The Flack

It didn't get much pick-up here. In fact, I think I only saw a brief Reuters item in The Times. But BP CEO Lord Browne's announcement earlier this week on his company's auspicious plans to make an $8 billion investment in alternative energy sources further bolsters and differentiates this socially responsible company at a time when the spotlight on the oil industry is especially harsh. Is this simply a ploy to deflect the criticism?

The answer is a resounding no! Some years ago, I had the fortune of representing BP as it broke with the industry to acknowledge the potential dangers of global warming. It was a bold, risky, but earnest move, which enabled BP to completely recast its corporate reputation. The company's new and continuing commitment to do good, has allowed it also to do well. Kudos to Lord Browne for paying more than lip service to the environment.

PR environment
business CSR

The blitzkrieg is on. Viacom-owned Infinity Radio, the company on whose airwaves Howard Stern gained national notoriety only to be abandoned for the big paid bird in the sky, will be trampled upon at least two more times.

Viacom's CBS unit (for now) will allow the traitor to promote his new competitive media channel on the broadcast network's top news and entertainment programs, "60 Minutes" and "The Late Show with David Letterman." This in spite of the incessant disrespect and degradation Mr. Stern has heaped upon Infinity during his reign (and with particular vitriol these last few months).

Other than his ubiquity on-air, at raunchy parties and at PR events, Mr. Stern has done relatively few interviews to further fuel his infamy. Why should he? He has multiple (controlled) public pulpits from which to pontificate. As a result, his heretofore unavailability has enhanced his "mediability," thus allowing Sirius PR man Patrick Reilly to pretty much pick and choose in and on which media to "place" Mr. Stern. Steve Huvane, you listening?

Now let's watch for Mr. Stern with Katie and Matt, and the "ET," "Access" and/or "Extra's" of the world.

PR media television radio

It took a year for Presidential candidate John Kerry to face the media following his election loss. New York City Democratic Mayoral hopeful Fernando Ferrer waited just three weeks before giving the city's top Spanish-language (and presumably sympathetic) newspaper a wide-ranging interview. In it, Freddie groused on the shortcomings of his campaign, placing the blame for his loss on a biased media and fallible pollsters. He even accused Mayor Bloomberg of pulling the proverbial fire alarm (i.e., a city-wide terrorist alert) at a pivotal point in the campaign. Geesh!

Truth be told, Mr. Ferrer's rival, a very popular and very rich incumbent, spent a gazillion dollars to draw unprecedented bi-partisan support in coasting to victory. Mr. Ferrer's message, if he ever had one, simply was not heard or not appreciated over the noise from the Bloomberg machine.

I guess it's a good thing that within days of losing, Freddie announced his retirement from public life. Had he not, his misguided finger-pointing might have done the trick for him. Let's also not forget that Freddie still must dig his way out of campaign debt. Somehow, I think this ill-timed El Diario interview won't help.

PR media politics

An unusual profile in today's New York Times about 30-something Republican PR man Steve Schmidt's behind-the scenes role managing the most salient issues facing the White House. There's one thing wrong. Times ace D.C. scribe Elisabeth Bumiller fails to elucidate exactly what Mr. Schmidt does on a day-to-day basis. Is it media relations, constituency-building, lobbying, message development, media training, crisis preparedness, clandestine media leaks, or all of the above?

Mr. Schmidt, who shares the same bald-faced "do" as his ideological nemesis James Carville, is credited for the successful "war room" approach to Judge Roberts's ascension to the Supreme Court, and was released from blame for the Miers debacle. (He was in Iraq at the time.) I would have liked to have heard more about the tactics deployed by this so-called PR wunderkind. On second thought, given the PR machinations of the Beltway nowadays, maybe a lack of transparency is a net plus for the profession.

PR media politics

Have you gotten your XBox 360 yet? My 13-year-old son William asked me if he could use my eBay account to bid $10 for one. I said sure. Two hours later, I checked my e-mail and learned that my $560 offer was outbid! William is now banned from my eBay account.

