This is a media pitch I delivered by email at 4 p.m. ET March 3, 2011. If you’re on board and support the public relations profession fighting back with a balanced and positive blog post of its own on the New York Times small-business blog, then please indicate yes in the comments section. If you’re wondering whether Gini Dietrich knows about this; she has been forewarned! (For those just tuning in, search on the NYX for “P.R., restaurateur, Hamptons.”)
credit: businesspundit
Mr. Loren Feldman, Small Business Editor
You’re The Boss Small-Business Blog; The New York Times
Hi, Loren:
The pulse on You’re The Boss in several columns has been lacking in, shall we say, balanced professionalism, and I’d like to suggest your consideration of a perspective written by a public relations agency CEO, Gini Dietrich. In every profession there will be those who do not uphold standards, ethics, civility, respect, and the like; we agree there are those in public relations giving others a bad name. I’d like the opportunity to lend perspective to what is highly disturbing to me and many of my colleagues – the one-sided bashing of a profession at large for the behavior of a few.
Gini makes an effort via her blog, Spin Sucks, and as a guest author on many other blogs to set the record straight against shoddy public relations and clients, as well.
The post she’d write, however, would not be a point-counterpoint; it would instead communicate the value of public relations, the strength of relationship necessary between client and firm, and the factors that weigh in that relationship to be successful. In this era of instant communication, the relationship between client and agency is precarious and thoughtful strategy is required.
Gini has a strong influencer presence in North America; she is a natural educator in our profession, and as a thought leader, small business owner, and CEO of her firm, she absolutely knows what it takes to service clients. Please consider a guest post from her (short bio below), and we can provide more in-depth info should you need it.
Thanks for your consideration,
Jayme
OK. I was forewarned, but my cheeks just became a brilliant pink.
Word.
The NYT has lost a lot of credibility when they admitted their journos were using fake quotes, now it has become the soap box for a fish and fries joint owner. Should Gini stoop down or raise the debate to a better platform?
It’s not in my personality to stoop down. Rather I’d push to educate and change the perception. So many people (I’d say 90% of those we meet with) think PR is getting in the NY Times. When, in fact it’s only one (small) facet. We’ve not done a good job of doing our own PR. I’ve started that through Spin Sucks, Jayme is pushing it here, and now it’s time to educate major media.
Echo to Gini, too, and John thanks for coming by. What suggestions re a better platform? NYT national daily and has amazing global reach (perhaps not blogs), but just irked this jamoke can take us down without some published balance. This goes hand in hand with the cat-claw relationship journos have always had with PR anyway (they’re loving this).
Exactly, the journos love this, poking fun at these ‘snake oil salesmen/women’ in PR. Let’s not go into the whole ‘who helps you do your job’ debate. But this is what I meant by platform, perhaps taking the discussion away from their turf..
I understand, and with Erica above, we’re all in synch what needs to occur. Wonder when those guest commenters on NYX SB Blog get to be changed; that’s where we need to stick our noses in and get a series of columns ala the previous jamoke but use it as a platform to educate and teach and hopefully turn around the rancor. Wishful thinking…it’s like we need a national pitch team to find these opportunities for the leaders in the profession.
They kind of opened the door a bit John, so I think it’s one of several appropriate platforms. The other catch there is: are the people who need to be so educated and informed going to read the NYT? reading good PR blogs? Do they dismiss the “PR vs. publicity” debate as semantics? IDK.. I’d except that the most PR reporters and editors see is in fact media relations, which is part of a general misconception. I think of any movie or TV character “in PR” when really, that person is a publicist. I know the difference, others don’t .. so like Gini, I think the industry DOES need to push and educate about the profession as a whole. FWIW.
You’ve hit the nail on my head; exactly, Davina. I’m pushing into a new tactic — it’s up to us to change perception and we need to take action and get out of the PR peer confines and take this broader. Perhaps, John, that’s what your thinking was from the get go? I’m thinking out loud; seeking input. Thanks, D!
John, please, take the time to check out his restaurant’s link. It is definitely not a “fish and fries joint…”https://www.southforkkitchen.com/
I’ve been following this issue because my daughter is a guest blogger and involved in social media. I’ve been extremely impressed with both the tone and quality of all comments so far. I’m a little disappointed in your characterization of his business, plus astonished that you didn’t take the time or make a effort to see what his business was truly about.
