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The roll of pet-owning bloggers who "turned themselves into a news and information collection and dissemination machine" to report on the pet food recall debacle is a clear indicator of why mainstream media (MSM) is losing readers to the Internet in droves. MSM just doesn't understand what people really care about.
USA Today's Elizabeth Weise reports on the mobilization of pet owners by a dedicated group of bloggers including Pet Connection who jumped in when mainstream media reports proved sketchy, scattered, wrong, or, in many cases, non-existent.
Blogs written by pet owners assembled information sources that drew millions of readers, and most of the bloggers are unpaid. That's because most of us, including me, blog because we love to learn and share information -- especially when it affects members of our family, like our pets.
56% of U.S. Households Own Pets
Considering that 56% of U.S. households own pets, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, it continues to astound me that MSM didn't think the story important enough to cover.
Weise says bloggers sometimes stated tips as the truth, leaving journalists to track them down and disprove them. She also should have noted that a large percentage of those tips were correct and that the only place to find them often was in blogs because MSM never reported most of the details.
For example, Pet Connection live-blogged and ran transcripts of the FDA press conferences where the recall was discussed. Those reports never made it to mainstream media websites, and of they certainly weren't in any print outlets.
All in all, it was "crowd sourcing" at its finest, says Paul Grabowicz, director of the New Media Program at the University of California at Berkeley.
"It's heartening to see that people did it," he says.
Acetaminophen and Salmonella Found in Pet Foods Not in Previous Recall Lists
Meanwhile, Pet Connection has reports on The ASPCA's Animal Poison Control Center has just issued a warning following the reports of acetaminophen in pet food n brands of cat and dog food not included on the Menu Foods recall list. However, the brands have not been named! Additionally, Wal-mart has just recalled Ol' Roy dog food in 69 stores in the south because of salmonella poisoning.
This is exactly why I am cooking for Benny Bix, above. (I took that shot with the Nikon D80 that I am testing as part of the Nikon Blogger Outreach program.) Drop me an email if you want to know more about what I feed him. I'll be glad to share the information I got from my holistic vet.
Posted by B.L. Ochman
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Comments
BL
Great Post.
I have to tell you that as a branding blogger and pet owner I also took up this cause for the same reason: lack of mainstream information.
The pet food recall did several things: First, it showed the power of consumers and Web 2.0.
Second, this incident exposed something marketers have known for years but the general public did not, that many supposedly unique, differentiated brands were not and were actually just games of packing and marketing weakening consumer trust in pet food branding, and IMO branding in general.
Third, as opposed to human product issues like Tylenol, highlighted that no senior executive of a US pet food company would come forth publicly to explain what was going on to ensure loyal brand buyers that those companies were committed to resolving the matter and creating trust.
The pet food recall is a marketing case for the ages. I received thousands of emails specifically about the breakdown in trust with pet food brands. I was able to get MSM...the Wall Street Journal's Ellen Byron to run a story on this subject...but it took weeks to get her editors to approve it and even then it got bumped for two more weeks.
Yet a reporter friend at American Public Media (they serve NPR) was unable to get her editors to think this story deserved any attention and it was passed over.
Still to this day US pet food companies have not stepped to the plate and been forthcoming with consumers. Instead they keep hoping this whole matter will just be forgotten. It will not, because consumers are in more control today of their consuming lives than ever.
The Brand Man Speaks
Eli Portnoy
Posted by: Eli Portnoy | 06.10.07
Eli: Sadly, though, the pet food companies may be right. Many pet owners seem to think - and one told me this morning -- that everything is fine now because they aren't hearing about the problem.
That's the worst kind of slime ball response from Menu, etc. - no response.
And mainstream media really fell down on the job, and still don't have a clue.
Elizabeth Weise at USA Today has done the most comprehensive coverage of any big paper, and that's far from enough.
What the pet food manufacturers are forgetting is our sheer numbers - pet owners vote. And while millions may prefer oblivion, there are millions more who are aware, who are influencers and who are not going to let this issue be glossed over.
Posted by: B.L. Ochman | 06.11.07
BL,
In your opening paragraph, you offer "MSM just doesn't understand what people really care about" as if this was a new development. I contend that they probably never did care about what their readers wanted to know - only in what they wanted to tell them, what their own private agenda was, and how they wanted to shape public opinion.
Steve
Posted by: Steve Hoffacker | 06.14.07