Back in October, when PRWeek drooled over Burson Marsteller for instituting a new PR campaign for Countrywide Financial to help them out of the financial trouble they were in, we asked whether the campaign was a waste of time and money.

Well, turns out we were right. Our prediction (10/13/07) that Bank of America would take over Countrywide Financial was spot on. Granted we were slightly off on the date, we said it would happen within the year.

Now what I want to know is this: How could PRWeek have run such a glowing story without taking the economy into account? Your head would have had to be buried deeply in the sand to not comprehend what effect the economy was having on the mortgage industry and homeowners.

Instead of acting as a cheerleader, I would expect the reporter and his or her editor to take a step back during the reporting process and ask themselves a simple question. What happens if? Surely any battle worthy reporter/editor would have raised this question. Or am I being too naïve?

Either way, I’m not surprised we made the right call. Effective PR practitioners can always tie their client’s stories into local, national and world events no matter what industry the client represents. But I also can’t help but feel sorry for PRWeek. After all, it’s a lot harder for a publication to ask tough questions of interviewees when they’re leading the cheers and the interviewee is one of your largest advertisers.

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No not for The BlinnPR Report. But maybe someday.

Elizabeth Wasserman is looking for the right person to contribute monthly columns about small and mid-size business technology issues to IncTechnology.com, Inc magazine’s technology Web site.

Candidates may be academics, consultants, technology experts or e-commerce gurus. They’re interested in hearing about you and three ideas you might want to write about in the coming months. This is an unpaid position.

Contact Elizabeth at ewasserman(at)cox.net. Deadline for submissions is Oct 26, 2007.

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Here’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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And I mean that in a good way. Not my cynical way of looking at the world either.

Lenore Skenazy, of the New York Sun, is writing a story on “Help, I’m (technologically) stuck in 1998.” I love the title. It definitely caught my attention.

The Profnet query goes like this, “Are you, too? Do you have no idea how to do half the things (like download personalized stamps from the post office) that apparently everyone else finds easier to do than peeling a banana? If so, do you think you’d like a little help? That’s what I’m writing about. I think someone should start offering, “Help, I’m stuck in 1998″ seminars, and go through everything from uploading photos to downloading ringtones. I’m also interested in things like Verizon’s new store, where you can practice downloading music, and Cingular’s class for parents on “how to text message your kids.” I’d love to hear of any other things companies are doing to help those — like me — who are the “Left Behind.”"

If you’re interested in helping Lenore her deadline is 7:00 PM EST today. Her email is lskenazy (at) yahoo.com

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The reason I ask is because I’m reading an article by the technology reporter of a local NYC business publication, and I’m not impressed. Not by the writing, but just the vibe of the story.

After reading the article, I get the impression the reporter didn’t put much effort into writing the story and avoided asking tough questions. That he/she used a cookie cutter approach to writing the article and didn’t push back during interviews.

Unfortunately or fortunately if you’re in PR, I’m seeing this more and more. So I ask you, do reporters, whether it’s a local publication like the one I speak of or the Wall Street Journal, rise to their own level of incompetence?

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