• by Ray Schultz , Columnist, 11 hours ago

Our colleagues at PR Daily have published a list of gripes public relations people have about journalists. 

My first thought was, who has the time for this? But let’s take a look at some of them in the interest of promoting civil discourse:

• When a journalist responds favorably to an exclusive offer on a timely matter then goes silent or decides after the fact not to cover it.
• When journalists show up for interviews unprepared, with no basic understanding of the subject.
• When the reporter asks for written responses to questions instead of doing an interview.
• When journalists insist on creating some abstract figure around funding or company size, etc. And when their coverage focuses only on larger companies. 

These points are well-taken, and I’ve probably been guilty of all of them at some point. But now let’s respond with a few complaints that journalists may have. This list is longer. 

• When PR Flacks fill our inboxes with pitches that have nothing to do with the beat. This is spam.
• When press releases are so badly written that it is hard to figure out what they’re saying. 
• When the person making the pitch can’t answer even a couple of simple questions, or when the pitch email contains different facts from those in the actual announcement. 
• When the PR agency pitches an exclusive, then goes dark, probably because they’re giving the scoop to somebody else. 

Want more? We’ve hardly exhausted the subject: 

• When press announcements start with the daunting word EMBARGO in the subject line. I get many of these each day, some promoting such groundbreaking stories as the 10^th anniversary of a supplier company. I suggest that Gmail set up a folder called “Embargo,” right  next to Promotions. 
• When they’re pitching a report of some kind, then make it impossible to access. For instance, you sometimes have to prove you’re not a robot, picking out the CAPTHA pictures that have stairs or motorcycles in them. I’ve concluded that this is some kind of digital dementia test.  

As PR Daily acknowledges, all of these perceived lapses are the result of overwork. That’s true from both sides. The one unforgivable thing, from either direction, is misinformation. Let’s not lose sight of the incredible help journalists get from public relations people—why, they even spot our typos in real time.