Flattery — Will It Get You Anywhere?

Everyone likes to hear good things about their work, right?

I appreciate a compliment now and then. Journalism is, after all, a mostly thankless job. But sometimes I receive pitches that really strike out with their false flattery.

ARE ya?

I opened a pitch recently that started out with the person telling me that he’s “read mostly all of your stories on IPVM—I dig your positive energy and the way you bring stories to life with your colorful vocabulary.”

Here’s the problem (other than the grammar): This is a 100% BS.

If he’d said he read my stuff on The Marshall Project, The NY Daily News, or the Wall Street Journal, I probably wouldn’t have seen the scam.

Here’s how I know this is a flat-out lie: