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EDITOR OF REDSTATE

Selling Endorsements? [updated]

By: Erick Erickson (Diary)  |  June 7th, 2011 at 11:23 AM  | 

RESIZE: AAA

I want to thank Ben Smith at the Politico for letting me know about an email that went out from Eagle Publishing, our parent company. I had not seen and did not know about the email.

Just to start it off, no, my endorsements are not for sale.

I don’t know who the guy is who sent the email, but he certainly did RedState no favors.

About two months ago, Hillsdale College approached me to see if I’d be willing to promote their townhall event. I was glad to. The project was a success and we subsequently followed it up with the Heritage Foundation. We’ve been approached by a few others I didn’t much care for and I have declined to help. I guess the sales team decided to take the ball and run with it.

A sales guy at Eagle sent out an email, which you can read below the fold, which neither I nor my boss at Eagle saw before it was sent out. It all but says my endorsement is for sale. It is not.

The focus of these ad campaigns are for conservative organizations I support and am glad to help, never for candidates or groups I don’t much care for. In fact, a certain Presidential candidate asked me to do one for an ancillary project and wanted me to use the word “endorse,” which I would not do.

That’s the situation. With me in Georgia and operations in Washington, I guess something like this was bound to happen eventually.

You can read the email below the fold.

[updated] ***By the way, this is an appropriate time to answer the question of why I have not endorsed a candidate or two you all expect me to endorse and have demanded I endorse. Apparently, one or two candidates I’d like to endorse signed on as sponsors to the RedState Gathering before the sales guys understood that I don’t want candidates to sponsor out of an appearance of impropriety should I endorse them. Consequently, I don’t think I can in good faith endorse candidates who have sponsored the Gathering. I may like them, but the appearance of impropriety would be too much in my mind. I don’t want to mention the candidates, because it is not their fault, but for those of you emailing to have me endorse particular candidates we both like, there’s why I have not and will not.

From: Chris McIntyre
Date:
To:
Subject: New: RedState Endorsement Program Featuring Erick Erickson -
Featured Today at RedState.com

xxxx:

Erick Erickson’s reputation along with his rising profile, combine to
make RedState the most influential conservative blog on Capitol Hill
and across America.

Why not put Erick’s influence to work for your organization?

Our new RedState Endorsement Program includes:

1. Erick’s Video Endorsement (subject to final approval by Erick)

2. Sponsorship of the RedState Morning Briefing (sent 4X)

3. Delivery of RedState Dedicated Email Services (sent 4X)

4. Hosted advertising on RedState.com (interstitial banner overlay)

5. Limited Program Availability

The banner overlay, which is just one part of the program, is running
today. Please click on the following link to take a look:
www.RedState.com

Organizations with issues, candidates and viewpoints that are in line
with Erick’s positions can truly benefit from his endorsement. The
program is specifically designed to provide broad, multi-channel
coverage and put your message in front of the people who can truly
support your advocacy and fund raising efforts.

If interested in learning more, I would like to schedule some time to
provide you with additional detail on what is included. Let me know
what your availability looks like.

Thanks.

Chris McIntyre

Senior Account Executive

The Human Events Group – Eagle Publishing

COMMENTS

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  • powertothepeople

    or at least did he lose a large portion of his ass from the chewing out? Something like this will go viral and will hurt our cause and your activism.

    Hope he sends out a retraction and is willing to stand up and clear the air when it comes up.

  • benjaminz

    Even with your clarification, this is going to hurt the reputation of RedState.
    It is also concerning that the sending of such an email is possible without proper authorization.

    In an economy with perhaps 20 percent unemployment (or 9 percent, taking the government numbers), it hurts to think that Chris McIntyre gets to keep his job despite such incompetence.

  • Bill S

    The question is: what will be the ramifications of doing it?

  • sundaycombo

    The folks at Talking Points Memo and Daily Kos are running with it. I too suggest that the sales guy needs to walk the plank.

  • ldmartin1959

    Can we presume that Chris McIntyre has been appropriately canned? Or at least had his backside handed to him on a silver plate?

  • JustLeaveMeAlone

    This is an embarrassment. And while your clarification is great, Erick, it needs to come from Eagle Publishing as well — and maybe even from the guy who sent the original.

  • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

    It’s a poor choice of words in a political season — or, hell, for a political blog, but the word “endorsement” was never merely a political term.

    As Guerriero mentions in Smith’s piece, the “endorsements” mentioned here are product endorsements. For example:
    Right now, my station is in talks with a particular company who would like for me to shill their product. They’ll give me use of that product, and I’ll go on the air a few times a day and talk about it. They’ll pay me.

    If I don’t believe in the product, I won’t attach my name to it.

    On the other hand, I like LOTS of products. I won’t endorse them UNLESS ASKED and COMPENSATED.

    The reality is, there’s nothing to this email other than standard operating procedure for any media outlet or personality out there. Including liberals.

    Ben Smith published his article in bad faith, regardless of the truth, AND HE KNOWS IT.

  • http://www.ArchitecturalShots.com mdyou

    And stupid.

  • rmill1967

    http://www.boortz.com/weblogs/nealz-nuze/2011/apr/29/erick-erickson-fills/

  • http://www.erickerickson.org Erick Erickson

    The ratings don’t reflect the comments.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    If Libtards hate him then he’s doing something right in the conservative movement.

  • Paul

    It is obvious that Mr. McIntyre overstepped his authority, but hey Give the guy a break. This is a tough business and I am sure he thought that by qualifying the letter with the (subject to final approval by Erick) statement he was leaving the final control up to Mr Erickson.
    So all these people calling for his dismissal I would ask them to examine their own record and then throw stones as needed.
    After all I am sure his interest was increasing revenue and not disparaging your reputation. I for one ask you to give the guy a break, give him some better understanding of your position and maybe an apology e-mail to those that got his initial email, but fire him for his attempts to drive your bottom line upward?
    No way.

  • http://www.hakubi.us/ Neil Stevens

    So when you attempt to sell out another man’s integrity without his knowledge, do you demand the full 30 pieces of silver, or is that just the starting point?

  • oldbird77

    TPM is offering $500 for your endorsement. I think that’s a little light, personally.

  • Bill S

    But thanks for playing.

    Mr. McIntyre has thrown into question the reputation of anyone who posts on Redstate, including myself. He deserves any/all “discipline” that he receives.

  • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

    See my above post for reference…

    The real culprit here, frankly is Ben Smith (or his editor — I don’t know who headlines stuff at Politico), for deliberately casting a malicious light on an industry standard (counting on the ignorance of their readers to fill in any and all dishonorable intentions they see fit).

    McIntyre is guilty of two main muckups here — for ONE of which, he would deserve nothing more than a simple talking-to, and perhaps a retraining: a poorly-written email.

    However, the bigger issue here is one that, depending upon Eagle’s policies on such things, really COULD get him fired: neither Erick McIntyre’s superiors were AWARE of the email, AND Erick, as he says above, had made other arrangements on that front. Which means McIntyre drafted and sent the email WITHOUT APPROVAL.

    Again, I don’t know how things work at Eagle, but it seems to me this is the greater of the two human resources problems.

    But the fact remains: Erick’s — and our — reputation is being harmed not because of malicious intent on the part of McIntyre, but because of a simple mistake compounded by the Liberals’ (and the Press’s) complete lack of integrity and ability to get ahead of the narrative. There is blame here… but that blame belongs to Ben Smith and Politico.

  • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

    “neither Erick NOR McIntyre’s superiors…”

  • Bill S

    all by my lonesome and just decided to spray it out to the universe and it turned out to be a royal f-up, I’d be sent packing the next day. The mere fact that he did it without approval is reason enough to bag his butt.

  • http://slcliberty.blogivists.com randy streu

    That, however, is up to Eagle, and not worth the energy being spent on it. We SHOULD be directing our anger toward Ben Smith and Politico.

  • Old_Crow

    Sure it’s a very tough and competitive business but if you ever threaten the “brand” you are marketing, you are fired – no excuses.

    Rule 1 in marketing is not to damage the ‘brand’ and the ‘brand’ in this case is Eric and RS. This guy at Eagle doesn’t understand his job.

  • Adjoran

    But with Marshall, I wouldn’t take a check . . .

  • Adjoran

    a collection of Journ-O-List leftist propagandists.

    Expecting good faith from them seems like the old saying about second marriages: “The triumph of Hope over Experience.”