RIM: NY Times didn’t seek comment for devastating article
A PR exec at BlackBerry maker Research in Motion says The New York Times did not contact them before running a story that insists BlackBerry owners are embarrassed by their phones.
The New York Times on Tuesday published an obituary for the BlackBerry—not an actual obit, but a story that says the device is an embarrassment to its owners. It even compares the gadget to—gulp—Myspace.
“The BlackBerry was once proudly carried by the high-powered and the elite, but those who still hold one today say the device has become a magnet for mockery and derision from those with iPhones and the latest Android phones,” the Times‘ Nicole Perlroth wrote.
But it gets worse for the PR pros at RIM—the Times didn’t give them a chance to respond.
Amy McDowell, the senior director of corporate communications at RIM, told PR Daily that the Times did not contact the company prior to publishing the story.
(A Times editor contacted by PR Daily would not comment on the matter.)
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