Write you are…

So a journalism student couldn’t get a quote out of Apple PR. She emailed Steve Jobs. He told her to sod off. She wasn’t happy about it. Apparently she is now blaming him for her grade, so I felt the need to say this: Steve Jobs may have been rude, but he had a point.

Let’s start with the reason for contacting Apple. She’s a journalism student. She needs help with her homework. That is not why Apple’s press office (or anyone else’s) exists – and if you read the comments on some of the articles about this, you’ll see a lot of PR people weighing in to point out that student journalists can sometimes be, well, a pain. Take this comment:

I work in public relations myself and have run various press offices over the years. The fact is that student journalists are a pain in the backside. Many of them basically ask you to do their work for them… When you consider that the organisation concerned has NO STAKE WHATSOEVER in the student’s essay/dissertation/article, it’s hardly surprising they give them short shrift… And the whine of “don’t you realise you are threatening my grade” is quite common. Perhaps if the students made sure the work they have chosen to pursue is practical first much of this grief could be avoided.

Well, quite. Not only that, but press offices do not, in fact, exist to serve journalists – although serving journalists is a means to an end. Press offices exist to serve the companies for whom they do press. They have no obligation to anyone but their company/client. They don’t have to talk to journalists if they choose not to, never mind student ones.

Not that all student journalists are a nuisance. As with anything, there are good and bad ones. Although, for the record, I doubt I’m the only one who’s had several experiences of being asked to answer questions by email, saying no but they’re welcome to call me (to save time and effort my end and avoid doing their work for them) only to be met with absolute silence. Which is polite.

And so to Ms Isaacs’ email, which contains a load of waffle about her use of Apple products and a moan about how she needs a response because it is “vital to my academic grade”.

“For my journalism course, I am writing an article about the implementation of an iPad program at my school, the CW Post Campus of Long Island University.” Which suggests the grade shouldn’t just hang on a response from Apple. Presumably there are people right there at Long Island U who can talk about the program.

“The completion of this article is crucial to my grade in the class” – not Apple’s problem – “and it may potentially get published in our university’s newspaper” – um, why on earth is Apple supposed to care? She also asks why Apple’s media relations team has ignored her needs “as a student journalist who is just trying to get a good grade?” Because that is not what Apple’s media relations team is for. Her grade is not their problem. She even accuses the PR dept of “hypocrisy” for “ignoring student needs when they represent a company that does so much for our schools”. Is it the Student Relations department? Precisely.

This is a perfect example of someone failing to grasp that rather than banging on about why they need something and why it will benefit them, they need to consider what’s in it for the other person and why they would (or indeed wouldn’t) care. And don’t get me started on all the gushing about Apple products. It’s supposed to be a media request, not a fan letter.

She also says: “Unfortunately, for a journalist in the professional world, lacking the answers they need on deadline day won’t just cost them a grade; it could cost them their job.”

Hmm. A journalist in the professional world wouldn’t rely on one source to make or break a whole piece without making sure said source was willing to talk. They wouldn’t sit around whingeing, they would get the information they needed from, you know, other sources. And that’s the rub. These emails to Apple imply that the person sending them has done nothing wrong whatsoever and only Apple is at fault. You know what? Having a company flat out refuse to comment probably isn’t going to lose a hack their job. Behaving like this just might – the arse-licking, the guilt-tripping, the whining that it’s someone else’s fault the piece hasn’t come together, the complaining that she “just wanted a good grade” without figuring out any other way to get it.

The JC reports that Ms Isaacs has carried right on whingeing. “Ms Isaacs, who hopes to work in journalism, said she would think twice about buying Apple products in future… Apple didn’t really want to help and they didn’t really care.” Yes, love. That’s what happens in journalism. People don’t want to help and they don’t really care. Throwing a strop and blaming them for the quality of your work will do you no professional favours.

“Her coursework has been marked with a B+, rather than the A she had hoped for.” You know what? That is really, really not Steve Jobs’ fault.