Anyway, the hyperbolic news coverage surrounding the midnight launch and subsequent feeding frenzy of the next generation of Microsoft's video game console has surpassed everyone's expectations. Within 24 hours, the product sold out across the nation, prompting even the Scobleizer to refute allegations that the Redmond, WA company had intentionally held back distribution to create artificial demand (and, of course, news of that demand). Mr. Scoble pins the shortages on manufacturing capacity, or rather, a lack thereof.

What surprises me most from a PR perspective -- outside the disparity in reviews for the dynasty-making XBox 360 - has been just how badly SONY has dropped the PR ball on this one. The writing for a big media script has been on the wall for months now. Even if SONY's Playstation 3 was not ready for prime time, its absence from the XBox coverage is shocking, and I predict potentially fatal.

Granted, SONY had other media fish to fry, and its new Bravia flatpanel LCDs are gaining some positive traction. Still, for the company to sit on the sidelines while its arch-rival takes over the national news agenda, in my mind, could be considered PR malpractice. Lots of luck playing catch-up, SONY.

PR games
media video

Cameron Blanchard, a spokesperson for the Entertainment Division of NBC-TV, took the lead in responding to media questions about Matt and Katie's curious omission of the M&M mishap during yesterday's annual parade telecast. The News Division, for which the program's hosts typically toil, clearly wishes to distance itself from the deflating news, which somehow never crossed the lips of Mr. Lauer, Ms. Couric or Mr. Roker.

The absence of any mention raises some questions that will certainly occupy the blogosphere for the next few days. If the hosts knew about the incident, did they breach their journalistic responsibilities by ignoring it? Or, as a scripted (and obscenely commercial) entertainment program, were the telecast's journalist-hosts under any obligation to report the breakway news?

Other entities scrambling to defend their reputations include the folks at Macy's who had a wake-up call on Wednesday about this very issue, and the candy makers at MasterFoods, the division of Mars Inc. that makes the colorful chocolate icons. As of this writing, no reference to the incident has appeared on the latter's website .

The winner? The father of the injured girls who, incredulously, decided not to sue anyone.

PR TV
entertainment journalism

Just in time for your Thanksgiving meal, researchers at the University of Rochester report in the scientific journal Caries Research (good reading for insomniacs) that cranberries may help prevent cavities. Now ordinarily, news like this is cause for celebration at the Cranberry Growers Association in Cape Cod, Wisconsin and elsewhere. Unfortunately the growers' PR teams have checked out for the weekend, as have many reporters in newsrooms across the country. If only the journal had issued its report on Monday to take advantage of the larger news hole. (I couldn't resist.) Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

The advance press coverage for the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade runs like clockwork. It makes its sibling summer spectacle, the 4th of July Fireworks, pale in comparison. We first get wind of the parade with a media preview at the Hoboken warehouse where the buoyant behemoths are born. Then there's word of which helium heroes will be newly honored. And finally, tonight, thousands of supposedly savvy New Yorkers gather on the Upper West Side to witness the inflation.

This year, there's a monkey wrench in the mix, and it's not Curious George. It arrived unwanted I'm sure on the front page of The New York Times. The giant department store allegedly reneged on its agreement to train balloon handlers following an incident some years ago wherein the wind wrested a float from its minders causing serious injury.

With strong winds and rain on tap for tomorrow, the PR folks at Macy's this morning are in crisis mode to assuage concerns that the parade route may not be safe and assure parade-goers that the hired hands can tame their charges. Where is Spiderman when we really need him?

PR Thanksgiving

When one thinks of the primary players in the environmental movement, the powers-that-be on Wall Street would not rank high on most people's lists. That was until the CEO of one of the street's most venerable firms, Goldman Sachs, revealed plans to inculcate his firm's 24,000 employees with a sense of environmental stewardship. The story, splashed in today's New York Times, portrays Goldman CEO Henry Paulson in the adulatory light of someone who puts action behind his words.

It's reminiscent of BP CEO Sir John Browne's split with the rest of the oil industry eight years ago on the issue of global warming. His gutsy decision is a case study in how to re-invent a corporate reputation, and thus profit from doing both good and well.

