I read an article on Gawker today that said New York Times reporter Raymond Hernandez, who covers members of Congress from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, is dating Shrita Sterlin, the communications director for Rep. Edolphus Towns, a Democrat representing parts of Brooklyn.

According to Gawker:

“Sterlin gets paid to make Towns look good, a task that’s presumably made considerably more easy when the guy who’s supposed to cover him for the most important newspaper in local politics is your boyfriend.”

…and I got to thinking: Is it ethical for a reporter to date a PR pro if the reporter covers the same topic(s) the flack is pitching?

IMO…you can’t help who you love! Of course, that’s not to say that I can vouch for the relationship at hand. However, if it’s real and true, then I’m on board with it! And apparently, the Times is too…as long as the relationship is disclosed and the reporter doesn’t give special treatment to the flack (at least regarding news coverage).

But let’s talk in general here…is it ethical for a reporter and flack to date when their job directly intertwine? And what would need to be done to make the relationship work?

I can’t speak from personal experience here, but I still default to the idea that the heart wants what the heart wants and nothing (like a job) should come between that. But of course, I’m a romantic : )

I just think that this is a situation where your job and your personal life need to stay separate and there are a few things you shouldn’t do. Essentially, the flack shouldn’t get special treatment. But he/she also shouldn’t be denied coverage. The news outlet needs to review pitches in the same way it would from another flack. After all, lots of us have relationships with journos (not just romantic ones), and that often helps us get coverage…so the in-love PR pro shouldn’t be denied coverage either.

For the relationships sake, it would also be important not to bring work home…at least when both parties are involved. I could see situations where someone’s feelings could get hurt. I assume the whole scenario would work best with some ground rules set out right from the get-go.

But as I said, I have no experience with this…so my opinions could be completely wrong. (I’m just tossing around ideas in my head.)

What do you think? Are you a flack who has dated (or is dating) a journo? Let’s discuss…

Earlier this week, Forbes wrote an article calling out Ted Murphy of Izea Entertainment for paying bloggers to write good reviews of his clients’ products and services. The first line of the article even refers to Ted as a “scam artist”.

So what are these “scams” that Ted pulls? He engages bloggers to write reviews for clients like Kmart, Hewlett-Packard, SeaWorld, Sears and Dirt Devil, and he pays them up to $3,000 for a 200-word blurb! Of course, when you know a $3,000 paycheck is on the way, your review is bound to be positive (and they most often are).

So what I wonder is: what ethics apply here? When is it okay for a PR pro to engage (and pay) a blogger to endorse a product? Is it not okay at all?

In my opinion, there’s a fine line between endorsements and bribery when it comes to PR in the blogosphere.

Back in the days of traditional media relations (and still today), it is perfectly acceptable to invite a food critic to a new restaurant to sample the food in hopes that a good review would come of it. And for as long as I can remember, I’ve based my decisions on what movies to see because of what the critics have said. So shouldn’t the same rules apply here? Bloggers are increasingly becoming more and more influential, so why not give them a voice when it comes to product/service reviews?

In my opinion, it’s perfectly okay to give an influential blogger a free pass to an amusement park so they can review it. You’re not paying them, you’re just simply giving them an option to test out your park for themselves – even if it costs you a few free tickets. Same goes for product reviews: Why not send out your new baby product to a mommy blogger to see what she thinks of it? This is an old practice and it is perfectly ethical in my opinion. (Of course, as long as the blogger discloses that such company provided the free tickets/product.)

HOWEVER, paying someone $3,000 to say they love Dirt Devel is a completely different story (keep in mind, I can’t verify that actually happened – just using it as an example). Adding such a high dollar amount starts to create a huge bias and completely kills all influence a blogger has. If you want a blogger to review a cool new vacuum, send them one to try out – don’t bribe them with cash! Frankly, cash exchanging hands like that really makes the whole thing an unethical mess!

So what do you think? Are there clear lines here? Is it all fair game? Or is it all unethical?

Leave some comments please!