Vogelled!

I don't ask for a lot from the professionals I work with. No need to hand me a story on a silver platter. Just give me a shot, and be fair. Which is why it can be so hard to compete with Carol Vogel. She obviously has more clout than any other arts reporter in the country, particularly with collectors and curators eager to see their names in her weekly column.

I'm not here to belly-ache about Vogel. I just thought it might be illuminating to follow the anatomy of today's article on the gift made by Herbert and Dorothy Vogel.

It should be noted that Vogel was not alone. The Washington Post and Los Angeles Times also received favorable treatment.

Here's what happened...

Late Wednesday, a spokesman for the Harvard Art Museums called to tell me the Vogels were going to make a generous gift to the HUAM and other museums across the country. There was an embargo on the story until Friday.

I asked if I could speak to the Vogels. Harvard told me everything was being handled by the National Gallery of Art. I called the National Gallery's PR folks Wednesday around 6 p.m. and left a message. I hadn't heard a thing by Thursday mid-morning from the NG so I again called the PR guy there, Steve Konick. Again, nothing. (Just for the record, neither Konick nor Deborah Ziska, the chief press officer, picked up a phone to return my multiple messages during the day.)

At 11:55 a.m. Thursday, Konick sent an e-mail (cc'ing Ziska) to inform me that the Vogels were not available to talk until this weekend.

My response:

"Will they be quoted in any other stories tomorrow, including the NY
Times, Washington Post, etc?"

Reply:

Hello Geoff,

Steve

And that, my friends, is when I knew I had been Vogelled.

Exhibit A: My story (lacking certain facts) and Vogel's piece (chock-full of quotes from the "unavailable" Vogels).