The "convincing" that I engaged in back in my "Legends of Future Past Days" consisted of agreeing to buy a full page inside cover or back cover print ads for a few months. I would be surprised if the getting a good review game is played any differently now. Only the ads would be online now.

I think the interesting part of this is that it implies that they were successful in their job of "convincing" reviewers to write positive reviews. Or, should I say "reviews". I wonder if this convincing involves "broads and blow", and other techniques popular in the world of music distribution?

Yeah, I'm not seeing the drama here. They're a PR firm. That's... why they get paid.

Why would you NOT push for positive press of any kind? Isn't it the job of a PR firm to do exactly that?

It is not the job of PR firms to keep the press independent, it is the job of the editorial staff of the publication in question.

Hell if I hired a PR firm and they weren't actively championing my product I'd be fairly pissed.

Hah! That's what they're saying now, sure. "Oh, it was a typo. In our legal document. Because we're the only ones in the world who don't proofread court filings 500 times before submitting them. Trust us. We're really nice."

Kohnke pushed for positive previews, not reviews