Guy gives interview without clearance, gets deservedly fired

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Paul McNamara at Network World sent me this little blog piece about how an unnamed employee at an unnamed company gave an interview without permission and got canned for it.

Sorry to sound like the heartless bastard here, but if the company had a rule about talking to the media without authorization, then that’s exactly what should have happened.

Sorry, people, but it comes down to this – There are a thousand opinions about any given incident at any given company. That’s fine. But there should only by one voice. One voice speaks for the company, one voice gets quoted, and one voice tells one story.

When I worked at AOL back in the day, I watched the editor next to me get fired for talking to the media. Scared me straight. Now, I tell every client of mine to make sure their employees know that if the media calls, all the employee is allowed to say is “our PR person is Peter Shankman, here’s his phone number and email.”

One voice speaks for the company. In this day and age, it simply has to be that way.

Thanks Paul for the link!

Off to a lunch with Proximity Asia then to Changi Airport. Yay!

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