NYT to curb tech columnist Pogue’s appearances

New York Times reader representative Arthur Brisbane writes that the paper has reached an agreement with tech columnist David Pogue, whose appearance for a PR firm at a paid event caused concern that it was violating the paper’s ethics code.

Brisbane writes, “Pogue initially referred my questions about the ‘Pitch Me’ video to his editor, Damon Darlin, who told me that Pogue said he had obtained permission to present to this particular group a number of years ago. However, the origins of the permission were unclear to Darlin and Corbett.

“Pogue told me in an email Tuesday that, henceforth, he has agreed ‘not to do any more speaking for Ragan or any PR-related event or organization.’ He added that in the future ‘my speaking agent will now present every offer to my editor and me simultaneously. In other words, every single talk will now be approved in advance, as it’s supposed to be.’

“Pogue said his speech for the Media Relations Summit was a paid engagement but the video was not. He did not say how much he was paid.

“Pogue, since his signing in 2000, has been one of the most popular Times writers, with more than a million Twitter followers. In addition to writing for The Times, he is a correspondent for CBS News Sunday Morning and CNBC, and writes a monthly column for Scientific American. He is a successful how-to author as well, having written or co-written seven books in the ‘For Dummies’ series.”

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