Abrams says nascent firm won’t hire journalists with a conflict
After former MSNBC host Dan Abrams announced the launch of Abrams Research, a consulting shop that will hook companies up with PR advice straight from the mouths of journalists, the new company was immediately panned in the media community as mousetrap for conflicts of interest.
However, Abrams, the former host of Verdict with Dan Abrams, told PRWeek on November 24 that his agency will largely focus on creating a roster of bloggers, freelancers, retired journalists, or those on a leave. Abrams also responded that he has no interest in working with reporters or editors at major media institutions – both The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times told New York magazine that the agreement would be a conflict of interest – that have standards prohibiting such an arrangement.
“There is going to be no one in the network who has any sort of employment agreement, standard, or contract that says they can’t do outside work. So as a practical matter, that means we wont have full-time employees of major media outlets; all the ones I know of have specific standards and practices,” he told PRWeek, adding that the company will also use its own guidelines. “I have no interest in inducing anyone to do anything that they can’t do.”
