The importance of sitting in on interviews
While I wouldn’t call it a groundswell by any means, I was startled to encounter not one but two articles in a week that challenged the notion of having a public relations/corporate communications person sit in on interviews.
The first was this interview with Yann Martel by The Guardian‘s Stephen Moss, who admits that his first move is to ‘rather rudely insist that the young woman who is steering him round the UK and Ireland on the publicity tour for his new novel, Beatrice and Virgil, absent herself from the room while we talk.’
Ahem. I’m guessing Stephen Moss is a tad old school, shall we say, in terms of his views on PR folks? I think I might perhaps counter with the notion that anyone smart enough to get a more than one million dollar advance from a publisher in this day and age can probably figure out how to take a taxi by himself and get to an appointed meeting in a hotel, especially in a country where his own mother tongue is spoken. And that, therefore, the young woman’s role might have been just a bit more than merely that of courier/chaperone.
But then I saw this article from the fine folks at Knight Science Journalism Tracker at MIT, in which the suggestion was made that disclosure is necessary when a public information officer (who fills the role of a corporate communications or public relations person) sits in on an interview – and that the situation should be avoided at all costs to avoid having the interview ‘influenced.’ Read more »
Dwarf rapes nun: if it bleeds, it still leads
I had several other blog posts in mind but when the link above my email was this headline, I had to click on it and read the story.
It’s rare to see a semi colon in a headline, but given all the other dramatic news Maclean’s is fighting this week, between the shocking attacks in Mumbai and the roller-coaster ride the global economy is on, it obviously had to do something. Read more »
Out-Smarts and No Spin PR: colleagues, friends, strategic partners
At lunch with Mhairi Petrovic of Out-Smarts on Tuesday, we decided to form a strategic partnership between our two companies. It has, I think, been obvious to both Mhairi and me since we first met in February of this year at Northern Voice that we had similar outlooks on business, life, and success, as well as complementary skill sets that could benefit clients.
Within minutes of our arrival at the Waazubee Cafe it was also apparent that our mutual passion for strategic marketing communications and our love for the kind of technology that makes your life easier can only lead to good things. Read more »
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