Comments on: AdAge and The Power of Response http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/ Thu, 15 Mar 2012 17:12:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 By: Danny Brown http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8634 Danny Brown Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:15:37 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8634 And that's the beauty of connections and community, Lindsay. I saw that AdAge had corrected, and it was great of them to contact you directly as well - says a lot for them and one of the reasons I like them.<br><br>But yes, poor form from Lauren - and I'm guessing still no personal contact from her yet either? At least a simple (proper) apology either directly to you or via the post would have been nice. Hey ho... And that's the beauty of connections and community, Lindsay. I saw that AdAge had corrected, and it was great of them to contact you directly as well – says a lot for them and one of the reasons I like them.

But yes, poor form from Lauren – and I'm guessing still no personal contact from her yet either? At least a simple (proper) apology either directly to you or via the post would have been nice. Hey ho…

]]> By: suburbanturmoil http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8633 suburbanturmoil Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:08:11 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8633 I was impressed with how Ad Age responded in the end. I received an e-mail within a few hours from a staff writer, who said a correction had been added to the piece.<br><br>Later in the day, I got an e-mail from Ad Age's editor (whom I'd written about the piece), saying he was embarrassed by the mistake and that they had made a correction.<br><br>I was more than satisfied with the correction, but agree that the comment from Lauren Barack was lacking. I'm assuming she was simply feeling embarrassed and defensive.<br><br>But it all worked out in the end, thanks in part to my "friends." I was impressed with how Ad Age responded in the end. I received an e-mail within a few hours from a staff writer, who said a correction had been added to the piece.

Later in the day, I got an e-mail from Ad Age's editor (whom I'd written about the piece), saying he was embarrassed by the mistake and that they had made a correction.

I was more than satisfied with the correction, but agree that the comment from Lauren Barack was lacking. I'm assuming she was simply feeling embarrassed and defensive.

But it all worked out in the end, thanks in part to my “friends.”

]]> By: Danny Brown http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8623 Danny Brown Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:45:17 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8623 While I agree it’s not the most earth-shattering mistake ever made, I'd disagree that AdAge don’t have a responsibility to correct some key mistakes:<br><br>* They never contacted Lindsay<br>* The quote was out of context<br>* The journalism in this case appears lazy<br><br>It’s not a matter of not wanting to offend the “mommy blogger community” – it’s to do with questioning someone’s integrity (intentional or otherwise) and then not rectifying it when it was brought to their attention.<br><br>Let’s put it on the PR shoes for a minute. Your client has just come to you and informed you that AdAge, one of the most-read and popular portals around, has made a big mistake in one of its articles. This if getting viewed by thousands of eyeballs and makes your integrity questionable.<br><br>Do you say, “Don’t worry, it’ll blow over – it’s no big deal”, or do you look to contact AdAge for a response? The fact that the piece is being discussed so negatively both in the comments and online shows that AdAge and Lauren need to come out and respond. A simple “We messed up” and amendment doesn’t take that much to do.<br><br>If you’re putting something on one of the most popular sites around, and it’s incorrect, you should be prepared to do the correcting on that site as well. While I agree it’s not the most earth-shattering mistake ever made, I'd disagree that AdAge don’t have a responsibility to correct some key mistakes:

* They never contacted Lindsay
* The quote was out of context
* The journalism in this case appears lazy

It’s not a matter of not wanting to offend the “mommy blogger community” – it’s to do with questioning someone’s integrity (intentional or otherwise) and then not rectifying it when it was brought to their attention.

Let’s put it on the PR shoes for a minute. Your client has just come to you and informed you that AdAge, one of the most-read and popular portals around, has made a big mistake in one of its articles. This if getting viewed by thousands of eyeballs and makes your integrity questionable.

Do you say, “Don’t worry, it’ll blow over – it’s no big deal”, or do you look to contact AdAge for a response? The fact that the piece is being discussed so negatively both in the comments and online shows that AdAge and Lauren need to come out and respond. A simple “We messed up” and amendment doesn’t take that much to do.

If you’re putting something on one of the most popular sites around, and it’s incorrect, you should be prepared to do the correcting on that site as well.

