Note from a fed-up journalist...
1 CommentSometimes, I think the truth hurts but needs to be said, in all its glory. Or maybe I should say "all its gory." To wit, this email from an actual journalist:
"Maybe someday you could do a post on how annoying it is for journalists to have to hunt down basic info that PR people either bury or omit -- like the GOD DAMN PHONE NUMBER OF THE ACTUAL RESTAURANT [instead of the PR firm just listing their own phone], their WEBSITE, their ZIP CODE [unnamed restaurant opening release listed here, deleted to spare the culprits] ...
I mean really, who is it about? It’s epidemic, and always has been. Even if the PR firm wants to be primary contact in order to take credit, we still need to REPORT THE BASICS ON THEIR CLIENT and shouldn’t have to HUNT THEM DOWN.
Recently I had an exhaustive email exchange with a 'PR person' in an effort to get the actual opening date of their client’s restaurant -- a four or five email exchange for which I NEVER GOT AN ANSWER and they MISSED MY DEADLINE."
SIGNED,
HAD IT UP TO HERE WITH THE LAZY AND/OR SELF-SERVING BULLSHIT
As someone who's had to write press releases (for advertising clients) but never really understood them as a form, maybe it's time to try to spread some entirely different, more usable format.There's something kind of weird about giving your information to journalists... in a form that imitates their work. It's like going to your doctor with a handwritten medical chart explaining what you think you might have. Why not devise some basic form that lays out all those fact-checky facts in bullet form, and then summarize the story in a paragraph. Then it would actually be something for the writer to work from in the case of a long story, or just to pick up in the case of a blurb, but not trying to turn it into an actual article that says "Journalist... you are very sleepy... I am a finished piece, run me as is..."