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Raw Data: How PR people feel about communicating with journalists practicing transparency
Transparency Note: Identification of Source Omitted
Below is an excerpt from an e-mail received from one of my
sources who notified me that the PR community's grapevine was
experiencing indigestion over my decision to publish some of my
correspondences with various public relations personnel. I think
it accurately captures an emotion that journalists who practice
transparency must be equipped to deal with. Next, I will
work with the PR community to come up with a set of best practices that
is respectful of PR professionals -- one that doesn't cause them to
shut down on journalists who practice transparency while still allowing
those journalists to, in the name of credibility, offer as much
transparency as possible.
*transparency note: since my source asked that their identity remain
confidential, I have removed any text that could serve as an
identifier.
==== Begin Excerpt ====
I think [what you're doing] will scare people. I don't know that
it means people *won't* pitch you, but it might make them think twice
about being aggressive or edgy with you. Especially since, for
example, the second email
wasn't even a pitch, it was a confirmation -- so you're posting things
beyond just the initial pitch. It won't scare me away, because we
have some type of relationship and I trust you. But if I didn't
know you, it would probably scare me.
I have no idea if [the e-mail about what you're doing] is widely
circulating. My co-worker got it from someone at another agency
who had forwarded it to people at probably three different
agencies. And I know that it go forwarded to [everyone at our
agency]. So, it may get around on a grassroots level very quickly?
And, yes, I think you could be more clear about why you're doing it,
because, for PR people, this may just appear to be a form of public
embarrassment. I know you, so I know you're not the type of
reporter to try to do that -- but some reporters do this kind of thing
for that reason, so it may be misread as that. Being more clear
about why and about the parameters, NDAs and such, would probably
help. I confess I'm not even clear about why you're doing
it. But if you help me understand, I'm happy to help you
figure out a way to make that more clear (from my perspective as a
PR-er).
==End of excerpt====
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