My Bad Media Manners

By Charlotte Shaff on June 22nd, 2009 In Advice

I screwed up. I am admitting it here in hopes that maybe someone else will learn from my mistake and not do the same thing as me. Last week I was able to finally get a client and a key industry expert to have lunch with a business reporter who had been searching for some new local hard news story ideas. I didn’t know a lot about the topic at hand because the expert in this meeting wasn’t my client, though my client had some aspects of his business he could offer up as side angle issues/stories. We sat at lunch and the reporter jumped right in with questions about the local and national industry. The expert was knowledgeable and well-spoken and offered up key information.

While this was all going on, I basically felt it was best for me to just stay out of the conversations. I always have my Blackberry with me, so I looked down at it a lot and actually had to schedule two tv segments during the lunch for clients. Instead of stepping away from the table, I texted and emailed my clients to set up the situations and then confirmed with the producers. I was thinking that I was really maximizing this lunch. I was able to assist this reporter with two great industry experts and get a few stories set up, while also securing some other stories for clients through my email.

After the lunch meeting, I was flying high. What a productive afternoon! My client jokingly made a remark about my use of the Blackberry during lunch, but I proudly professed that I had been able to get a lot of work done during this meeting by my multi-tasking. It didn’t seem like anyone was annoyed by it. When we walked outside, the client pulled me aside and thanked me for the great lunch and how excited he was to have met the reporter and get some great stories out there.

I sent a follow-up email to the reporter to see if there was anything else I could do to help and that I thought it went well. When I got a response from the reporter, I was in for a shock. The reporter basically told me they had never been in a meeting where a PR pro was so occupied with something else other than the matter at hand. I sat there and all my happy thoughts of the day disappeared. I screwed up.

I had thought that as the facilitator all I needed to do was get the key people together and let them do their magic while I got some other work done in between listening the the conversation at hand. Instead, my behavior came off as bad manners. I don’t always have my phone in front of me, but on this occasion I knew I had to schedule some segments before the producer left for the day, so I figured some work at the lunch table would ok.

I am embarrassed to admit all of this, but wanted to share the experience. The lines were blurred in my mind on how I was supposed to behave. The reporter assured me it was water under the bridge, but I know the impression won’t be totally forgotten. Technology and urgency with the media are parts of our jobs, but they shouldn’t overshadow common courtesy and manners.

My Bad Media Manners

Comments

Linda VandeVrede Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 8:39 am

Your post made me think of a few meetings I’ve sat in on when the REPORTER seemed disinterested and preoccupied, and not paying attention to the client. Everyone’s culpable.

Christia Gibbons Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:11 am

I was once conducting an interview and the two people I was talking to were texting — made me paranoid that they were texting about the interview. Whatever and whomever they were texting, it broke my concentration and my respect for what they had to say.

Now that I have my own BlackBerry, I find it so tempting to multi-task with it wherever I am. Your story reminds me not to the the thing I’ve condemned others for! Thanks for your candidness!

Jackie Wright Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:19 am

Good points! I would add that no matter what might be on the “to do” list, always, and I mean always, make the client you are with feel like he or she is your ONLY client.

Mike Padgett Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:29 am

Knowing how much PR workers have on their plates, and since you didn’t have a role in the conversation, my focus would be on the interviewees, not on whoever arranged the lunch.

What was the harm in allowing you to get more work done? The reporter made the contacts and obtained the needed information, but you didn’t pay attention to her/him. So what.

Have you ever seen colleagues in a staff meeting ignore the boss , whisper to others, or make notes on future stories, totally unrelated to the conversation at hand?

Dave Murrow Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:39 am

I’m on your side, Crisch. It *may* have helped if you’d mentioned you had a few appts. to set up while you client and reporter were engaged.

Rebecca Armendariz Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:42 am

Unfortunately, I think “common courtesy and manners” fall short in a lot of in-person interactions these days because of technology. :( Thanks for sharing your wake-up call. It is a good reminder for all of us.

Shailesh Ghimire Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 9:51 am

It’s great that you can be so open about this and confess it like you did. I admire you for doing that. I am all for technology and everything but nothing in my mind is more annoying than someone in a meeting distracted by their iPhone or their Blackberry. This is especially true when I’m meeting with someone for the first time and even in a group setting.

Thanks for the reminder too – like Rebecca said we all need a reminder.

Tyler Hurst Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:25 am

If you’re not actually IN the conversation, I don’t see a problem with emailing or texting. Is it somehow better to fake that you’re paying attention?

Some of us actually pay better attention to what is said when we have something to fiddle with.

Ken Reinstein Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 10:37 am

Thanks Charlotte, as the king of adult ADHD, I am always trying to multitask and tend to get caught up in the buzz of the blackberry. Great post and a great reminder on several points!

Kathy Kerchner Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 11:01 am

I think it’s good the reporter gave you the feedback rather than just being ticked off in silence and making you wonder why (s)he didn’t seem to like you any more.

Tyler Hurst Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 12:50 pm

Ken- you and me both. I actually listen better if my hands are doing something else.

Tiffany Tcheng Says:
June 22nd, 2009 at 2:18 pm

I too, admire you for being able to blog about this topic. Thank you for sharing.

Bob Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:06 am

Great blog, Charlotte. We all need to seek and listen to feedback from those we connect with. You are fortunate that the reporter was so candid with you. You can assume that for every positive or negative comment you get from a client or customer….25 others feel the same way, but don’t bother to tell you.

Pat Elliott Says:
June 23rd, 2009 at 1:29 pm

It really doesn’t matter what you as an individual think if your audience views your behavior as rude.

Just as PR pros track various data about reporters, journalists also track data about PR pros, formally and informally. They also have incredible memories.

Above all, they understand deadlines, and a quick explanation of time-sensitive needs goes a long way.

Blackberry Etiquette, Pt. II | Matt Eventoff Says:
June 24th, 2009 at 12:27 pm

[...] ValleyPR Blog – this is one of the most honest posts I’ve read in a long time, and the author, Charlotte Risch, should be commended for her honesty.  Great post, and well worth reading. [...]

Andy Ptacek Says:
June 25th, 2009 at 10:09 pm

Charlotte, your honesty is refreshing as always. Just when we start to think it’s socially acceptable to pick our crackberrys and work anywhere from client meetings to the dinner table, we are reminded that not everyone is on board. Thanks for sharing your experience.

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