3 things I wish journalists would stop doing

I enjoy my job.

Over the years, one of the best parts has been meeting a myriad of talented, thoughtful, professional journalists. The great ones are passionate people with an eye for detail and the ability to learn new things quickly.

That said, in a general sense, there’s a few things I wish the fourth estate would stop doing. Not all of journalists do these things – so let’s begin by saying that I am GENERALIZING here and painting an entire profession with the same brush.

Here are 3 things I wish journalists would stop doing:

1. Getting names wrong. I HATE when I set up a story for a journalist, feed it to them on a silver platter and they spell my client’s name wrong, or worse, omit it all together. I have a job to do too…and it involves you getting the name right, dear fourth estater.
2. Treating PR people like shit. Sometimes I think they teach classes on this in journalism school. I understand there’s a lot of morons in my business, but acrimony is a not a good default setting for work relationships. There’s a cottage industry (it might even be described as a “burgeoning” one) wherein journalists show up at conferences and bash PR people for all manner of reasons. This in particular needs to die.
3. Playing high and mighty games. Journalism, in 2010, is not God’s work. I know all about the need for a free press in a democracy and all of that. However, get over yourselves…it is a business (a bad one actually). Let’s both agree that if and when someone is spending zillions on ads at your outlet they might just have a better chance of getting editorial coverage (maybe just, you know)

What do you think?