Hi Karen thanks for your comment. When restaurant owners paint with the same brush an entire profession, shouldn’t restaurant goes also do the same?
Amen to this! Yes, indeed! Si!
I know what John is referring to (stooping), but I totally agree with Soulati and Gini in that we need to meet the ‘ranter’ where he is and now where the readers have gathered. A balanced perspective is called for. Whether or not the NYT will bite (well-written pitch, by the way!), is another story…and that story could be taken elsewhere to another venue, should this one not fly. Just a suggestion.
I just had a thought in my reply to John…a national PR pitch team to uncover opps for PR leaders to educate en masse…take this to the next level, Erica! What thoughts?
Jayme, you are on fire! I’ll put more thought into my response and come back here or on Spin Sucks with some ideas.
YES YES YES!!! It’s high time PR does PR for itself. I thought PR in the west was different to that in India. But following PR people on twitter made me realise the issues we face in India are not too different from what you’ll face. Bruce’s post took me back to fond memories of a restauranteur I consulted with eons ago. I think I was his 3rd agency. He just didn’t want to listen to anyone or anything and was hell bent on his own ideas. So a month later we shook hands n said bye.
It’s a great idea that Gini write. I’m not too knowledgable about her but she seems like she knows her stuff. Maybe can teach a thing or 2 about PR to the Small Business section.
The problem is that clients think PR are magicians and do not need any involvement form them. I tell my clients if I do not get a minimum number of hours with their key executives then PR is a waste.
Anyways, I hope PR gets a column and educate the rest on what it can do and what to expect.
Rgds
G
This encouragement is going to push me closer to making this idea happen, Gautam! If you’d like to write a guest post about PR in India, I welcome and invite that here. To do so, my email is jayme at soulati dot com How about it! Thank you for sharing.
hmm interesting.. let me work on something over the weekend.. never actually written anything on my profession 🙂 and now i actually straddle both sides of the fence client and agency 🙂 I’m the Devil and the Deep Sea .. lol
It’s so true that the clients have to be involved. Just like they think if they have a Facebook page, people will flock to them, they don’t fully understand the hard work it takes to build awareness and gain credibility. It’s a marathon, not a sprint, and we all have to keep educating our clients on this fact.
Totally agree with you Gini. PR is long term not a quick fix solution. Takes years to build a reputation and a brand but can be destroyed in the blink of an eye. Client’s inputs are important but they should know when to back off and let PR do its things and trust us. There are some consultancies that do use unscrupulous methods who do damage our reputation. And the client’s only remember this.
I have straddled both sides of the fence at different points in time in my 11 odd years and currently straddle both – as a solo PR / advisor to a bigger consultancy for one of its client’s, as a business owner of a retail venture and tech startup. For my businesses, I leave it to the pros though am terribly passionate about PR but am too involved in them to give it an unbiased PR approach. I collaborate with my PR guys and act as a guide and leave the rest to them. More business owners should do that rather than telling PR what has to be done.
When you get a chance to craft a post for me, Gautam, I’d be fascinated how you straddle both sides. The influence of PR cannot be ignored, and I find I’m always generating ideas naturally for everyone’s business (although my own suffers). Wonder how you turn that off for your retail/tech venture?
Sorry if this is a little off topic: One thing I thought a little… off I guess, when reading the original piece then other pieces was the discovery that the “blog” this person brought to the restaurant as an asset was in fact this NYT blog. And that by way of small business advice, this person wrote about his own business. A lot. I LIKE the real world, “from the trenches” anecdotes as that’s what connects the readers. These read a little too personal, self-promotional. Not as advice to other businesses about dealing with construction problems this or opening delays that or helpful advice in finding someone to handle PR; just as personal from-the-SMB-owner rants about these issues. IDK I have a blog for my business, but don’t write or promote my own business therein as much. I rant and rave sure, hopefully also manage to inform, educate maybe even entertain in the process. I do write for my audience (current and potential) and the pieces I’ve read didn’t read like they were for me, more for the writer.
