Is this really worth the paper it’s printed on???
Wednesday, September 19th, 2007Here’s an example of the Peter Principle. You know, people rise to their own level of incompetence. Except in this case, the culprit is Crain’s New York Business.
So I’m reading this week’s issue of Crain’s and on page 15 I come across an article written by Elisabeth Butler Cordova with the headline, “Facebook value: Editor hired via social networking site.”
Now you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know what the article is about so I’ll spare you the details.
However, what I’m trying to figure out is what makes this story newsworthy and how was this story approved?
After all, you can’t tell me that Crain’s is just waking up to the fact that people are getting hired through social networking sites! BlinnPR has found many a freelance writer and publicist through Linkedin, as I’m sure other PR firms have as well.
And don’t tell me this might be the first time Crain’s actually had sources to interview because a little grunt work or even a Profnet query could have produced sources long ago.
No, I think Crain’s really didn’t know stuff like this was happening. And if they didn’t know, what could we infer about the staff and publication?
I remember reading a memoir of Murray Kempton, former columnist with Newsday, and he said ideas for his columns came from getting out of the office (he never learned to drive) and watching and listening to what was going on around him.
Excellent advice for journalists or publicists in today’s hectic media environment.
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