Wal-Mart Enlists Bloggers in P.R. Campaign

Thanks to the many loyal Minnesota Public Relations Blog readers that alerted me of this article in the NY Times today. The article discusses Wal-Mart enlisting bloggers to post information about the retailer without revealing the source.

I would have posted this earlier, but I have been in a communications conference, the last two days discussing this very thing, media relations and the use of blogging in a strategic, well-designed plan. Does this qualify as strategic or well-designed? You decide, here is an excerpt from the NY Times:

Under assault as never before, Wal-Mart is increasingly looking beyond the mainstream media and working directly with bloggers, feeding them exclusive nuggets of news, suggesting topics for postings and even inviting them to visit its corporate headquarters.

But the strategy raises questions about what bloggers, who pride themselves on independence, should disclose to readers. Wal-Mart, the nation's largest private employer, has been forthright with bloggers about the origins of its communications, and the company and its public relations firm, Edelman, say they do not compensate the bloggers.

But some bloggers have posted information from Wal-Mart, at times word for word, without revealing where it came from.

Glenn Reynolds, the founder of Instapundit.com, one of the oldest blogs on the Web, said that even in the blogosphere, which is renowned for its lack of rules, a basic tenet applies: "If I reprint something, I say where it came from. A blog is about your voice, it seems to me, not somebody else's."

What do you think? Should bloggers always reveal their sources?