A complaint from flaks about (younger) hacks: they don’t want to get out of the office for meetings these days. They cancel lunch at very short notice. They don’t appreciate the personal touch that comes from a phone call as opposed to an email.
They simply don’t get the value of developing contacts that grow over the years.
The hacks aren’t lazy, they are overworked. But there is definitely a difference of opinion about the worth of face-to-face meetings across the age groups.
A few weeks back I went to a dinner, wondering whether it I should really have bothered.
I sat next to a really smart, likeable banker who had interesting things to say about the industry, and a smattering of gossip. She also had valuable advice on a personal (financial) matter.
So it was worth the effort.
It seemed even more so today when that same banker was appointed the new chief executive of TSB.
It meant I wasn’t writing about a complete stranger, but someone I had at least met.
These things are obvious. But I think we hacks and you flaks forget the obvious all of the time.