Interesting stuff, John. To be perfectly honest (oops, I mean transparent), I haven't schooled myself on the details of this one as much as you have. I think you make some good points. But frankly, I think most bloggers' BS detectors are just as sharp as those of most journalists, and the pitches that make you cringe are not unlike those submitted to msm every day. If people start to think Marshall is a disingenuous BS artist, they'll stop using his stuff, same as a reporter would. And I think blogging has developed a disclosure ethic that is pretty widely acknowledged and accepted. Nonetheless, I get your point.
The part that really gets me is this:
"I might be able to get you access to the largest company in the world. Tours, briefings, the works. Everything that they would do for a reporter from the New York Times."
Pure seduction. And I have to listen to comments about lawyers supposedly being sleazy...
In the interest of full disclosure, let me state that I have a long track record of blogging about "Wal-Mart PR," going back to the days before it existed (about a year ago.)
I am not pre-disposed to hating the company, nor automatically question its motives. I even pondered aloud if Wal-Mart would start getting a fair shake akin to the kids gloves used on Target for so long.
Well... here we are, and they haven't offered ME a round-trip vacation to luxurious Bentonville. (I guess that's reserved for the guys at TechCentralStation.)
Scott ... I guess I just wonder why Wal-Mart can have a conversation with bloggers directly? Why use a "war room" and all the political rhetoric? Why the overly enthusiastic courting of these conservative bloggers? It all smacks of backroom dealings rather than the open, transparent communication that blogging is supposed to allow.
Andrea ... thank you for understanding where I am coming from on the language thing. The e-mails from the Edelman rep to these bloggers were on the sleazy side. There is nothing honest about the way he is wooing them. It's a tad on the sickening side, actually.
Ike, perhaps you forgot the secret code you were supposed to use on your site to get the invite? But seriously, it appears they had a thing for conservative bloggers ... they saw that as an avenue for their message.
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