One of the first things hammered into me as a young PR exec was never to argue with a journalist - they always have the last word.
Philip Green didn't get that memo.
This article from the Guardian - back in 2003 - provides a transcript of a series of calls between Philip and a Guardian journalist. And you do have to feel for the reporter on the receiving end.
I would not recommend this approach, but he gets away with it. Most of us wouldn't.
PG: "How can you write an article if you don't understand the information? That's pretty fundamental. The only thing you did half intelligent in the last 48 hours is phone me up..." Guardian: "Well, we are trying to get it right..." PG: "Well get yourselves a fucking accountant, and send him round to my office. Have the Guardian or the Observer got an accountant?" Guardian: "Well, the guy who wrote it is an accountant." PG: "He is not a fucking accountant... The man can't read.
http://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/mar/04/supermarkets
