Journalists Should Not Be Taken Hostage
13 Jun
"You there, with the reporter in your paws…I say! Put down that journalist, sir!"
Generally speaking, I’m not a fan of taking people hostage. Especially when the captives are reporters I’m counting on to write nice things about me. Call me old-fashioned, but rule #1 of media relations ought to be “Don’t piss them off.” So I couldn’t help but chuckle when I read the Obama campaign hijacked about 25 members of the media and flew them to Chicago – without a certain presidential candidate aboard the plan.
The reporters were unamused, to put it mildly. But don’t worry..the O-Team aren’t the only ones who need a media mulligan. Here are a few of my all-time favorite media relations gaffes:
Microsoft’s PR Firm Goofs, Leaks Memo for Execs to Reporter
Ah, the classic “Oops, I sent that email to the wrong guy” mistake. Pointedly dumb when the memo describes a certain reporter as “tricky” and a guy who “digs for dirt,” and the inadvertent recipient is…wait for it…the reporter. D’oh! Wired posted the entire memo online.
FEMA Fake News Conference
Oh, FEMA, FEMA, FEMA…et tu? On October 23, 2007, FEMA held what it called a “news briefing” about the California wildfires with members of the press. But the reporters? Not reporters at all. They were FEMA staffers posing as reporters.
The fallout was fast and furious. White House press secretary Dana Perino was grilled by reporters. Agency chief David Paulison ripped the decision in an internal memo to staff. Director of External Affairs Pat Philbin lost his job. FEMA’s press secretary, Aaron Walker, resigned a week later. Time Magazine wrote a scathing report about FEMA’s ineptitude, and countless other media outlets joined the chorus of boos.
Lesson learned.
PR Industry Pisses Off Wired Editor Chris Anderson
Author, Wired Editor and prominent blogger Chris Anderson has had enough. After receiving nearly 300 pitch e-mails a day from PR flacks, Anderson created a blacklist of email addresses that were banned from his inbox. He took it one step further, publishing the addresses on his blog, publicly outing the PR pros and making their email addresses available to spambots. The move has sparked an ongoing debate, but one thing’s for sure: none of the 370+ PR titans will get a positive story from Anderson anytime soon.
Milk-Boner: Press Release Mistakes Dog the Doggie Snack Pack
This one’s not so much a media relations goof as a typo, but it’s just plain funny. In March, Milk-Bone issued a press release with the following headline.
MILK-BONER, AMERICA’S FAVORITE DOG SNACK, DONATES MORE THAN 40,000 POUNDS OF PRODUCT TO FEED THE CHILDREN IN CELEBRATION OF ITS 100TH ANNIVERSARY
Need I say more?
No comments yet