It's time for another installment of our mailbox. Today I was greeted by several people and firms offering legal services. I thought it was odd to have them all in the same day. This is what I got:

Subject: Offer Letter for Legal Services

Dear Mr. /Ms. _____________,

The Legal Counsels group are willing to be of service to you in providing legal services and consultations that you may need.

And then it goes on.. followed by an Arabic version of the above text. And yes, it says Mr./Ms. __________. Allow me to offer a piece of advice: If you don't know my name, don't put ________ as an alternative.

But, my favorite (repeat spammer) has to be the one and only Alsafeer Advertising with the subject line:

Not to compete but to serve

Why would I think you would compete with me? Or rather, why do you think that those you are sending this out to would think that you are competing with them? That was just odd.

Can you imagine a world where PR practitioners and journalists were one happy family? Yes, like buddies! Before you start fantasizing further, allow me to point out that this would be the mother of all disasters for news.

I often find it funny how much attention is being given to the struggle between PR's and Journos. This isn't unique to our region. In fact, this is how it has always been (and shall remain); an eternal struggle for power. A quick google search confirms what I have long believed. These two groups are locked in it till the death. Hell, I would say long after that as well.

The very nature of the relationship dictates that it is a barely civil relationship, underneath which lies contempt and sometimes (but rarely) respect. Tala's article in the National, covered here started a conversation that is still happening. A public conversation, which surprisingly, still continues.

The most recent was the National's, Transparency drive strains media, PR relations, gets warmer in identifying the complexities of the relationship.

Journalists have the power to publish or not publish certain material and PR's sometimes want things to be published and others not.. their interests are for the most part in conflict of one another. They are, by definition, rivals! This is not to even get into the "PR's don't know how to do their job" to "journalists who can't even write" arguments. Beneath it all, it is a mere pull and push war going on between the two sides.

I say, let it continue. The more balanced the scales are (and I prefer them to favor the journalists) the better. All that is happening now is that journalists are starting to gain some of that control. The status quo is changing. Is it the drive for transparency or is it more than that?

You wouldn't normally expect to read about PR in the Sports section of a newspaper. Not for Bahrain's Al Bilad newspaper! They took up a good half page of the sport section to demand an apology from the Football Association for attacks made on them by their PR Officer.

The articles (clipping attached) goes on about how the behavior is inappropriate, etc. What made me chuckle was the caricature and long explanation of what Public Relations actually is.

Kudos to Al Bilad. It is a shame when PR "professionals" forget their responsibilities and become antagonistic.

When I first read the headline, accompanied with a picture of Tina Turner, I laughed. PR folks can be funny. Then I read their "plea".

MEPRA's response to Tala's original op-ed piece was very predictable. What I did not expect is the cheap shot taken at non-MEPRA members.

Sadly and in truth, we admit there has been some bad behaviour, especially press release puffery. But, to be honest, this is mainly due to our ill-behaved younger brothers and sisters who are not part of the responsible Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) family.

Seriously? I mean, come on guys! I've met most of you in person and cannot believe that you could say that with a straight face!

You are using this as an opportunity to promote MEPRA and blame non-members for getting you here?

Sigh.

Tala al Ramahi wrote an op-ed piece on The National chastising PR executives for being clingy and ignorant of the role newspapers have. It touched a nerve, resulting in a rather long-winded response from Alex McNabb.

I think that I am in the unique position of not belonging to either camp, but closely associated to both. We measure and analyze editorial content. We tell clients where they are failing and where they are succeeding. We help PR execs know where they should spend their time. We read a lot. We see most of the press releases before they get published. We are able to tell who publishes a press-release verbatim and who doesn't.

Tala highlighted a problem that has been plaguing the industry for as long as it has existed. PR executives are tasked with getting their clients' message published. They try their best to do just that. So, even when you have a veteran PR practitioner who understands the value of mutual respect between journalists, rest assured, they have junior staff whose job is to pester journalists into publishing their clients' stories. Surely there are exceptions. Truth of the matter is, the exceptions are too far in between to recognize.

What I took home from Tala's op-ed was this: if you have a press release, you can send it.. but let me decide, on my own time, if this is a story worthy of being further investigated. Harassing me is not going to get it published. I am not sure why that came off as disrespectful.

The fact of the matter is, the majority of newspaper content consists of press releases, printed verbatim. Newspapers, especially in the UAE, read like a classifieds section. Publishers who underpay and overwork their staff end up with those who are unable or unwilling to perform the basic tasks of a journalist. Financial constraints on publishers also dictate that, despite claims to the contrary, editorial and advertising tie-ups.

Every editor will tell you that they have editorial integrity. Tell a lie enough times and you believe it yourself. The National, so far, does substantially less of the "copy/paste press release" syndrome that others have perfected.

You have AMG striking a deal with the RTA, which openly ties advertising money with "better coverage". The same people talking about the deal continue to tell us that they have editorial integrity!

So, in a market like this, can one blame journalists who are at least paid well enough to do their job? Let us all put things in perspective before starting to call one another disrespectful, shall we?

Every now and then, I have a look at my junk folder to see what I may have missed. It sometimes makes for a good read. I will be sharing some of what I find from time to time. The winner of this first installment is Change Media Solutions who sent an email telling me:

We are delighted to introduce ourselves as the fastly growing Digital Media Solutions Provider in the Middle East.

The bad English and nonsensical introduction is not what caught my interest. The email ends with this:

BUSINESS IS MARKETING MARKETING IS ADVERTISING

I kid you not!

Welcome to my new little corner. I have been toying with the idea of starting such a blog for a few years now. The more interesting blogs on the subject I see the more courage I get for taking the step and establishing one of my own.

You can expect random ramblings about PR and the state of media in general in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. You will of course find the occasional off-topic post, but that's just to keep things going.

Let's see how it goes!