I occasionally receive requests for interviews from media outlets. I try to be generous with my time, especially if the topic is one that I feel strongly about, and I feel informed enough to add value. But the latest request that I recieved has to go down as the oddest I’ve yet received, and one that, quite frankly, was a bit disturbing.

It began with the following email:

Dear Dr. Salomon:

Attached is a national press release that will be going to the media soon and we were hoping to get a couple of quotes from you for this endeavor…

That email was followed, almost immediately, by a call from the agency representing the firm. The gentleman from the agency reiterated the firm’s interest in quoting me. His selling point was, “This PR campaign is about to go national. It will make you famous.” What an odd thing to say to someone. I was dumbfounded. I could not believe what I had just heard. Was someone actually offering to make me famous in exchange for a quote?? Unbelievable.

After collecting my thoughts, I coolly responded, “Fame is not part of my objective function.” I then let him know that it was extremely (approaching infinitely) unlikely that I would be party to that kind of quid pro quo exchange. I also let him know that I thought the request was inappropriate.

But that’s not even the best part. Attached to the email that they sent was a draft of the press release. Paragraph 3 of the press release read as follows:

Dr. ____________________, __________________ of ____________ University, has studied the pending shift in operations and commented “As overseas labor becomes more costly and the process is bogged down with red tape, I think you’ll see many large operations attempting to do what XXX Company is pioneering right now.  Many companies can learn from their steadfast examination of these processes and innovative use of technology to cut costs, increase profits, protect their intellectual property and – when we need it most – bring jobs back to our own country.”

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? A PRE-FABBED, FABRICATED QUOTE!!

So let me get this straight: They wanted to make me famous by filling my name in the blanks, citing my fictitious study, and fabricating my quote.

Guess they thought it would save me the trouble of actually having to do anything.

Crazy. Distasteful, dishonest, disgusting, and crazy.

Now I know I am not perfect. Very far from it. But this just seemed to cross a line, …even for the PR business. Where are the professional norms for honesty and integrity when you need them??

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