This week there’s been a huge amount of publicity over the upcoming Cutting Edge documentary ‘My Daughter Grew Another Head and Other True Stories’, a behind-the-scenes, fly on the wall programme about the real-life story market, including the journalists, magazines and subjects themselves. First Features was of course approached to make this programme, as were most of the other press agencies who deal with real life stories – and of course, we, like many before us, said no. It wasn’t the first time we were approached – it was about the hundredth. And every time we say the same thing – no. Why? Several very good reasons:
First, and most important, we have an obligation to our clients to maintain confidentiality. When someone approaches us with a story, they need to know we are not exposing them to any media until and unless they give us their express permission first. And even then, we will stay firmly in control of how they are portrayed, where and in which type of media. If someone called us with a very sensitive story, they would not be impressed to learn that we were sitting on the other end of the phone with a TV crew filming the conversation. We take our duties to our clients and their welfare very seriously. If we can’t protect them from the moment they contact us, how on earth can they trust us to represent them well in the future?
Secondly, we are inherently suspicious of the motives of fly-on-the-wall documentary makers. Call us cynical but we have been in the business a long time and we know that when someone wants to make a warts-and-all show about your profession, you can bet they’re going to edit the footage to bring out the warts as big and as ugly as possible. How many times have you heard former reality TV participants complain about being edited to look a certain way? A million. And why? Because the showmakers want to tell a story – whatever they decide the story might be, even if it only bears a fleeting resemblance to the truth.
Thirdly, we are not vain. We have no interest in promoting ourselves beyond the value of our stories and the interests of our clients. If our clients want to go on TV, we will of course direct them to the right place where they will get the best promotion possible. So, we’re sad to say, you won’t find us ‘starring’ in any TV show or documentary about the reality of the real-life story world. You can be assured, however, that we are discreet, down-to-earth, distinctly media-savvy, and determined to help our clients at every turn.
