Jon,
I agree, and said so in a comment to a blog post from PR Week's Keith O'Brien here:
http://thecycle.prweekblogs.com/...ssue/#more-
1197
Thanks for the comment.
I think that is it a shame that after all of these years, PR people who should be PR professionals are still resorting to what in essence is spam. Our profession should be far more diligent in the training and supervision of staff members who are entrusted with media outreach. It is crucial that the individual understand the reputations that are on the line when somebody undertakes that outreach. To send a non-targeted e-mail to a contact shows absolutely no desire to be good at your profession. While a Black List is indeed a harsh move, it is sadly appropriate as those people do not deserve the right to have a media professional take them seriously.
David,
Good catch. Thanks. I'll amend the item.
Scott,
You are so right. A quick peruse of the list not only indicates that the rubber-meets-the-road discipline has been pushed down to the junior ranks, but news releases, however ineffective, are being sent haphazardly en masse to e-mail lists with little or no thought on the consequences.
Chris A. -
I don't blame you.
He's actually encouraging ppl to use editor@wired.com... that goes to a team of editors. He was punishing the flacks (pardon the term) for sending misguided pitches to his personal email address at Wired, instead of to editor@...
Otherwise, I gave him a personal AMEN on my blog.
I generally come to the defense of PR people when arrogant know-it-alls like Foremski and Louderback are doing the talking, but in this case I don't mind what Long Tail Dude did.
This one's about PR firms that put 22-year-olds on major accounts, give them a list of 100 publications, and tell them to get placements without a lot of guidance or direction. They deserve to have that put back in their faces.
Commenting by HaloScan
