| You don't owe PR people anything
Author: Ed Williams
Published: August 30, 1999
Last Updated: September 23, 1999
Printer-friendly version
Time management
It’s their job to call you about their client, but
you don’t have to waste your time listening to them; just be polite about
it
Our nation’s economy has grown by nearly a third over the past decade,
and I know where most of that growth has occurred: in the public relations
industry, which some journalists regard as our grossest national product.
The hostility many of my fellow editorial page editors feel toward PR
people burst out recently in the online discussion group hosted by the
National Conference of Editorial Writers. My fellow opinion mongers described
with anger how the dramatic increase in calls from flacks annoyed them,
and with delight how fiercely they dealt with those intruders.
Maybe my colleagues just deal with a more irritating annoying branch
of the flack community than I do, but I’ve never felt such strong emotions
about any of them. I just keep this in mind:
-
They’re paid to serve their client’s interests, not mine. I’m free to decide
whether by some coincidence they may do both.
-
They don’t choose how I spend my time; I do.
With those two things in mind, when they call to ask if we received the
material they sent I say yes, no, or I don’t know. If my answer is yes,
I tell them if we have questions we’ll call them. If the answer is no,
I tell them they may assume the worst and send it again if they like. If
the answer is I don’t know, they may either send it again or assume they
did it right the first time.
I don’t spend a second looking for it unless it’s a timely topic I’m
interested in. If their topic is not one I’m interested in, I thank them
for thinking of us and say goodbye. If they want to discuss it over the
phone, I say sorry, I don’t have time to talk, send me whatever you want
me to see and if I have questions I’ll get back to you. I’ve never had
to be rude to end a phone conversation, just firm and decisive. After all,
the power to end it at any time is in my hand: I can just hang up.
The PR people do not consider it unduly intrusive to look out for their
client’s interests. I do not consider it rude to look out for my interests.
Here’s how I do it:
-
I don’t return calls from special-interest representatives unless I want
to talk with them. If they want to talk with me, let ’em call again. They’re
getting paid for it.
-
If they want to meet with me, I ask myself what’s in it for me. If the
answer is probably nothing but a wasted half-hour — and it almost always
is — I tell them to send me whatever they want me to see and if I have
questions I’ll contact them. Often the stuff they send goes directly into
the waste basket, but sometimes it’s useful. And sometimes I do call them.
My point is this: These are business people doing their work. You don’t
owe them anything, any more than you owe someone who calls wanting to sell
you a vacation home in Bermuda. I see no reason to get angry with them,
or insult them, for simply doing their work. Neither do I feel obliged
to spend time with them.
We’re in the information business. Dealing with folks who want to give
us information is part of the job. Yes, the fax in particular has enabled
more people to flood us more quickly with unwanted stuff; no doubt e-mail
will do so, too. If some folks are burying you with information you don’t
want or are calling at an inconvenient time, simply tell them to stop.
If you don’t have time to get into a conversation with them, don’t get
into a conversation with them. In my experience, few PR people are interested
in alienating journalists they’re trying to inform and influence.
Whatever your problem, I’d bet the solution is in your hands. My advice:
Be polite, be decisive, be firm and be quick about it.
Williams is editor of The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer’s editorial pages.
|
