Katie Holmes Graces the Cover of Marie Claire
Marie Claire responded today to the fitness bloggers who reacted so strongly to the magazine’s “Hunger Diaries” article. The editors rounded up comments and Twitter and blog posts (mine was one of them) to show that they are listening to their readers and to show both sides of the story.
I’ve been in social media for a while now and I’ve seen a few companies respond to negative PR situations such as this. Some did it well; some not so well. Here’s my take on Marie Claire:
What they did right
- They acknowledged the brouhaha. I don’t think any of us really expected the reaction to be so widespread. It was like we had our own fitness meme of the day. It would have been nice if the magazine’s response had come a little sooner, though. Three days after seems a bit late in social media timelines.
- They sparked our community. We really took off with the topic and had some great conversations in our sphere of the blogging universe. This is cool. I commented on other people’s blogs for the first time and they on mine. It was great to talk to my fellow bloggers around a common cause. I feel like I’ve started a few friendships out of it and that’s amazing.
What they did wrong
- The first few comments in their roundup were skewed towards their side of the story. In fact most of the Twitter comments they spotlighted favored Marie Claire as well. The percentage of pro vs. con that were included in the article didn’t represent what I saw on Twitter or the blogs. Almost everyone I spoke with disagreed with the attack viewpoint of the article. Several bloggers (myself included) picked up the threads the writer seemed to be trying to express and continued the discussion for her but in a more positive tone of voice. None of this was mentioned in Marie Claire‘s response.
- They didn’t reach out to the community. While they did round up quotes and blog links, they didn’t talk to any of us to deepen their understanding of our reaction. If I’m wrong, please correct me. Did anyone get asked for an interview or some sort of follow-up? The magazine also didn’t respond to us on Twitter or join in on the #fitblog discussion the day after the controversy arose. But I’m sure they were following that closely! Joining in and reaching out would have showed guts and integrity; we would have respected them even if we disagreed with their point of view.
- There was no editorial explanation. I would like to know why the particular angle was chosen. The writer approached the bloggers with a different story idea than the one that got printed. Was the writer “fluffing” to get the quotes she wanted or did someone above her change the focus of the article? Although the writer is getting vilified, it might not have been her decision.
What They Could Do
- Interact with us. I’m not saying they need to go to everyone’s blog posts and leave comments. It’s water under the bridge at this point. What I’m saying is from time to time reach out to our community. We share the same readers and we advocate for the same viewpoint of healthy living. Stop by a blog and leave a comment occasionally or maybe retweet a post you like. (Men’s Health does this, by the way; they’ve used a few of my articles on their “Around the Blogosphere” section. I’ve also been listed on HuffPo.)
- Foster our community. There will be a FitBloggin ’11. Why doesn’t Marie Claire host a panel discussion on the role of responsibility in health blogging? I’m sure Roni would be happy to work with you to set that up. Don’t just slap down some dough for posters though; send an editor to interact with us. Show us how your world works so we can understand you better.
- Highlight integrity. There are blogs out there that you clearly don’t agree with. That’s cool. No one has the right to control another’s editorial choices; freedom of speech and all that. Why don’t you support the fitness bloggers that you like by showcasing us to your readers? I’m not asking for editorial content in your magazine; for a blogger that’s kinda like finding the Holy Grail. But perhaps you could do a weekly roundup of posts that you like. Or you could invite a few of us to guest post on various topics. May I suggest a fun roundup of what fitness bloggers are doing to trot off the turkey this Thanksgiving? Or how about a New Year’s Resolution roundup? What are bloggers saying about healthy goals for 2011?
You’ve got a great opportunity here. Look at some of the other traditional media organizations who are interacting with bloggers. Heck, look at Salon.com as a stellar example of a website combining high integrity journalism with blogger contributions. The New York Times regularly employs bloggers to highlight different topics for them. It can be done well and will only create a better, healthier community for our readers.
To the fitbloggers out there, what do you think? To Marie Claire, you said you’re listening. Are you?
Respectfully,
Lisa
Twitter
I really agree Lisa, there is a wonderful opportunity here to ENGAGE. Many of the paper media outlets have been interacting with blog writers for some time, as you mentioned, tweeting, emailing, recognizing the powerful contribution that can be made.
I love getting a quick DM from a mag saying they liked an article or seeing them RT a college. The contributions of such a passionate community cannot be underestimated. We all saw that vividly displayed this week.
I hope that MC uses this as a learning experience, much as I hope the blogging community does as well.
very well put Rita, I think both sides have learned from this.
Oh my – can you imagine if this week in the #fitblog thread we got “Hi – @MarieClaire here and I’m listening.
It is very interesting to me that they weren’t more engaged throughout the week.
I LOVE your ideas to engage now – absolutely, leverage the efforts and audiences of the bloggers that are doing well, host a session at the conference, etc.
Great post!
Thanks Kris :-)
I agree 100% — they should offer to chair a discussion panel at Fitbloggin. There is obviously so much more to be said about this topic on both sides.
great post Lisa! I too would love it if they would engage with the bloggers and attend Fitbloggin!
So they write an entire article putting down healthy living bloggers, then proceed to put Katy Holmes picture on the front with a very unhealthy looking body. I feel like I am being pulled in different direction by this magazine. Why try to hurt a great community of bloggers and then be so inconsistant? Imagine if one of the “big six” had prasied her body?
Robby and Workout Mommy, thanks so much for your comments. I’m glad you liked the post. It would be great to get a chance to interact with them and for both sides to get a peak into the other’s world.
Macrae, I actually think Marie Claire is one of the better style magazines out there. I’ve been reading them for years and I like their practical advice for all things fashionista and I think they do some harder hitting women issues pieces that make people think or better yet help. The fact is actresses are very thin in Hollywood these days and MC needs famous actresses to help sell magazines. It’s just a fact of life. Could they do better, I suppose so … but Katy Holmes is known as a middle distance runner and has done some decently serious road races. Is it obsessive of her to run? I hope not but I really don’t know.
Do I think there was a little pot calling the kettle black? Definitely, some of the other stories posted by the Hunger Diaries one could have just as easily been attacked by the writer as the blogs she went after. It was a bit hypocritical of the magazine to assume a “serious magazine” was above reproach while going after bloggers.
Thanks for your thoughts, I really appreciate you adding your voice. L–
great article you really gave your objectives and were strong in your opinions i hope marie claire takes your advice, looks like the next time i go to the library i have to check out that magazine
Thanks Lorrie, I appreciate it. I did get one tweet from them, but otherwise they’ve gone radio silent … so I don’t know if they heard me or not. L–