BTW he has a response piece online, much of the same in which he dissects the comments of one pro-PR person, nicknaming him SpinMan! IDK.. I’d still have to taste at least some of the food, see the movie, read the book, see the musical, at least see the plans and designs and location for a new hotel, etc. before I could do my job effectively. The flip side, companies hype crap movies and such all the time right? FWIW.
This alludes to the “credibility” issue of NYX. How can they permit this dude’s rant consistently (as Gini says, it’s selling via hits, clicks, impressions) when he was charged with a theme more oriented to what you said above. I agree with you, and this is definitely not off topic. All of us are shaking heads trying to understand. You’ve pinpointed the crux of the issue.
Yes, please. If Gini can’t make people see the value of the PR profession, then I pity the new round of business owners/executives missing out on the effective management and strategy of their communications. Oi!
I don’t know if anyone can make people like this blogger see the value, but I think we all should try!
We’ve seen that he is one-sided; not amount of logic or reasoning is going to sway him and so doing all this the way we are feels right to me and so much more to come from us; we’re not done!
I love the approach with this pitch and the common effort to help NYT readers better understand the value of PR, particularly to the business community. I hate to be the black hat in the creative wind here, however, but I have my reservations (though I do hope it does!). Here’s why: When the first PR-bashing blog post went up last week, I had a brief conversation along these same lines with The Times’ small business editor, Loren Feldman, offering a similar perspective from PRSA. I expressed many of the same points as you, Jayme, but he wasn’t interested in any of it. That’s not to say that this effort won’t work (and I certainly think your approach is creative and one of the better ideas I’ve seen), but just that The Times hasn’t been too open to an outside opinion in this regard, at least from my experience. And to be honest, I have a sneaking suspicion that if The Times was open to a differing opinion, it would never have published the blogger’s second post and would have ask him to have an actual conversation with a PR professional, rather than pulling apart and ridiculing a random comment.
So here’s how PRSA responded to the NYT blogger: Rosanna Fiske, PRSA chair and CEO, wrote a comment on the original post (https://ow.ly/4840m). She offered PRSA’s perspective and empathy for the blogger, who does appear to have struggled in some ways with his business. She also sought to clear up some of his (and some of the NYT readers’) misconceptions about PR, including its high ethical standards and that PR is not a short-term fix, but a long-term relationship that businesses must be willing to engage in to reap its rewards.
It’s unfortunate, though, that The Times allowed the blogger to continue ranting against PR without even offering an outside perspective. The blogger’s follow-up post (https://ow.ly/484fQ) was one of the most condescending posts I think I’ve ever, and frankly, something that is unbecoming of The New York Times to publish, even in a blog setting (especially when The Times now manages its blogs much like its traditional print product).
Having said there, there is a silver lining to all of this: For one, it has evolved into an excellent dialogue about the strategic business value of PR (including this post and those of Gini). And as a representative of PRSA, I can’t tell you how happy and proud of our industry that makes me. Secondly, it allows for excellent, thoughtful responses such as this one from a Times’ blog commenter who asks if the blogger had fully contemplated the potential consequences of his post: https://ow.ly/484Gt
Keith Trivitt
Associate Director of Public Relations
PRSA
I am THRILLED with the attention and consideration you’ve given me here, Keith, along with that of your colleague, Arthur Yann, who replied to my What is PR? post yesterday. If I may, I’d like to re-purpose this comment in full as a blog post? I am strongly committed to showing the profession that the governing body is all over this. Please advise your permission?
This episode has me so incensed; and it is my responsibility as a 27-year veteran of this profession to set the record straight among the frontlines, youth, new business owners and the like who truly don’t understand what it is we do.
Since I have your ear (I hope for another moment), may I please beg of you to return to the PRSA definition of PR and update it? I even had trouble understanding it and it sounds very glass house. To battle the viral rancor, in my opinion, those running from PR who actually work in the discipline need to proudly wear and wave the banner. To get there from here, we need to educate the grassroots. I will try my best to make it so.
And Keith? The definition Rosanna provides in her comment is PERFECT for the PRSA version. I agree with Jayme – it should be updated!
