Please stop spin doctoring!

It irks me how some companies think it’s okay to mislead the media.  They believe misleading the media will bring them to their event.  But what they don’t know is – the media hate being lead astray.

Last week, I wrote a media alert and as always – the cabinet office has to approve all communication items.  Well after I received my alert from the cabinet office, I noticed it was tweaked in the weirdest way.  The president’s office added names of local and national dignitaries.  I questioned their motive because I HATE spin doctoring ANYTHING.  It troubles me because of my training from J school.

So when I got my media alert back, I asked why name of dignitaries were added when this was a bold face lie.  The answer I got was troubling.  Basically, they believe the more names that appear on the media alert is the more enticed the media would come.  I told my supervisor, this isn’t so.  I told her, the media will come out based on newsworthiness of the item, whether it appeals to their viewership/readership/listeners and if they have the resources to come. 

Sadly, the extra fluff on my media alert will have to stay.  Once the cabinet says it’s okay – that’s it!  Sadly, these people fail to understand that news isn’t about a popularity contest.  It’s a lot more than that.  Nevertheless, these people will continue to give communicators a bad name – something I am not proud of at all.

 

~ by Natasha C. on May 19, 2008.