In my daily scanning of various blogs and industry books, I came across this entry on TechCrunch which quickly captured my attention. It seems the folks handling Microsoft's PR mistakenly sent a briefing backgrounder on Wired editor Fred Vogelstein...to Fred. Yikes. Having merely skimmed the document itself and not digging too deep into this story, I can't say whether this is an all-out "PR crisis"...except for the fact that the briefing materials contained some not so-flattering remarks about Fred's interview tactics and writing style. Considering he now knows exactly what these folks think of him, it's not exactly an ideal relationship-builder.
I guess my initial reaction to this is "don't put those types of things on paper!" and that briefing sheets should focus more on tactics and key messages for clients to drive home, that the reporter is looking for, and less on information on the reporter itself. Those thoughts should be shared during a prep session, mock interview or even a brief phone call to go over the materials and make sure everyone is ready for the call.
What are your thoughts on this?
Comments (1)
I agree with your initial reaction to this story, Matt, in that a PR pro should not put those types of things on paper. Briefing sheets should contain the basic information that is needed to guide an interview. A briefing sheet should never act as a replacement for the PR person staffing the interview to keep the journalist (and the client) on the right track or offer assistance, as needed.
If the PR professional thinks that there is the potential for a journalist to ask some questions that aim to dig deeper than the surface message, then there is the perfect opportunity to hold a mock interview or information session before the briefing, as you mention above.
Posted by Andrew Rodger | March 28, 2007 2:13 PM
Posted on March 28, 2007 14:13