A pitch from a PR pro who doesn’t ‘have the time’ to read blogs

21 Nov

Posted by: BryanPerson in: Recommendations

This is an admission from a PR person who was unsuccessful in pitching me by e-mail earlier this week:

We don’t have the time to read everyone’s blog – your description says ‘Person is a blogger who writes about social media’ and when we see that, it is what fits our category – just so you know, I don’t pitch everyone who comes up directly under social media or Internet, I screen through the descriptions and email those I feel fits what I am looking for. So no – I did not read your particular blog but I did read through your description.

Well, at least she’s honest.

7 Responses

Mikal
21|Nov|2008 1

Dude, if you didn’t post about this today, that would have made four posts on your own blog in the last 51 days. If you ask me, I’m surprised she pitched you in the first place.
BryanPerson
21|Nov|2008 2

No kidding, huh? But since she didn’t bother to check out my blog, she didn’t know that!

I hope to do better …
Michael Sommermeyer
21|Nov|2008 3

I just returned from a conference featuring some of the media’s finest and they were very critical of blogs. Linda Deutsch of the Associated Press even called blogging silly and that she spent too much time at her computer already to have the time to read a blog. So if elite media don’t read them, then I don’t see any problem in at least being honest in your pitch. Unless of course, it was a serial blast letter and you fell for it.
Todd Defren
21|Nov|2008 4

Send her a bookmark!
http://www.pr-squared.com/2007/11/prsquareds_social_media_tactic_4.html
Mikal
21|Nov|2008 5

Michael,

I’m intrigued by the notion of “elite media” and the “media’s finest.” What exactly do those terms mean why does it matter? Related: while attending this conference, did you let “the media” know that most of us ordinary folk are very critical of the job they do?
BryanPerson
22|Nov|2008 6

@Michael:

I can assure you that journalists are reading blogs. In fact, in a recent survey of mainly reporters and editors from mainstream and online media publications from the Society for New Communications Research, 68% of respondents said they use blogs in reporting and 70% read blogs to “keep up on issues or topics of interest.”

Now, that doesn’t mean all journalists read blogs or that journalists consider information on blogs as gospel (if they’re good journalists, they’ll always use multiple sources to confirm their information), but many certainly consider at least some blogs and bloggers credible.

This is tied into the increased pitching of bloggers by PR folks. I just want to see the lazy pitching stop!
Jen Zingsheim
09|Dec|2008 7

I find this disturbingly hilarious. This, to me, crystallizes what I’ve always suspected about bad PR blog pitches: PR people, especially at the lower ranks/entry level, are very busy. And, since they are billing, they don’t have a lot of time to read blogs (especially if it clients haven’t signed off on it–taking the time could mean a big increase in billable hours).

Maybe she doesn’t like her job much, or it’s a weird way to maybe garner some Anderson-like attention by being called out by name?

Or, she’s just refreshingly honest.

Jen