Company Letterhead and Reviews

I don't often have to request a review copy of a book from a publisher these days. Just the same, the few times I try to do so I often run into the old "Fax a copy of your request on company letterhead" statement on the website. It's a bit of a bother, as my blog hasn't quite nailed down our, er, company letterhead as of yet. Perhaps I'll glue some fuses to a sheet of stationary. But now Ron Lieber with the Wall Street Journal states what many of us have only been thinking.

Why, in late 2006, must reporters seeking review copies fax their request on company letterhead? Is fraud really so rampant that you can't accept an email suffix like @wsj.com or @time.com as proof that someone works where they say they work? Or is it not possible to take two seconds to Google somebody's name to check them out if it's unfamiliar?

Galleycat has the link. And they're just as curious as to why publishers are so firmly attached to this somewhat out-of-date requirement, although more from the blogger perspective. I wonder as well.