Pitching Business Media Is Getting Tougher and Tougher
One of the untold stories of PR over the last quarter century has been the great rise in business journalism, from a media backwater to a front-and-center element of the media. It just so happens that I had a front-row seat for this transformation, as I entered business journalism in 1981 as part of the [...]
Storytelling Gets the Harvard Business School Seal of Approval
Anyone making a living in PR ought to know this, but it always bears repeating: a good story is the best way to convey information. Dry facts = boring. Good story = interesting. And interested people are much more valuable than bored ones.
But if you’re the type who needs academic facts to back up your [...]
Ticketmaster Tries to Solve a Big Problem With a Little PR Push
One of the most important lessons of crisis communications is that most crises are not communications problems, they’re operational problems. Communications can help in many ways to diffuse a crisis and calm people down, but if the operational issue at the heart of the problem isn’t addressed, no amount of PR spin is going to [...]
dna13's new Enterprise edition is the next generation of reputation monitoring
We’re now far enough along in the development of the Internet and desktop software that corporations can now access very sophisticated tools to monitor the messages flowing out there in the world about them. I recently had a chance to demo dna13’s new Enterprise software and it looked to me like the future of reputation [...]
Even White House Reporters Don't Like Interviews "On Background"
One of the most important techniques every spokesperson should master is negotiating the “terms of the interview.” All too often, spokespeople go into interviews assuming one thing, while the journalist assumes another. Later, after the spokesperson has blabbed about your their product, bad-mouthed the competition and otherwise made a fool of himself, he blurts out, [...]
An Olympian Effort: Media-Training Streetwalkers
Cities go to extraordinary lengths to beautify themselves to be in the international spotlight during the Olympics, but Vancouver has taken it to new levels. Reuters reports that a Vancouver non-profit has been handing out “media-training” brochures to prostitutes in the beautiful British Columbia city in advance of the Olympics being held there next winter.
“It [...]
How to Keep Your Spirits Up and Boost Your Success in PR
Doing PR can be a pretty frustrating job, with endless client/boss demands, temperamental reporters and editors (and bloggers), pitching difficulties and the like. It’s a wonder any of us enjoy making a living at this at all!
Over the years, I’ve found that working in teams, brainstorming with colleagues and having the occasional bitch session with [...]