]]> By: David Teicher ( http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8622 David Teicher ( Fri, 31 Jul 2009 21:43:52 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8622 Basically…As much as I’d like to see an official response [Michael Learmonth - Adage Journo Extraordinaire - Already responded in the comments] I doubt they will – This isn’t a customer service issue and it’s not a crisis of such proportions that it will significantly affect readership, advertising, or call forth the wrath of every mommy blogger in the US ala #MotrinMoms. <br><br>They won’t lose any sleep over it. If they do respond it will be out of a sense of responsibility and good old fashion journalistic integrity – not obligation or fear. I’m a fan of adage, not just for their content and reporting, but because many of their contributors regularly converse and engage with their readers, PR people, consumers, and the general public on twitter – so to have the conversation within the comments section of their own property – not too much of a stretch.<br><br>The question is (and I’m thinking like a PR Pro here) – will responding in an official manner stoke the coals and drag out this controversy, calling more attention to it and potentially exacerbating the situation? If I were their PR Guy – I’d say, respond personally to the offended blogger…but in this case, I’d just let the fire die out on its own. At this rate, no one will be talking about this tomorrow, let alone months from now, as the big Adage Debacle.<br><br>If they respond, great – good for them and for Lauren. But I certainly don’t see them having done anything so wrong as to necessitate some sort of crisis response out of fear of offending the mommy blogger community (whose wrath you DON’T want to invoke)<br><br>Just My .02 Cents Basically…As much as I’d like to see an official response [Michael Learmonth - Adage Journo Extraordinaire - Already responded in the comments] I doubt they will – This isn’t a customer service issue and it’s not a crisis of such proportions that it will significantly affect readership, advertising, or call forth the wrath of every mommy blogger in the US ala #MotrinMoms.

They won’t lose any sleep over it. If they do respond it will be out of a sense of responsibility and good old fashion journalistic integrity – not obligation or fear. I’m a fan of adage, not just for their content and reporting, but because many of their contributors regularly converse and engage with their readers, PR people, consumers, and the general public on twitter – so to have the conversation within the comments section of their own property – not too much of a stretch.

The question is (and I’m thinking like a PR Pro here) – will responding in an official manner stoke the coals and drag out this controversy, calling more attention to it and potentially exacerbating the situation? If I were their PR Guy – I’d say, respond personally to the offended blogger…but in this case, I’d just let the fire die out on its own. At this rate, no one will be talking about this tomorrow, let alone months from now, as the big Adage Debacle.

If they respond, great – good for them and for Lauren. But I certainly don’t see them having done anything so wrong as to necessitate some sort of crisis response out of fear of offending the mommy blogger community (whose wrath you DON’T want to invoke)

Just My .02 Cents

]]> By: bethwarren http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8614 bethwarren Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:33:19 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8614 Pretty shoddy investigative work. <br>Agree with you that the tone of the "apology" is more snark than sorry. <br>Integrity is based on honestly and respect - admitting when you're wrong and apologizing with sincerity goes a long way toward building that. Blame shifting and avoiding responsibility is no way to build relationships or reputation. Pretty shoddy investigative work.
Agree with you that the tone of the “apology” is more snark than sorry.
Integrity is based on honestly and respect – admitting when you're wrong and apologizing with sincerity goes a long way toward building that. Blame shifting and avoiding responsibility is no way to build relationships or reputation.

]]> By: Danny Brown http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8613 Danny Brown Fri, 31 Jul 2009 18:11:51 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8613 Sadly, that was the impression I got, Amy. And starting off with "Dear Lindsey (typo) and your friennds" is hardly the best way to relieve the situation. It almost implies that the only people that care about the error are Lindsay's friends, that we don't have minds of our own to take stock of what we read. Hey ho...<br><br>At least AdAge has since come in and amended the piece - kudos to them, less so for Lauren (as it stands). Sadly, that was the impression I got, Amy. And starting off with “Dear Lindsey (typo) and your friennds” is hardly the best way to relieve the situation. It almost implies that the only people that care about the error are Lindsay's friends, that we don't have minds of our own to take stock of what we read. Hey ho…

At least AdAge has since come in and amended the piece – kudos to them, less so for Lauren (as it stands).

]]> By: Amy Shropshire http://dannybrown.me/2009/07/31/adage-and-the-power-of-response/#comment-8612 Amy Shropshire Fri, 31 Jul 2009 17:51:55 +0000 http://dannybrown.me/?p=7448#comment-8612 I agree with what you say in the update. Lauren's tone was certainly not apologetic. In fact it seems that she's blaming everyone else for not knowing exactly what she was thinking (and knowing that Lindsay's was written in jest). The majority of journalists do a great job checking their facts and writing so that the context is clear. But when it does happen that there is a break down in this, sometimes a simple apology would work wonders to mend fences! I agree with what you say in the update. Lauren's tone was certainly not apologetic. In fact it seems that she's blaming everyone else for not knowing exactly what she was thinking (and knowing that Lindsay's was written in jest). The majority of journalists do a great job checking their facts and writing so that the context is clear. But when it does happen that there is a break down in this, sometimes a simple apology would work wonders to mend fences!

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