Bloggers and Journalists Need Respect, Too

Last week, Barry Parr, a Jupiter analyst posted this blog

The other day I keynoted at a meeting of PR professionals. I threw around a lot of big ideas about how the Web is turning the media inside out in profound ways. But I received the most pushback on my suggestion that PR folks treat bloggers with the same respect they treat journalists. The objections were of two types:

  • Bloggers don't deserve respect because they're, well, bloggers.
  • "What makes you think we treat journalists with respect?"

Here’s our take:

While not all bloggers are serious professionals, many are.  They are an important audience who we take very seriously because when excited about a topic they write very prolifically about it. Unconfined by the vetting process that governs traditional journalists, bloggers frequently break stories that the major press covers later in greater detail.

As for treating journalists with respect: you reap what you sow.  We enjoy mutually respectful relationships with journalists because we respect their need for relevant material that’s delivered on their timeframe.

Just for the record, no one from Clarus was at this meeting.

–Mara Conklin

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