We're Here, We Do PR, Get Used To It (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Quit Your Pitching
A shel of my former self
Following UK blogger Tom Coates’ rant about receiving PR pitches through his popular blog, Shel Holtz reminds bloggers that not all PR pitches are useless and a certain amount of bad pitching is the price you pay to receive the occasional “useful nugget.” Shel compares ignoring any and all pitches out of protest may work against a blogger and deny their audience information that they may actually find useful or interesting; he arguest that to lump good blog outreach in with spam is the wrong approach. “I’ll speak from my own personal experience: I have never been rebuked for one of my blogger outreach efforts; more often, I have been praised by bloggers who appreciate that I’ve done my homework. I really have read their blogs. I really do believe that my client’s message is relevant and of interest to their readers. I ask first in a personal email if I can forward the content. And I’ve pretty much always been right. That’s not to say there aren’t PR practitoners who spam bloggers or otherwise fail to execute proper blogger outreach. But for goodness sake, do we really want to throw the baby out with the bathwater?”

Straight Talk
Common Sense PR
As far too many public relations pros and other communicators attempt to liven up press releases and other writing with fifty-cent words and flowery prose, Eric Eggerston reminds us all that straightforward communication is the way to go. Say what you need to say in the most distinct way possible, but beware of being too informal. The line between straight talk and inappropriate is unfortunately somewhat thin. “Trying to fluff up your verbiage to impress people doesn’t work. But that doesn’t mean you should talk to everyone the way you talk to your friends at the bar. Good emotional intelligence calls for subtle shifts in your language and tone based on who you’re talking to.”

Time TV
The Flack
Responding to an Ad Age story that announces that Time’s popular entertainment magazines will be contributing to three TV specials promoting ABC’s fall lineup of returning programs, Peter Himler wonders how the participation of the media will affect their objectivity. He notes that participation in the programs will no doubt help promote the magazines in a time when print media is rapidly declining, but is suspicious of the media outlets’ decision to potentially undermine their ability to remain unbiased. “I just wonder how balanced these journalists will be in their "critiques" of the fall programming. Are they being paid for their appearances in these entertainment preview programs? And what benefit does the magazine really derive other than the magazine's brand appearing in the super below their reporters' cheerful faces? I mean they're touting someone else's product not their own.”