When I posted yesterday about the Nina Garcia story I’d picked up in my feeds, I made it clear that I wasn’t claiming the story was a fact. The report from a gossip blog said, “A little bird told me” that the New York PR agency had turned its interns loose on gossip blog comments to defend their client, and I was quick to note that “a little bird” is far from a substantive report. I also noted that I hoped somebody from Rubenstein would drop by and clarify.

Somebody did. A comment arrived this morning from Steven Rubenstein:

Our company policy - which everyone here signs - is to ID who you are and who you work for when posting a comment online.

As far as the Jezebel story about interns from our staff (or anyone for that matter) posting anonymous comments about Nina Garcia - it simply isn???t true. When we post, we believe in full transparency because it???s both the right thing to do and it???s good business.

Steven Rubenstein
Rubenstein Associates
(PR firm for Nina Garcia…amongst others)

So, I noted that a rumor was spreading in the blogosphere, asked if it was true, and got an answer in less than 24 hours which is now on the record for everyone—including the bloggers at Jezebel, the blog that started the rumor—to see. And my respect for Rubenstein PR has ratcheted up several notches, given not only the fact that the company is monitoring the space, but that Steven, executive VP of Rubenstein Associates and president of Rubenstein Communications, provided the answer himself, authentically, through engagement rather than some kind of formal statement.

Is this one way blogging works?