In Dealing with grumpy editors, Dan Kaufman writes:
I don’t understand why PRs give editors exclusives – because for the most part it does the PR and their client more harm than good.
You see, if a story is newsworthy then it’ll run anyway – and if it isn’t then giving it as an exclusive isn’t going to make much difference.
Kaufman goes on to say if a PR gives an editor a decent story as an exclusive, it will upset other editors. He actually says piss off, but this is a family web site.
This happens all the time here in New Zealand. And it’s counter-productive.
It’s common to wake up and read a so-called exclusive story then later in the day get a press release covering the same ground. Often this happens when a public relations person thinks they might get sympathetic or splashy coverage of their story if they play favourites.
Nine times out of ten the stories ‘leaked’ this way are rubbish – they read more like advertising than news. The editors giving the press release an early run have been manipulated into becoming part of a marketing exercise.
My response to this is to stop trusting the PR person behind the leak. This means they’ll have difficulty slipping any more of their propaganda past me. In extreme cases I’ve ignored any further communication from the source. And I’ve been known to make a formal complaint to the client. In one case I had to tell a PR’s other clients I could no longer work with their agent.
