Dan Abrams, the former general manager of MSNBC, is launching a media-strategy firm, according to today’s Wall Street Journal.  His advantage is using a panel of journalists if your company faces a difficult public relations isssue to “weigh in on how media outlets would likely respond to different PR strategies.”

One of Abrams’s investors believes “big companies will be attracted to its ‘expert network’ and it’s pay-per-use model.”

Isn’t this a conflict of interest?  Since when do journalists moonlight as business consultants?  Isn’t our industry trying to stay away from this type of model, citing ethics?

What do you think?

Could I possibly have heard that correctly?  Did that radio announcer really just say what I think she said?

Continue Reading »

Dear Jet Airways,

  Continue Reading »

There is an old saying that a dog is a man’s best friend. Well President Bush’s “best friend,” a Scottish terrier named Barney, obviously wasn’t named after the fun-loving, purple dinosaur. During Barney’s morning walk Thursday, Reuters reporter Jon Decker made an attempt to pet Barney, who was having none of it and bit Decker’s right index finger drawing blood and medical attention.

Continue Reading »

On election day, I’d like to discuss a memo written by McCain’s campaign manager:

McCain campaign manager Rick Davis, in a memo explaining why his candidate remains confident despite trailing by an average of 6.5 in national polls: “Today, he expanded his buy into North Dakota, Georgia and Arizona in an attempt to widen the playing field and find his 270 Electoral Votes. This is a very tall order and trying to expand into new states in the final hours shows he doesn’t have the votes to win.”

I think this is spin to the ultimate degree.  Why would McCain have to extend his buy into traditionally red states if he wasn’t worried about losing?  I mean, ARIZONA is his home state.  He should have the electoral votes in his home state nailed down and not have to buy any media there at all.

Nice try, Davis.  How about if you can’t tell the truth, don’t release a memo at all?

As I sit here the night before the biggest presidential election our generations have seen, I reflect on all the media coverage we witnessed this past year…

…Defining patriotism with a flag pin, Edwards being a baby daddy, and Sarah Palin’s daughter as a mom-to-be, and who can forget the infamous, Joe the Plumber.

Yes, policies were covered as well but where would SNL or Late Night TV be without these over-talked, over-played, and over-rated anecdotes?  Flipping through CNN, Fox, and the Rolling Stone this past year made me feel like I was watching a copy of the Mean Girls DVD.

Putting the BS aside I’m not happy it’s over.  I get to be a part of history and you take the good with the bad.  In this case, the gossip with the hope of change. 

Get out and vote.  And after you do, share with us your favorite media coverage moments of the 2008 presidential election.

We’ve heard most of these tips before, yet some PR professionals avoid them, giving the rest of us a bad rap.  I recently attended a PRSA lunch here in Chicago, and although it was supposed to be on healthcare media, it was actually more about what to do and not to do when pitching. 

Continue Reading »

As the presidential election closes in on its final days, I want to look to the media for answers. I want to know who’s really in the lead. I want to know who won the debates. I want to know the facts – the accurate, clean-cut, straight-up facts. Can I get a straight answer out of anyone?!

It seems as though the media carelessly reveals different poll statistics and results every day. I don’t know what to trust.

Continue Reading »

A recent survey by Weber Shandwick found more than half of working Americans said their employers have not addressed the effect of the economy either on their companies or their jobs.

According to PRWeek, “In its survey of 514 employed Americans, the agency found that 70 percent expected the current economic situation to have a negative effect on the companies they work for, while 62 percent of those said their companies would have trouble meeting its goals.

And although 54 percent said their company leaders have stayed mum on the effect of the financial turmoil, nearly three-quarters said their colleagues are discussing the possibilities.”

I’m a business owner and I would be appalled if our staff assumed the current economic situation was to have a negative effect on them without hearing that straight from me.  We are communicators and we discuss the financial crisis weekly, and sometimes daily, as it relates to our business and to our client’s businesses.

People would rather hear negative news and know how to prepare for or fix the situation than be surprised one day.  This survey is a good reminder to all of us that is our jobs to help our clients tell their stories internally consistently so fear and surprise is eliminated.