Very happy to see that Rosanna’s comment has had such a positive impact for many PR pros, including you and Gini and several others I have heard from. While we can’t be on top of every issue concerning PR is out there (though we certainly try!), we do our best to advocate on behalf of broad issues that impact not only our profession, but the broader business community that uses PR services, as well as the media and public that interact with PR pros on a daily basis.
As for republishing Rosanna’s comment, I’m all for that. All I ask is that you attribute it to Rosanna and link back to the original comment from the NYT website: https://ow.ly/4840m
An update to the PRSA definition of PR is something we have been discussing internally for quite some time. As you note, an argument can be made that it could use a good dusting to bring it up to speed with today’s broader working definition of public relations. If you have any concrete ideas, I’d certainly appreciate hearing them and would happy to pass those along.
Feel free to send me a note at: keith.trivitt@prsa.org with any suggestions.
If you happen to track this blog in the future, I launched a What Is PR series yesterday. I got so many comments and I’ll use this objective and all the comments to help rework the PRSA definition of PR, Keith.
I hate to keep clicking on that NY Times article, but I wanted to read Rosanna’s comment. It was very good – void of emotion and full of education. It’s too bad he didn’t chose that comment to respond to in his second post.
It’s rather appalling to me that a national media outlet with huge influence chooses to run this crap. I get that it’s getting a lot of attention, but it’s bad PR. And bad PR is bad PR. It makes the blogger look bad and it’s beginning to make the Times look bad. I’m not going to stop reading them, but a few more of these and I likely will.
P.S. Thanks for the link to the second comment. I just got lost in reading the comments on the second post, which I swore I wasn’t going to do. I blame you! 🙂
Completely agree, Gini. One post blanketly bashing PR isn’t terrible (in general, I don’t mind people bashing PR so long as they a) offer a fresh perspective [e.g., don’t rehash the same tired, trite complaints of others]); and b) are open to differing viewpoints. But to publish a second post that is so completely condescending … to me, that’s taking it too far. The guy already made his point; why bash the very small business owners that The Times’ “You’re the Boss” blog purports to represent? I don’t get it.
I ALMOST commented, “Hey! I thought you were going to write about the “free” PR (i.e. a tweet is worth a thousand press releases),” but decided I don’t want to get in the middle of his narcissism.
Great discussion here. And, of course, I am a member of the Gini Dietrich fan club. But I also read Keith Trivitt’s comment with true interest. PRSA, led by Arthur Yann and now Keith Trivitt, has done a tremendous amount over the past couple of years to give us, as members of the profession, tools we can use to help spread the positive word about what we do. If you haven’t seen it, be sure to look at the Business Case for PR and use any of the materials there however you can. The link: https://bit.ly/hEw6Xc. Together we can make so much more headway than we can as individuals.
Totally agree we need to make headway together!
Thanks, Mary, for the suggestion. I just went to the site and will inform others to do the same. Appreciate you stopping by here.
It’s late night here in India and I haven’t really had the time to go thro’ your blog in much detail but guess what – it was the NYT rancorous article via which I chanced upon your tweet and then your blog! I’d like to believe therefore that despite its content, the article has had its value in raising a storm and in offering an opportunity for several PR folks to comment about the role and value of PR and build a groundswell of favourable opinion – as also in bringing professionals together. When I tweeted about the first post in NYT, I actually flagged the comments as a point of interest. I agree, as has been said elsewhere, that we often don’t do enough to promote our discipline so perhaps these kinds of articles have a positive effect in catalysing action.That apart, I’m not sure how many readers would actually take the two articles seriously enough particularly after the second post. Has it caused much of a discussion outside of the PR fraternity – I’d be curious to know.
Hi, Melissa! You’ve hit it spot on; what that bloke did for the profession (we who care, anyway) is incite unity. It feels good to be passionate about public relations with a select few who want to uphold our standards. I’ve invited a recent commenter here, also from India, to guest post on this topic and to share how the profession is shaped in your country. If you’re game, please join that invitation. I’m guest posting on Quest PR blog in England sometime this week on this exact topic, so we’ll have a ping-pong match or table tennis! And, so, it’s your serve! Thank you for taking your late evening to share!
YES YES & YES…Love it!