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It’s one
thing to get the press to write a story about you. It’s
entirely different to write the story yourself and have
it published as a third-party narrative. The credibility
of the story, the publication, the editors, and your
company are at risk. Federal agencies have found that
out the hard way, and a blanket warning to them from the
Government Accountability Office last month should be a
warning to everyone. According to a recent NY Times
story (see here), over 20 federal agencies have
developed and deployed hundreds of “news reports” over
the last several years.
Trylon
recently
reported how video news releases can be a
deceptive form of story placement if proper disclosure
is not made. The GAO, Congress's investigative arm, has
now warned the administration and associated agencies
that this practice violates Federal law - and has issued
a very clear “cease and desist” order.
In today’s
world of “get press at any cost,” marketers must be
extremely careful to not overstep the line between PR
and “making news.” The GAO’s comptroller general said in
his letter to agency heads, "While agencies generally
have the right to disseminate information about their
policies and activities, agencies may not use
appropriated funds to produce or distribute prepackaged
news stories intended to be viewed by television
audiences that conceal or do not clearly identify for
the television viewing audience that the agency was the
source of those materials."
This warning
should hold true for marketing executives of any company
looking for public recognition. While in the private
sector it is not illegal to produce your own news
stories and try to get them on the air, it is certainly
problematic. If you are caught (and in today’s world
that’s almost a certainty) you can be excoriated and get
the opposite of what you want – bad press is not good
press.
In these
cynical post-Enron and MCI days, the public is extremely
conscious of how information is fed to them. Hiring a
reporter to fake a news story is not PR, it’s mercenary
advertising. Plenty of legitimate and ethical ways exist
to get your company in the news without having to resort
to unethical means.
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