...Yes, that appears to be an attempt to bribe a journalist to mention clients in stories he is doing for us and other media clients.
"I've seen some pretty incredible PR pitches — including offers to have the PR agency write the story and put the reporter's byline on it — but this is one of the most brazen I've seen," said Jim Romenesko, a noted media critic. "A publicist who suggests paying a major news outlet for slipping a client's name into copy has no idea how journalists do their jobs — or how ethical 99 percent of them are."
The fact that this is still happening is kind of shocking. I know the line's always been fuzzy but unless the PR firm is sending out a sample for a review or something along those lines this really shouldn't be happening. I'm not sure where the ethics were on this one or even why the director of operations sent out such a vague e-mail regarding this issue.