Never ask a journalist to do this...

For those of you who haven't read about the absolute communications car crash that took the tech and PR world by storm last week (ok, a dose of hyperbole there), let me fill you in. 

Following a tense exchange during a podcast interview between Sasan Goodarzi, chief executive of Intuit, which owns TurboTax, and editor-in-chief of The Verge and host of the Decoder podcast Nilay Patel, Patel received a note from Rick Heineman, the chief communications officer at Intuit, calling the line of questioning and his tone “inappropriate,” “egregious,” and “disappointing” and demanded that they delete that entire section of the recording. Yes, really. 

Patel added: “I mean, literally — he wrote a long email that ended with “at the very least the end portion of your interview should be deleted"."

Patel then explained that The Verge has abides by journalistic ethics and doesn't remove content or make changes. 

You'd think Heineman might have then just left it. But no. He responded by asking that they “delete that which takes away from the conversation,” which he defined as “raised voices” or us “speaking over each other,” so that “listeners understand your question and the answer Sasan gave".

Instead, Patel wrote a separate article about the request and focused on that segment of the interview. 

Now, I’m assuming Goodarzi said to his PR, something along the lines of “Do whatever you can to remove that part of the podcast”. The PR might have tried his best to tell his boss this would be the wrong line of approach, that journalists don’t do this. But the PR should have stood his ground. 

But as a result of this exchange — which probably wouldn’t have gained that much traction outside of The Verge, it’s led to a separate article by The Verge and further coverage on Inuit’s response on other websites, plus traction on social media. It’s embarrassing for Inuit, Sassan and Heineman. 

There’s an extra point to be made here about the comms person perhaps not briefing the CEO correctly so they were ill prepared for that line of questioning. Hands up, I don’t know Inuit that well, but it appears that these questions should have been expected. 

I’m often asked by people (sometimes even PRs, though mainly, but not all the time, they're based out of the UK) to see if they can see the article before it goes live. I’ve had this conversation several times in the past week, in fact. I talk about this in my workshops, but no, unless it is a sensitive subject, such as an interview with a domestic abuse survivor, I don’t allow anyone else to see part/all of the article, check it and amend it before it goes live – apart from the publisher. If we want independent and unbiased journalism, then we certainly don’t want other people controlling and greenlighting the content. 

Of course, if it’s factually incorrect, politely tell us and we’ll change it.

Just tell us the real answer

I recently contacted a hotel with regards to a press stay for a national newspaper.

“We don’t have availability to host a stay for you,” responded the PR.

“That's strange as I can see availability. Would May 12-14 be more suitable?”

“That is correct, we indeed have availability. But we are unfortunately not able to offer you a complimentary stay in exchange for exposure on the dates you mentioned."

"I understand* (*I don't). Which other dates are available?"

“Thank you for your understanding. But unfortunately we are not interested in your offer for the exposure. So we are therefore not able to host you.”

It took at least five emails for the truth to unfold - they simply weren’t interested. So instead of all the to-ing and fro-ing, please just say this.

If you/the company you represent don’t want to comment on a piece, don’t say you don’t have the time/can't meet the deadline because a journalist can sometimes chat to the editor and come back and extend the deadline for the right comment (this usually then results in another flaky excuse). 

The MD isn’t available? Ok, sometimes we’re happy with someone lower down the chain.

Honestly, 18 years I have done this and rather than the emails back and forth and the lies, just tell us – “Sorry, we’re not interested in contributing right now.” I’d much appreciate that rather than trying to extend the deadline and come back to you, or figure out new dates for the press trip and then be declined again when actually, it wasn’t the dates that didn’t fit – it was because you/the company just didn’t want to be in the press (or in that particular title).

Why isn't mainstream journalism paying enough attention to the climate crisis?

Happy New Year. I hope you had a pleasant break away from the laptop. I succumbed to the flu after our freelancer Christmas lunch in Margate and it was touch and go whether I’d make it back to my parents. But I slogged it to the north east in the nick of time and had a joyful Christmas with my family (after two years of festive separation due to Covid playing havoc).

I know I should probably start the year on a positive note but after reading yet another article from the weekend papers which frustrated the hell of me, I wanted to chat about the disconnect between journalism and the climate crisis. However, it’s not all doom and gloom (I hope), and I’ve outlined a few positive actions you could take away from this, if interested.

