Lies, More Lies and the Freelancers Who Tell Them

This is not a post... This is a rant...

Earlier today I was contacted by a PR rep that I have been dealing with for some time now. She's got great connections, perfect for the publication. She gets the message, the theme, the types of people we look to profile and most importantly she is prompt and easy to work with. Almost two months ago she pitched a new artist and I immediately assigned the story out to a freelancer who had been basically begging for better stories, more exposure, etc...

Probably three weeks ago this PR rep contacted me and asked where we stood with arranging the interview. I thought the interview had already taken place since the freelancer told me she had the appointment set-up for the beginning of the week. Not wanting to interfere I asked the PR rep to refer to the writer directly about the interview time. (I tend to over-manage so I was trying to step back a little.) A week went by. I didn't hear anything.

I contacted the writer and asked when the article would be in, since we were now two weeks past deadline. She said I'd have it by Friday. But guess what... Friday came and went without an article appearing in my inbox. Then yesterday I got an e-mail from this great PR rep asking what the deal was with the interview and why it still hadn't happened. Um... WHAT???!!!!

Obviously, I've pulled the article from the writer, reassigned it to a new trustworthy, deadline-focused, polite freelancer and had to beg forgiveness to the PR rep, her firm and of course her client.

This whole scenario just goes right along with my earlier post about Freelancers Flaking Out. Sure, we're not all like this. In fact the large majority of freelancers are hard working, focused, non-flightly workaholics. But for those few who are just cruising through you're giving the rest of us a bad name!

An Open Letter to the PR Community

Dear PR Professionals,

Thank you for all you do. You help to make the life of a journalist a little less stressful - most of the time. I just have one small favor to ask of you. Could you be more aware of who you are sending your releases to?

I appreciate the news you send, but when an e-mail from you pops into my inbox about a topic I don’t cover I begin to wonder. And when you do this repeatedly I know that you don’t care enough to take the time.

For example, let’s say I cover commercial real estate news (which I do). I don’t need your releases on how to avoid swine flu, the latest fight dads are undergoing for child custody or the newest technology tool for the car stereo. These are so far from what I write about I don’t even bother to read your text. I delete immediately.

There are other times when your release appears to be more on track - although it is still missing the point. I also do not need to talk to a lawyer about the single-family home market. I also don’t want to read the latest book on 100 easy ways to get your house ready to sell. In case you didn’t know homes are not considered commercial real estate.

And for the record it is not just the real estate PR professionals that do this. For the teen magazine I work for I get e-mail releases on the latest toilets, the places to go on your honeymoon, and the how-to book for raising a teenager. While it is true, someday the audience will be having kids and going on vacation. And yes, they do use the bathroom daily - it is not something we would ever cover in the magazine.

If you’d be so kind as to refrain from sending me the releases that make no sense, I am sure we could work together better on the ones that are right up my alley.

And thanks again for all you do. It really does help and the journalists are grateful.

Sincerely,

KT