It’s no secret that many people in the PR industry drive media people crazy. I am starting a blog interview series called “Put the Turd on the Table.” I plan to do quick four question email interviews with key media personalities. At the end of the day, the objective is to allow media people to give PR people insight that will help us become more effective and less annoying. Generating a few laughs along the way would be a welcomed bonus!

I am totally stoked that Sarah Lacy will be my first featured media personality. You would have to have lived under a rock to not know Sarah, but for those rock dwellers I offer the following reminder — Sarah Lacy has been a business reporter for 10 years, most recently covering technology for BusinessWeek. Her book, Once You’re Lucky, Twice You’re Good: The Rebirth of Silicon Valley and the Rise of Web 2.0 (click here to preorder), will be published by Gotham Books in May, 2008. She is also Silicon Valley host of Yahoo Finance’s Tech Ticker.

The following are Sarah’s unedited responses to my questions:

1. Things I respond well to:

Sarah: someone who knows my name (hint: it’s not lucy or stacy), knows where i work, what i cover, where i LIVE, (please stop with the “so-and-so is going to be in new york next week…” pitches. my column for businessweek is CALLED VALLEY GIRL and i broadcast for yahoo OUT OF SUNNYVALE), and what i would realistically write about. seriously, it’s not rocket science people. if i call a CEO or a venture capitalist for a meeting, i always get their name right and know what they do for a living, and where they stand on things. i takes about 10 minutes of good internet research. i would never expect someone to take time from their busy day to help me do my job if i got their name wrong. you shouldn’t either. this is why journalists hate you. and this has happened to me several times a day for the last ten years. these are not isolated incidents. maybe you haven’t done it, but look around you. odds are someone sitting on either side of you has. maybe both of them.

2. Things that send me over the edge:

Sarah: see above for most of it. but another thing is insisting on calling someone who has asked you repeatedly to send pitches by email. again, why you want to purposely piss off a reporter you are trying to pitch is beyond me. 

3. Favorite horror story about a PR person (no need to name names – not trying to out anyone):

Sarah: several times someone has sent me a pitch “introducing me” to a client that i’ve known for years and just written a huge story on. i don’t understand how something that unprofessional happens. you don’t have to read all my stories, but um, maybe the ones i write about your client? there is also one firm in the bay area that i advise every single company to stay away from at all costs. i’ve caught them in a lot of lies over the years. all this other stuff is just unprofessional, but lying is unethical and stupid, because reporters are paid to dig out the truth. 

4. Favorite Web 2.0 addiction:

Sarah: it changes a lot, but these days it’s twitter

Alright all you PR geeks, let’s see if we can’t take some turds off the table…