Mistakes

I made a mistake. Yes, folks, it happens. I wrote about a guesthouse in a recent piece in which one of the co-founders/ partners was improperly credited. In my defence, I had properly named and credited her in the version I filed. But in the rounds of editing and sub-editing, she had ended up being stripped of her name and status and simply called “the wife”. I should have spotted it. It was a mistake.

But instead of messaging me after the piece appeared and asking me to correct this in the online version (which the FT has done) – the other partner/co-founder (ie. the husband) posted on social media expressing his outrage that such a thing could have happened. Don’t get me wrong. No female partner, businesswoman or entrepreneur should be reduced to the “wife”. But is complaining about it online really the answer?

When I messaged them to apologise, they were of course very gracious. They said they understood these things happen and were grateful when I assured them we would fix it online. No histrionics. Only kindness. So why the performative outrage on Instagram? I guess outrage sells.

As PRs you know that journalists make mistakes. Hopefully you know how to deal with them: not by letting your clients mouth off about it online. You do your best to pre-empt possible errors by giving the journalist the right information. If mistakes happen, you ask for a correction online or on social media. Journalists are usually happy to make them. And though errors in print can’t be reversed, it’s surely the permanent record online that counts more.

When I worked in celebrity journalism, I once made a heinous mistake and got the date for an actress shoot and interview wrong. The actress in question had flown in specially. The shoot and interview had to be rearranged and the publicist was livid. Our photo director – who arranges shoots and was used to things going wrong – made a suggestion. Why not send the publicist flowers? I did. A big bouquet. With a big apology. It worked. The gesture lowered the temperature. The publicist got over it. It was a very human way to say sorry.

Sometimes a phone call (instead of an email) works just as well. Sometimes a gift or other gesture. Amidst the constant back and forth on devices and despite the irritation we feel when things go wrong, it’s good to remember that we’re all just people and make mistakes. It’s how you deal with those mistakes that matters. And that’s a message I direct to my fellow journalists (and even myself) in our relations with PRs too.