Harry Potter Teaches Us More Than Magic

July 27, 2007 | Media Trends

In a recent article in the Wall Street Journal about the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the journalists report on the yet-to-be-released book making appearances on places like YouTube and Flickr. It turned out that these appearances were indeed excerpts from the new book, ruining a $20 million security campaign to protect against just that.

In the age of ultra-transparency, where the Internet is both a friend and a foe ““ how do we as PR professionals protect this kind of news from breaking before we intend it? As PR strategist Jon Greer points out, “Will bloggers who never spent a day in journalism school, who never spent a day in a media newsroom, yet who command audiences and attention online, subject themselves to these [embargo date] guidelines? And if not, what is PR’s obligation to adhere to these guidelines if influential new media “˜journalists’ do not?”

I think the answer to that question is to know the bloggers that cover your news and be smart about when to send them information. Do your research and ask them how they prefer to work and when they want to receive important information. Most of all, you have to be a part of the dialogue to do PR in the new media world, keeping it at arms length is hardly an option these days. I also think a good disaster-recovery plan should be in place for when your news accidentally breaks, especially for instances like what happened with Harry Potter.

Just some food for thought, er should I say spells to make you conjure—

Matt

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