogue’s participation in such events, notes, “The “Pitch Me” presentation might strike some as pretty harmless. But there is a reason why The Times ethics policy proscribes it. Times readers deserve to be assured that journalists don’t get too cozy with the P.R. professionals who strive to influence coverage.”
Here’s the thing: Journalists have been participating in these types of events and relying on PR pros/their clients for ages. A PR person’s objective is to get his/her client’s story heard. That involves knowing key influencers (reporters, editors, producers, bloggers, etc.), building relationships, and crafting and delivering stories in a way that makes them stand out. A journalist’s objective is to find a good story and tell it in an engaging and balanced way. These goals are not in direct conflict. A good journalist does reporting and research to determine what’s really newsworthy and to get a picture of the broader context. Relationship building is very much part of the process for both parties.
Interestingly, in this era of overwhelming 24-7 digital communication journalists actually seem to be more open than ever to face-to-face meetings. Case in point: I was in The New York Times offices just a couple weeks ago introducing my client, a professor at IMD, a business school in Switzerland, to a colleague of Pogue’s at The New York Times. I was able to interest the reporter in taking the meeting by presenting my client as a potentially useful resource for the types of stories he typically writes. It was, of course, up to the journalist to evaluate my client’s information and expertise. I’d have to be some kind of magician to talk him or any other good reporter into writing a story with no news value, so Brisbane’s underlying concern about journalists and PR people getting “too cozy” strikes me as an underestimation of the writer’s competency.
What’s your feeling about it?
After getting a lot of “feedback” (read: brouhaha) Brisbane’s now working on a follow up column “PR professionals: bane or a boon?” and he’s seeking input, so weigh in here, there, or in both places, if you’d like.