Right-wing columnist and talking head Ann Coulter's
take-no-prisoners attitude suggests she can fend for herself. But not so
her publicist.
Diana Banister, of Shirley & Banister Public Affairs, found herself the
inadvertent victim of a blogger.
Self-styled "media prankster Scoobie Davis, seen at
scoobiedavis.blogspot.com, is among the growing sub-subculture of
bloggers with disdain for Coulter.
Banister offered a radio writer friend of Davis' an interview with
Coulter, who is promoting her new book, Slander: Liberal Lies About the
American Right. He passed the contacts to Davis, who called Coulter
posing as an on-air talk show host.
After several minutes of bizarre banter, Davis revealed his true
identity.
"My publicist is setting me up with a stalker? said Coulter,
incredulously, shortly before hanging up.
Davis expresses penitence for the hoodwinking Banister. "I did feel bad
for her, he told PRWeek. "I imagined Coulter yelling at her ... She
didn't have a dog in this fight, and it really wasn't her fault."
Banister did not return any of PRWeek's numerous phone calls. She
probably thought we were bloggers, too.