Hi all,
This will be very hard to explain without revealing all the details, but I'll have a go anyway.
PPR is doing the PR for a festival coming up in March that promotes children's literacy - basically, a whole bunch of famous (and not so famous) children's writers are holding workshops over three days with the kids that read their books. Sounds great, right?!
Well, I was given the opportunity to pitch a targeted media release to a variety of education and parenting media. Cool stuff, and I was a bit proud that PPR trusted me with that (even though I'd done it in my other job).
So anyway. I called up *XY* media. The editor said he was not going to run the article because of one minor thing that went against his personal "code" for the outlet (I can't tell you, it would give to much away!). So essentially, a media outlet that was supposed to be all for children's needs and good development wasn't going to mention an excellent, not for profit festival.
I let it go. We were going to get coverage in lots of other media, so it was their loss I figured. BUT the client heard about this, and her boss casually mentioned it to their local MP, who had had dealings with the editor before.
So now it has escalated into a big drama! The MP's office called me today to hear my side of the story, and everyone PPR and the client's office knows what going on. The editor will probably get a telling off, and he will probably not cover anything PPR sends to him again! Yaaah!
But anyway, the point of the story was to discuss ethics. Is it alright not to print something newsworthy and valuable because you think it might have a negative effect on your readers? (Well, negative in his mind anyway). Particularly is the case where this story is a very good cause, not like we're promoting something frivolous or unhealthy. Is it right to be so blatant about it? Should I have taken note of this and escalated it myself?
Questions which I think can't really be answered without me giving you all the details. Sorry, it's confidential :)
But personally, I thought it was pretty wrong, and everyone at PPR agrees. So everyone, just watch out for some journalists. Everyone has their own agenda (right or wrong) that you have to be aware of. I would heartily recommend talking to people in the office before calling anyone in the media up, just to get a bit of background so you know if there are any issues like this!
See ya,
Krish
Bentley
3 comments:
Hey there,
I agree with you.
In PR, there are many things to be aware of especially when it touches etiquette. As long as it does not clash with the set of etiquette of the organisation or even yourself, it's okay.
Hope that you're gaining a lot out of your practical training.
Cheers :)
Hi,
Yes Krish, it does happen that news which is worthy printing ends up being denied it when journalists feel it will have a negative impact on their audiences. I agree with you that different people have different agendas that may either be right or wrong to some people. What usually matters most is what people believe is right and wrong, and how others feel about it. If you come up with something that you feel is right but the journalists feel the other way, they will definitely move it aside. My advice to you is to have as many media contacts as you can because like we mentioned before, different people have their own agendas; therefore some may have the same as you and you may get coverage.
I seriously would love to hear your story but due to the 'confidential' reason, too bad for me.
Well, so far, in my internship period for two months,I did not encounter to such problems, maybe i am lucky, all the events that we asked for the journalists to cover did not offend their code of ethics.
Well, i guess, as a professional we have no right to say what the journalist did is right or wrong as we might not really fully understand journalists code of ethic but i guess the journalist always got the choice to choose and to follow or disobey the code.
If the journalist thinks that, the issue that you sent has offended the ethics, I am sure the journalist could reason that.
Sometimes, majority does not mean that the decision is correct. You get me？
Some issue for you, you might think is right, but not necessarily for me.
I guess, it is a good learning expereince for you to meet and encounter so many different type of incidenr.
As a professional, what we could do is to opt for another way, look for another media who is willing to go for the story.:)
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