Comments on: Tip #59: Biting the hand

By: Mickey Blue Eyes

Mickey Blue Eyes — Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:05:15 +0000

If NetShelter and FixYa.com are so huge and more popular than CNET and other websites that I have heard of, why have I never heard of them?

By: AN

AN — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 04:31:04 +0000

WTF is “an 8 year old start up”? Isn’t there a statute of limitations on being a startup?

By: Bernard Savonet

Bernard Savonet — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:42:08 +0000

@The Sender: you hopefully had an objective by sending this info to CNET. Which was it?

If you are the media & PR professional you say you are, you should have realized that it is quite hard for CNET to write about you what they think to be interesting for their readers.

If they sincerely think that your offer is a bad one and write that, you will accuse them of having a (not so) hidden agenda. So that means that if they write about your great product, it can be only in a positive way, whether it merits it or not.
Is that the fair and balanced view CNET’s readers do expect? I don’t think so.

In those days where everybody pretends to be a journalist just because s/he can write messages over Twitter, journalists need to stay focused on their difference: being news-conscious and media-tors, filtering and adding value to a non-controllable flow of messages.

Passing news without any added value might look a useful idea for readers. It is not. Therefore, we all need these jounalist to do what they believe to be fair.

By: Meghan

Meghan — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:41:49 +0000

Sender – you may be right that there’s a story there. But not for CNET to cover. Because it’s partially about them. And in the not-so-positive way. Had this been a pitch you sent to WSJ, NYT or ever MEDIA (hell, anyone NOT associated with the CNET brand) you might not need to be trying so hard to defend yourself. Knowing a good story is part of the job. Pitching it to someone who might actually cover it is the other part.

By: Bobby

Bobby — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:01:18 +0000

But this isn’t Rafe’s job, it’s something he does for fun …

By: Aly

Aly — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 18:04:09 +0000

Curious why the sender would send the exact same pitch to other CNET reporters. there alone is an issue…

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 03:28:55 +0000

It does raise the question of if Rafe was reacting to the comparison of netshelter to cnet; I think the pitch is appropriate – but can see why a cnet editor wouldn’t like it.

By: CK

CK — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 16:46:13 +0000

Right, but Sender, your job isn’t to write/blog about everything – that’s Rafe’s job. Your job is to effectively communicate information about your company to make sure journalists, potential customers or business partners, have accurate facts – no more, no less. It certainly isn’t to accuse people of having a hidden agenda if they don’t positively cover your company – or in this case, you.

By: Rob McMurtrie

Rob McMurtrie — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:48:59 +0000

I’m not sure why The Sender felt like this was a pitch that would interest any journalist, let alone CNET. The subject matter (shifts in tech reader habits) is vaguely important but presenting like a drunk college football fan (“We’re #1! Woo hooooo!) takes away any chance that a reporter at will be interested.

My thoughts on a kinder, gentler approach at http://rootspr.blogspot.com/2008/10/were-not-apes.html

By: The Sender

The Sender — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:44:05 +0000

No asked you to review anything. Simply to consider that NetShelter represents a media model of the future that is structured differently enough from CNET to operate more efficiently and still attract the same audience. THAT is a good story. I am certain that in your many years as a journalist you have gotten plenty of pitches you didn’t like or simply ignored. That you decided to call out this one I think in indicative of something more. Other CNET reporters got the exact same pitch and were not so “offended” that they wrote back an e mail that said: “Will be sure to not cover this.

Yours truly,

The whopping overhead at CNET”

If I blogged about everything a journalist ever said or did that I thought was ineffective or unprofessional, I’d have no time to pitch NetShelter.