My anger was first ignited after reading a travel article in a Sunday paper which outlined the devastating impact of climate change (highlighting last year’s floods in Pakistan in which 33 million people were affected and a third of the country was UNDER WATER) and flagged up regions to avoid due to wildfires and extreme temperatures, instead suggesting alternative places to explore. I assumed that the journalist would then naturally talk about how we need to rethink the way we travel, encouraging us to holiday more local, fly less often, and turn to more sustainable modes of transport given we’re living in a climate emergency with parts of the world on fire or flooded, causing famine, death and homes being washed or burnt to the ground, but no. I reread the article in case I was missing something. Nada.

In the arts section of the same paper, I came across a double-page spread encouraging people to book flights purely to see exhibitions across the world. “Fly there for the weekend", was the gist of it. Given what we know about the climate emergency, I feel articles like these are a parody to the reality of the situation (hello Don't Look Up). Sometimes it feels like parts of the media are intentionally trying to end the future of humanity. You just need to recall all the front-page images of whenever it’s a heatwave, with images of people at the beach, rather than pictures of people running out of water, for example, and ignoring the alarming reasons why it’s happening – and what the future looks like, i.e. this could be the coolest summer on record. 

Last year I wrote about the rise of dedicated climate desks, and while this is great news, what doesn't seem to be happening are conversations about the climate across other desks. We are in desperate need of climate training across all editorial. I see food features with are back-to-back meat and fish dishes. I’m not saying all features should focus on us living off-the-grid in the woods (sounds idyllic, though) but I think there needs to be reality check. Time is literally running out and the media has a huge role to play in relaying the urgency of it. 

But we know many of these news desks and TV stations are in the hands of billionaire owners who provide a voice to climate deniers and certainly don’t want a move away from the current system of focusing on growth and more growth (which is harming us all).

So what can you do?

Ditch the fossil fuel clients. I wrote a couple of articles last year about agencies moving away from fossil fuel clients. Many people are rethinking their careers and moving to green jobs, a trend I wrote about for the BBC and Positive News. Could you encourage your clients to run more eco-friendly press trips? For example, in this past newsletter I looked at how one PR company were reducing flying and encouraging press trips by train. Is there a way to follow suit or bring in journalists who live in that region rather than flying journalists out? 

Join a climate training workshop. I received a message on LinkedIn last week from a facilitator and trainer from Climate Clarity, which organises workshops for individuals and organisations designed to spread climate knowledge and provide tools to help them look at their specific power in position in society and look at what meaningful action they can take. More information here.

There’s also the Carbon Literacy Project which offers training to individuals and organisations to help them become aware of the impact of everyday carbon emissions, and what action they can take.

Thanks for reading,

Susie

A Masterful Way To Raise A Profile

About four years ago I received an email from the Guardian that both thrilled and scared me: Would I be interested in hosting a couple of Guardian Masterclasses? One exploring freelancing for journalists, the other focussed on how PRs and small businesses can improve their press coverage. A former colleague at the Guardian had recommended me. I knew I should jump at the chance – it could potentially lead to something – but I felt nervous. Running a masterclass for the Guardian? Eeek. To cut a long story short, I accepted the PR Masterclass gig. The programme leaders viewed the session as a success and on the back of it they lined me up to run sessions every quarter or so. Seizing the opportunity and disliking the fact it was just for Londoners (or those on the outskirts), I decided to set up my own workshops across the UK - where I will have met some of you in person - before jumping into webinars, courses, and so on. If I never said yes, I doubt I would be emailing you now. Although I've stuck to journalism and that will remain my core focus, it's meant that I'm a little less worried about money than I used to be. It leveraged me to become an expert, super charged me as a teacher, brought with it countless opportunities, and also helped me feel comfortable with public speaking.

So why should this backstory interest you? Because there's an opportunity for you or your client to host classes or courses with national titles.

The Guardian is investing heavily in its masterclasses and is constantly searching for experts to host classes on a range of different subjects.

If you're looking for a new way to raise your or your client's profile, why not pitch yourself or your clients to become a Guardian Masterclass host? Becoming a teacher can give you/your client a dash of gravitas – and ultimately help sell some more products/services.

Their timetable showcases a list of experts ranging from life coach Fiona Buckland to business strategist Simon Alexander Ong.

Here's the Pitch Your Masterclass page, which features a pitching form. Add details for yourself/your client, what are you pitching - a one-day workshop or three-hour session, for example, and include your bio – do flag up if you have lecturing experience, and if you have a particularly sizable following on social media.

The Times has followed suit and now runs masterclasses and courses via its website. Allyson Stewart-Allen, CEO of International Marketing Partners, has run one on personal branding, designer and maker Nicole Akong has hosted a session on dressmaking, while Lucy Gough regularly leads workshops on styling your home.