The reporter was heated up. He pointed out that we had written about a technological breakthrough that would result in a wholesale invasion of privacy.
I told him I didn't remember printing that. Could he give me a date and a page number?
He did, and I took a look. It turned out to be an advertisement.
Good Lord, what are they teaching them in J-school these days? I explained the difference between advertising and editorial and asked: “You don't believe what they say in that ad, do you?”
There are two lessons to be learned from this episode.
One is that direct marketing vendors are often their own worst enemies. They get so caught up in hype that they forget there are barracuda out there waiting to strike.
The other lesson is about the way reporters work, and on this one I can write reams since I have been on both sides of the fence.
I occasionally get interviewed, and it seems to me that the reporters who call tend to fall into one of two categories.
The first are inexperienced and work on smaller papers. They ask the same dumb questions about DM that I asked 20 years ago (and occasionally still ask).
They are the ones who spell Donnelley without the ‘e,’ and refer to American List Counsel as American List Council.
Then there are the big shots who have visions of a Pulitzer in their heads. They may be working on a book or a multipart exposé. They are far more dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.
It's not that they will misreport what you say. But they will seek the melodrama in events when they really should be looking for the comedy. I usually brush them off, but you may not be able to.
Here are my lessons based on years of hanging around bars and pressrooms.
The first class of reporter is likely to be looking only for a memorable quote. Give him that, and make sure you enunciate very clearly.
For the second, do the exact opposite. Let's say one of your salespeople just sold a list of schoolchildren with learning disabilities to the reporter, no questions asked.
Do what the great PR counsel John Daly says to do. Ask the reporter how much time you have to get back to him, and then check out the facts.
And if the facts turn out to be unpleasant? Don't lie. As Daly has said, Watergate and Monicagate would have been short-term stories at best if there had been no attempts to cover them up.
