Who would have thought a comedic anchor that claims he delivers “fake news” would be someone America would place their wholesome trust on?

In a poll conducted by Time.com, the question was asked following the death of the original most trusted man in America, legendary journalist and former CBS news anchor Walter Cronkite. The evening news contenders – CBS’s Katie Couric, ABC’s Charlie Gibson, NBC’s Brian Williams were all beat out by the wise guy, joke-cracking anchor – Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart, who was voted most trustworthy by 44 percent of the voters. Williams was runner-up with 29 percent, Gibson with 19 percent, and trailing behind was Miss Couric with 7 percent.

While the poll was anything but official, posing as a filler for the site where roughly 9,400 people clicked to vote – the poll raises several questions, mainly America’s lack of trust in mainstream media outlets. But the biggest question is, how real is the “fake news?”

-Sabina for AMP3 Public Relations

Don't make yourself look this competent...

Even for those people with jobs, times are stressful.  Whether they’re worried about keeping their jobs, having wages cut, or are simply burnt out from taking on the work of laid off employees, everyone seems to be (rightfully) on edge.

But is that an excuse for letting common, socially normalized etiquette fly out the window?

Working at an entertainment PR firm, we get our fair share of people inquiring about jobs or internships.  And some of the inquiries are very creative and show initiative and promise.  But lately, we’ve been receiving generic emails (where multiple PR companies were solicited and NOT in the BCC field), or emails with the subject line “Important Documents” with nothing in the body of the email.

PR is an industry that’s been hard hit by the economy, so for the few firms that are hiring, these tactics are not the way to put your best foot forward or showing that you have an understanding of how the game is played.

But I wonder if these cases are bred out of desperation or ignorance.  Analysts debate when the recession will end, and with no end in the immediate future’s site, people are corresponding in ways that aren’t helping to hedge their bets.  But being in dire straits or simply looking for a new job during a recession does not give someone license to forget that there are certain ways to go about finding and securing a job, and thoughtlessness is not one of them.

As if impersonal emails weren’t bad enough, people are taking to the mean streets of Twitter and soliciting veritable strangers to help pass along resumes or contact information in an effort to network.

Now, I’m certainly someone that appreciates a bit of audacity, but only when it’s mixed with a healthy amount of charm, confidence, and credible footing.  I would happily do my best to help a mildly brazen acquaintance become more familiar with entertainment PR, but I’m not going to respond kindly to some snarky email from that acquaintance’s co-worker’s cousin.

In the elegant (and probably ripped off) words of a dearly departed friend: know your role.

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn: they’re all great resources for staying in touch with people and using resources you wouldn’t otherwise have access to, but soliciting strangers without any sense of decorum just shows that the person in question has no place working in Public Relations.

Jackie for AMP3pr.com

@JackieBrook