KC Star columnist victim of an unethical cheap shot

A KC Star news columnist (who was just demoted to part-time due to cost cuts) sends a clumsy email to a PR director regarding a job opening. The PR "professional" turns around and sends the correspondence to a mean-spirited blog, which publishes the whole email and calls the columnist out by name.

Conveniently, the blog decides to leave the leaker anonymous and run with the columnist's name anyway. A different PR firm identifies the bitch leaker as Brandy Ernzen.

http://bottomlinecom.com/kcnews/unfairshotsathendricks.html

Here's the blog post: http://badpitch.blogspot.com/2009/08/mike-hendricks-and-laws-of.html

This sucks, terribly. We all like to think job correspondence is going to be confidential, and it's horribly unprofessional that it was leaked to a blog which in turn will absolutely blast the applicant.

What is this world coming to?

 

Nobody -- columnist, flack, blogger -- managed to come out of this with much in the way of dignity remaining.

 

I'm stunned to see a PR flack and a blogger lacking dignity.

 

Just wow.

 

I can't imagine sending someone's confidential information to a blog like that. I honestly can't even fathom what kind of person would think that was funny, or cute, or in any way acceptable.

 

No kidding. Yes, he was a little snobbish in his e-mails, but does he really deserve to not only have his private correspondence splashed all over the Internet, but vilified by PR hacks? That would be a no.

It's called class. The people over at Ogden Communications should find some.

 

Can't imagine Brandy's boss will be too amused by her behavior.

Bummer for her if she ever needs to come up with references for her resume once this story circulates a little more.

 

I'm horrified by the number of comments on the two blogs basically saying, "Well, he's a bad guy, so good." It doesn't matter if he's a good guy, bad guy, who cares? Put yourself in his shoes. If you send an e-mail about a job, something everyone in this business is likely to do sometime, would you want it posted on a blog? What is going on with standards in business? I hope they do take legal action and win.

 

Wow.

Isn't there some sort of privacy issue involved here? I mean, if I send a message about a job listing, shouldn't I expect some sort of legal protection against my inquiry being posted for the world to see?

 

Oh my... look what I found over on the OgdenPubs.com website. Hmmmmm...

 

She better get her cover letter written up...and let's hope they don't end up on a blog somewhere. That'd just be mean.