Are you on the list?
Wired EIC (and meme starter) Chris Anderson has posted a list of PR people whose e-mail addresses he has effectively blocked from his Microsoft Outlook account. Representatives from all the major agencies are on there. Are you?
The discussion in the comments thread varies from “serves them right” to “Chris, you’re just as guilty now that you’ve served up everyone’s address to spam bots.” While that discussion is worthwhile, I’m curious: “Are these all cases of purchases lists, or are you really trying to pitch clients to the EIC?”
I’ve sent an e-mail out to a select few of the list to ask them the following questions. I told them they could respond in the comments section below.
Do you believe you were on Anderson’s list in error?
If you did pitch him, did you do so directly or do you assume it was through a list?
Have you had any e-mails from people since the list has been published?
What do you think of his tactics of publishing your e-mail. Do you think it was fair?
Is there a good reason to be directly pitching an editor in chief when there are other editors more receptive to the message?
Do you think Chris Anderson is representing the frustration of other journalists?
Is the system of “pitching editors” broken?
What is frustrating to you in today’s interaction with journalists?
Hopefully, we’ll get some responses.
