Lobbying the lobbiests

I’ve spent today in NYC, gently lobbying one of the biggest (and smartest) PR firms and its influential guests for more ad spending on blogs. I made sure everyone here read John Aravosis’ post about the pernicious impact of blogger relations by PR firms.

Liberal non-profits, political operations, and companies interested in reaching either a progressive audience or an inside-the-beltway crowd wouldn’t think twice about spending $60,000 on a Washington Post ad, spending a good chunk of change on an ad in The Hill or Roll Call, or paying a PR firm a $20,000+ a month retainer to get their news on the blogs, among other venues (NOTE: the very best way to get me NOT to cover a story is to have a PR firm contact me). But the notion of spending $800 (or hopefully, several thousand dollars) on a blog ad gives them serious pause. Then they turn around and expect favors.