Earlier this summer, we did an interview with the No Respect! podcast. They asked us about The Consumerist in general and Walmart in particular. Especially of interest was our meeting with Mike Krempasksy (above, center, tie), who runs the Walmart blog war team at Edelman PR. After a series of disapariging posts, Mike wanted to meet up with us for drinks. He opened the meeting with, “This is all off the record.” The next thing out of his mouth was, “What can we do to get you to stop writing about our companies?” You can hear more about it in this episode of the No Respect! podcast.
We didn’t tell you about this fateful meeting until now because one, we had agreed not to, but more importantly, we wanted to play it out and see what happened with Edelman. Not much did, we never did get that exclusive behind the scenes factory tour to see where they convert undocumented immigrant workers into budget home furnishings. We did, however, exchange a series of bitchy emails with Mike Krempasky. For instance, after the jump, what he said today after he saw this podcast go up…
UPDATE: Mike rebutts and we retort.
Subject: Ben, a quick follow up
From: “Krempasky, Michael”
Date: 12:31 PM
To: tips@consumerist.com
I remain impressed with your professionalism, although I now consider myself well educated about your perspective on the notion of an informal and off the record conversation.
Cheers and good luck.
From: Ben Popken [mailto:tips@consumerist.com]
Sent: Wed 9/27/2006 12:36 PM
To: Krempasky, Michael
Subject: Re: Ben, a quick follow up
What development is this in reference to?
Subject: RE: Ben, a quick follow up
From: “Krempasky, Michael”
Date: 12:37 PM
To: tips@consumerist.com
Love the podcast.
From: Ben Popken [mailto:tips@consumerist.com]
Sent: Wed 9/27/2006 12:41 PM
To: Krempasky, Michael
Subject: Re: Ben, a quick follow up
Maybe Edelman can make a podcast on how restricting the free expression of information contributes to a healthy republic.
Subject: RE: Ben, a quick follow up
From: “Krempasky, Michael”
Date: 12:41 PM
To: tips@consumerist.com
Hmm, what a fascinating perspective. Here I thought it was a question of courtesy and professionalism, not to mention committment.
Subject: Re: Ben, a quick follow up
From: Ben Popken
Date: 1:02 PM
To: Krempasky, Michael
Guess I have better things to do.
Now that we’ve outed this, guess we’re going to have to tell you about Walmart’s trikes for tots program they made based off a comment in one of our posts. A more blatant attempt to be nice, we’ve never seen. And that time we and Mike laughed about the Dead or Alive video. Ah, good times.
UPDATE: Mike rebutts and we retort.
More From Consumerist
-
Walmart Sells Fake Display Model iPad, Won’t Exchange It For Real One
-
Walmart, Where Math Is Hard But The Fruit Is 110% Delicious
-
Inventory Error Means I Can’t Make Toys ‘R’ Us Price-Match Itself
-
Nail Salon Apologizes For Insulting, Racially Charged Tweets About Upset Customer
-
At This Walmart, Three And A Half Pretty Much Equals Five
Nope, you didn’t ask, you declared. We said, “Ok.” Now we’re saying, “not ok.”
That’s not exactly how “off the record” works.
For what it’s worth, in the political realm, on behalf of a number of leading lefty blogs I worked directly with Mike to defeat some rather nasty efforts to regulate political speech online. Mike’s politics are (IMHO) wrong, but he’s an honorable and decent guy, and you can’t renege on an agreement to speak off the record.
Consumerist has an obligation to its readers (American consumers) that trumps anything else. Despite saying something is “off the record”, when whatever it is that is “off the record” has to do with information that is important to a party you represent (in this case, Consumerist represents consumers), it’s the person doing all the “off the record” talking that needs to be wary.
That’s what consumer advocacy is supposed to be about. That’s the way it needs to be and I think it’s valuable for everyone, especially consumers, to better understand the economics of information, how information flows and to question the source of information.
Just my $0.02.
I am veghead51@hotmail.com how do I find out what my membership number is
Hey; interesting discussion, referenced at brandchannel.com.
I think you guys owe it to “your readers” to let us know EVERYone you meet with privately related to your work as a “consumer advocate.” Seems relevant to what you say about people/companies to know how said people/companies grease things.
And based on what you’ve said, and what Krempasky does, I doubt that he barreled into the purported smoking-gun-comment without getting your assent. If he did get your assent, then your character is lacking. If he said what he did, then I think his character is lacking. But to the Left (hey DU folks!) two wrongs do make a right and the end justifies the means and all’s fair in love and war and politics, right?
“Nothing is off the record.”
This was a giant slide in a media spokesperson training course from my agency days. Most of the time, if a journalist or blogger agrees to an off-the-record conversation, it’s off the record. But never assume that a blogger will take that commitment to the grave.
Michael has every right to be mad, but he should have been smarter. Assume everything is on the record, and you’ll never end up looking stupid.
“The morality of reneging on a committment to a PR flack… sounds like the basis for a good piece of sketch comedy.”
Nope, you didn’t ask, you declared. We said, “Ok.” Now we’re saying, “not ok.”
———
Morality on a sliding scale is a very slippery slope and probably not conducive to running a blog based on people believing that you are telling the truth and giving them the straight story. Honesty doesn’t have anything to do with the person you are speaking to. Your honesty is all about you.
Did you steal his wallet too? Or beat him up? Why not? He’s just a PR flack.