A long week of commentary after news of the Wal-Marting Across America blog's real backers and bloggers became known has finally elicited responses from top man Richard Edelman and company VP/A-list blogger Steve Rubel.
post came from Edelman today: I want to acknowledge our error in failing to be transparent about the identity of the two bloggers from the outset. This is 100% our responsibility and our error; not the client's. Let me reiterate our support for the WOMMA guidelines on transparency, which we helped to write. Our commitment is to openness and engagement because trust is not negotiable and we are working to be sure that commitment is delivered in all our programs. And this response All of this could have been avoided easily with not just transparency, but an up-front discussion about what the traveling bloggers were doing. Wal-Mart is going to be criticized for virtually every action it takes anyway, so why not practice full disclosure up front, and say they are sending a couple of professional journalists on a RV trip to camp at Wal-Marts and talk to employees? If that would have dissuaded Thresher and his partner Laura St. Claire, whose brother works for Edelman, from participating, there are plenty of people who would have taken their place. Critics will complain anyway (that is what they do) so why give them extra ammunition to do so? It's still a funny old world. Add to Del.icio.us | Digg | Yahoo! My Web | Furl Bookmark Murdok: David Utter is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.Edelman, Rubel Respond On Wal-Mart Flog
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