Sympathy for a Journalist, Part 3

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By: Mike Bush

In the past, we here at Flack Me have occasionally thrown a note of sympathy to our counterparts in the media industry. We can understand the barrage of off-target, unsolicited e-mails. We’ve even gone as far as saying “get me off of this list.”** Today, however, I find that there is a new sympathy I have for journalists, and it revolves around the no-show.

One of the exciting things about writing for Flack Me is the opportunity to meet interesting people in the field. That could be flacks who are doing something interesting, or tech folks who are looking to update the tools we’re using in the field.

In the past couple months, a few people I find really interesting have said that they’d love to be interviewed for a post here (email or phone). In a few cases, I’ve been stood up.

Other than the obvious annoyance (we’re all busy, kids), being flaked on had a repercussion I never really thought about from the perspective of a journalist: It left me scrambling for a different story to write.

I do try to have a couple stories going at once, but the “oh crap, I need to write something” feeling… well, it sucks.

So, to every journalist who’s ever had an interview blow the opportunity off… we’re sympathetic.

*Please note, this post wasn’t meant to be a passive aggressive dig at people who have missed interviews… instead, it’s an observation from the field. Writing here on a regular basis gives the Flack Me contributors an opportunity to “think like a journalist.”

**Also note… my untimely demise in that second post was unsuccessful, and I’m now confident that years from now, when I pass on, it will be with my family at my side and a piece of direct mail offering to extend the warranty on a car I haven’t owned in decades in my hand.

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About the Author

Mike Bush is a PR and Marketing freelancer with more than a dozen years of experience in the field. Find him on and connect Twitter @mikebush or at www.mikebush.nyc.

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