Nope. You aren’t required to write about the media events you go to. There was no obligation to in the first place, but of course it would be nice if you did. I guess in traditional publishing, writing an article or including a press release would have more to do with having real estate space for that sort of thing or it also would have to do with “sucking up” to a client (the sad case in Philippine media) …
In fact, this “non requirement” was reinforced with insights from a publicist friend who finds it an embarrassing practice to follow up TV, radio, and print media companies because it sounds too much like a hard sell, and on a personal level, downright annoying to the editorial team. You end up sounding like a wet market vendor or a stock broker at his game (not that I have anything against stock brokers or vendors). Going this far may even destroy sincere relationships, as they may have been made under false pretenses.
I like writing about the events I attend because it helps in the long tail end of things. Certain keywords are added to my site which I otherwise would not even have if I didn’t go to the event. Since blogs have unlimited real estate anyway and the cost of one post is really more about time spent writing, I say go and write about that fantastic event you went to.
Posting a block quoted press release isn’t the nicest of things to do though. It shows, a least for me, that the event wasn’t so great as it took someone else’s copywriting skills to create a canned writeup of the event. Press releases are tools for information and quality control, especially in print. But this is a blog, and being so, a free-er environment to express your thoughts about events that you attended.
2 replies on “On posting press releases on your blog”
I am game to attending (for example) food and lifestyle events because I will always want for these things to write in my blog. The publicist should be credited for making life easier for me. I won’t be a hypocrite about it. I will not refuse a five-course gourmet lunch if a) the publicist is my friend and/or 2) I’ve been duly invited.
What is loathsome are “pr*ess people” who gatecrash events and ask for the freebies after. This is a practice that shouldn’t befall bloggers in the long term (unless there are suddenly impostor-bloggers)
I will draw the line though on a politician who will invite me to a five-course gourmet lunch. Unless his is a cause I truly believe in, I will simply NOT.
I have a lot to say about this, it deserves a separate blog post. The whole point is: PRs are there to do their job. My experience in the industry tells me that they expect something out of every major freebie they give you; or at least, don’t say anything negative about what they had to pitch. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t want to be beholden to anyone for possible conflict of interest, then you’re probably right.
I am here at a forum newcomer. Until I read and deal with the forum.
Let’s learn!