Steve Yoder Explains How to Be a Good Wall Street Journal Source
I had the pleasure of serving on a PRSA Silicon Valley Media Training panel last Friday with Steve Yoder, San Francisco bureau chief of the The Wall Street Journal. Steve was very generous with his time and shared many tips and strategies for doing a better job working with the Journal. Following are Steve’s suggestions [...]
Chelsea Clinton Should Have Expected “The Question”
You can’t tell me that the Clinton campaign is so unprepared that it hasn’t given a great deal of thought to how to handle questions about the Monica Lewinsky affair. It was the defining moment of the Clinton presidency and may determine the outcome of this year’s race. So how could it be that Chelsea [...]
Why Media Training Matters More Than Ever
In addition to my duties as the Catching Flack blogger, I conduct media training sessions for corporate executives and PR professionals. I started blogging on my own blog mainly to promote myself and my services, but when I moved over to Catching Flack I’ve covered a wide range of topics and rarely touched on media [...]
The Right Way and Wrong Way to Do Media Interviews by Email
An emerging PR tactic is to insist on being interviewed by email. It allows the interview subject to have almost total control of the information provided to the journalist, and creates a record of what was said. I recommend this tactic when appropriate. Times when it is appropriate include: when time is short and the [...]
How to Give Great Presentations (Part Two)
Yesterday, I shared the first five of my Top 10 Tips for Giving Great Presentations. Today’s post continues with the second half of the list: Simplify your presentation: No matter how technical your audience is, they aren’t as versed in your subject matter as you. Simplify difficult concepts, explain jargon, give examples, use anecdotes. Start [...]
How to Give Great Presentations (Part One)
I’ve heard a ton of people give advice about presentations, and most of it, in my humble opinion, is bad advice. Tips such as “gesture with your hands” are not bad tips, per se, but they aren’t geared to the needs of people who actually have to learn to give better presentations. If you’re at [...]
Starbucks Closure Good for Getting Press, Bad for Sending Positive Message
Following up on the Catching Flack post about Starbucks’ 3-hour closure to train staff on making a better cup of coffee: a new study out reports that while most consumers knew about the closure, few knew why Starbucks had closed. Advertising Age reports that a study by Aegis Group’s research arm Synovate found in a [...]
How Will Recession Effect the PR Industry?
So now it seems to be official: the U.S. is in a recession. That’s according to the Wall Street Journal, which said today: “The U.S. has finally slid into recession, according to the majority of economists in the latest Wall Street Journal economic-forecasting survey, a view that was reinforced by new data showing a sharp [...]
The 3 A’s of Getting Good Press, and More on the Spitzer Scandal
It’s not every day that a veteran journalist takes the time to provide a media relations lesson to those seeking “good press.” But that’s what San Francisco Chronicle columnist John Diaz did in Sunday’s edition of the paper. He mainly addressed his advice to politicians, but it applies to business people as well. Here are [...]