By Gabriel Princewill-
Hello! magazine displayed a shocking level of bad manners when contacted by The Eye Of Media.Com this week to discuss an article on their site.
The usually posh magazine which predominantly covers celebrities and the royal family appeared uncomfortable with the fact we were asking questions about their some details about their coverage of the royal family.
Both the PA and the publication’s director of news, Thomas Whitaker, dropped the phone rudely.
The rudeness was so shocking, it overshadowed the essence of our original inquiry itself. The editor’s ill -mannered PA, Lauren Mulligan, said she had no comment to make, despite the fact it was made clear that we wanted to speak with the editorial section of the magazine.
An immediate call back to Hello! magazine was responded to by the Ms Mulligan again. Did you actually drop the phone? I asked. ”I told you I had no comment to make, she responded. When told it was rude to drop the phone, especially as it wasn’t her we wanted to speak to, she responded: ”I’m sorry if you felt offended”.
”It’s not that I felt offended, you were rude”, I was forced to assert. Asked for her name, she dropped the phone again.
Mulligan describes herself on her LinkedIn page as having 11 years experience working with directors in the creative industry associated with events, PR and as an Assistant.
Unfortunately, she undermined the substance of her experience in one phone call, making one wonder how effectively she was trained throughout her professional experience.
Shortly after the fall out with Ms Mulligan, the magazine’s Director of News, Thomas Whitaker(pictured interviewing Prince Harry) sent me a text, identifying himself as the editor-.
His claim would later be exposed as lie, after the actual editor in chief, Rosie Nixon, sent me a mail inquiring about the entire incident.
Only after researching the respective posts at Hello magazine, did it become clear that Whitaker was actually the Director of News, not the editor. So what was the need to lie?
A subsequent call to Whitaker began with a recap of the experience with his staff, whom he was resigned to defend, as would be the case with many so-called professionals.
An attempt to narrate the account to Mr Whitaker resulted in an abrupt question from him asking the purpose of my call, but as I sought to explain it to him, he interrupted: ”put it in a mail to me, then, he also dropped the phone. Wow!
When editors or press representatives rudely drop the phone on people, they never expect to be exposed for the arrogant, insolent, and unprofessional individuals they show themselves to be.
Their mistaken contentment with the fact the caller did not obtain the information is fatal error they make when dealing with a publication like ours.
The fact such deplorable and shameful rudeness by professionals does not conventionally constitute a news topic, does not mean they cannot be exposed for the their woeful conduct and poor judgement.
Highly placed professionals who exhibit such bad manners reveal deep seated character flaws often masked by their exalted positions.
The irony and hypocrisy of journalists and editors who are prepared to publish topics that sometimes annoy the subject of their article, but can’t take the heat once they suspect they may be on the receiving end of the very profession on which they earn a living.
When one reads Hello magazine, one would be forgiven for thinking it is run by dignified and sophisticated individuals. It is quite shocking to learn that even those at the pinnacle of respectable publications can lack basic etiquette and adequate self respect.
No respectable professional in the media should be comfortable dropping the phone on anybody, let alone somebody else in their own profession. It demonstrates a woeful lack of foresight on their part.
Most importantly, if members of the media exhibit poor discretion, it can question their judgement when covering journalistic topics.
Last month, this publication exposed the editor of The Eastern Daily Press Mark Leslie, after he rudely dropped the phone on a female colleague at this publication who was probing an investigation by the Independent Press Organisation(IPSO) into an inaccurate story in their publication.
Ipso’s code of conduct does not include good manners, probably because journalists and editors are expected to have it.
Given the reputation of Hello! magazine, it was utterly disappointing to discover the unbefitting level of poor manners and intolerance displayed by their personnel.
It’s certainly not posh at all.