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two PR agents have tried to gaslight me into changing what was on the record/what happened in the same week. trust your skills, trust your ethics.
I have been thoroughly transparent and explanatory about my decision making in the process btw. Will prob come back and tweet some more abt the common misconceptions about journalism/how it varies from PR soon. Will not be naming names here. (for now)
It is extremely alarming to see this happening more often than when I started in 2014. It is also very stressful and time consuming as a local journalist with little time/resources to have to repeatedly explain that you are not allowed to “tweak” what was said/what happened.
I assume PR agents *do* know these misconceptions, btw; it does not feel, to me, like there is a genuine misunderstanding on other end when speaking with skilled PR professionals. But will try to point out some refreshers later as I think journalists owe it to public.
Coming back to this to mention that the source/client who has hired this PR person is also always relevant in these cases. I understand PR people also have a job to do.... In one this week, it was the principal of a (private, Catholic) high school who did not answer my call
inquiring how long an employee now facing sexual abuse allegations from a graduate (who was a student at the time) worked at the school. My VM was forwarded to a PR firm. After PR firm gave me response, I said in story “acc to PR firm hired by school.” (Cont. - )
PR asks me to correct my story. Exact phrasing was to make sure my story “reflected” that the principal said that. But here is the thing - he didn’t say that when I called him, and he certainly did not say, as a human communicating to a reporter, the written quote specifying -
that the school placed this coach on administrative leave immediately after student came forward. OK, I say, so when did he actually get fired? Prior comms from public safety did not mention the leave; one could have inferred he was fired instantly with the phrasing
Still don’t have the answer. Perhaps because I told him exactly what i tweeted here - that because the principal in fact did not choose to communicate with me and instead hired a PR firm to directly message me with info, the attribution should include that.
Story here: https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota-news/catholic-school-tennis-coach-charged-with-grooming-sexually-assaulting-student">https://bringmethenews.com/minnesota...
I get PR is hired by client to serve their client. But PR ~and clients~ should understand journalists do not work on behalf of them. This is a crucial part of a strong press/in many cases (involving public institutions), a strong democracy.
I’d also say in private cases, it’s key to a strong/just community. And just the general well being of people...?
CC: @HolyFamilyFire I am sure the community would still appreciate a clarified timeline and any other details on plans going forward.
Again. Journalists are kinda known for beefing with PR folks. I’m not interested in the whole trolling back and forth thing based on mere premise of profession. Can’t critique PR without asking: Who has the resources to use PR services? Why and how do they use it? And -
How will this impact media consumption/communities as PR jobs grow while journo jobs rapidly decline?
That’s why this matters. It’s not that I want to be petty with you and fight about words. It’s about transparency, independence, accountability and honesty (and minimizing harm when relevant). Communities deserve it. https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp ">https://www.spj.org/ethicscod...
The second case that sparked this thread involved a PR person suggesting to me that I “can not guarantee” what I heard (&typed notes/transcribed in real time) was what the client said. It is really not OK for a PR person/client to edit quotes after the interview has been done -
there are more reasons I can explain for this later. But suggesting to someone that they cannot trust themselves is also not OK, just in general. I did agree, against what I have been taught by editors/profs, to send quotes I planned to use
