21. If You Visit the Media Where They Work…
I was visiting a big media conglomerate on 7th Avenue in New York with a client in tow once. On the way up to the 21st floor, in a jam packed elevator, my client turned to me and asked, “What’s the name of the next jerk we’re meeting?” Nice, huh? The jerk’s colleague was on the same lift. On the way in to, and out of, a media building be quiet. When meeting with the reporter, don’t try to read things on his or her desk upside down. If you’re left alone, don’t snoop. Don’t bring gifts, expensive or otherwise. Most reporters have desk drawers filled up with junk already and most can’t accept gifts of any real value. At a major metropolitan daily I visited, I was not allowed to buy the reporter a cup of coffee from the cafeteria vending machine.