Few knew of Mr. Paulson's role as chairman of the Board of Governors for the Nature Conservancy or that Goldman's spectacular new skyscraper in Jersey City was certified through the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the U.S. Green Building Council. Still, with an increasing public concern over the growing fragility of the environment, this is one cause from which Goldman Sachs will derive great institutional benefit. Kudos to Mr. Paulson and team. We await the tangible impact of this bold move.

PR environment
business CSR

One of the world's most esteemed museums has a very significant public relations dilemma on its hands, and it is not alone. It seems that some of the pieces housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York may not have been acquired on the up and up. Specifically, the provenance of several 5th century B.C. artifacts has been called into question by the Italian government.

A meeting is scheduled between the director of the Met and a lawyer for the Italians. Until that time, MMA's mouthpiece, Harold Holzer, is withholding public comment. Given the Italian government's own recent history of corruption, I find this story somewhat ironic. Nonetheless, let's watch how deftly MMA navigates the museum world's dirty little secret. Lord Elgin, you're next.

PR art
crisis

PR careerists in New York tend to be isolated from the machinations of practitioners plying their trade in other PR/PA-intensive spheres such as the Beltway , Main Street, or Hollywood. Most NYC PR pros go about their business untainted by the periodic affronts to the profession by less-than-scrupulous practitioners. Occasionally, they will get their danders up when mentioned in the same breath as party planners posing as PR professionals. (And we all know to whom I'm referring.)

Still, the reputations of even the most esteemed members of our profession, wherever and whatever they practice, are at risk when any high-profile person in the field breaches the boundaries of ethical or civil behavior. It affects all of us who adhere to the generally accepted precepts of public relations.

Two such cases hit the headlines in the last couple of days. The first involves the most well-known person in the field, Scott McClellan. His personal attack on a respected member of Congress and decorated war veteran hits a divisive new low, and I quote him:

"So, it is baffling that he [Congressman Murtha] is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party." It's unclear if Mr. McClellan crafted this, or if it was dictated to him from above. In either case, he delivered the message, and in so doing, compromised the decorum and standards to which most of us still aspire.

The second example of a Beltway PR "pro" tainting the profession revolves around indicted DC lobbyist Jack Abramoff's #2 and Tom Delay protege Michael Scanlon. Mr. Scanlon, who seems to have fudged his work history and was prone to using an alias in other jobs he held, has this to say about a political adversary:

"'You kick him until he passes out,' Mr. Scanlon wrote in an e-mail message that was published in the Clinton biography 'The Breach.' 'Then beat him over the head with a baseball bat, then roll him up in an old rug and throw him off a cliff into the pound surf below!!!!!'"

Here's what he said about a client of his firm's:

"In e-mail correspondence between Mr. Abramoff and Mr. Scanlon released by the Senate committee, it is the junior partner who often displays his thirst for wealth. 'I want all their money!!!' Mr. Scanlon wrote in one e-mail message to Mr. Abramoff in 2002, referring to the Tigua Indian tribe. In another, involving the Coushatta Indians, he wrote: "Weeez gonna be rich!!!'"

As we head back to work on Monday, and these new revelations fade in to the next news cycle -- soon to be replaced by other industry-corrosive headlines -- let's take time to reflect, for soon it will be necessary to ratchet up the PR for our own vitality. PRSA, Council of PR Firms, Wisemen, IABC, and Arthur Page, you listening?

PR media politics

For the publicist in all of us, I simply love the needlepoint pillow Gawker is offering as the perfect holiday gift. I wonder if the enterprising college student will get a beat on its sale price in time for Black Friday?

News today of yet another dubiously talented offspring from a famous family brand who appears to have landed a reality show. I had predicted a month or so ago that Kennedy nephew Christopher Lawford was poised to join the famous-for-being-famous crowd with the publication of his tell-all book on growing up Kennedy. Now he's taken it to the limit.

While not as talentless as Paris -- at least he can turn a phrase -- Peter and Pat Kennedy Lawford's grown son will team with the anti-Kennedy network Fox for a reality show produced by Ron Howard's Imagine Entertainment. Tentative title: From Hyannis Port to Mayberry RFD.

PR reality TV
Kennedy books

Over the years, I've attempted to stay abreast of business, cultural or consumer trends that may affect the media and communications professions. It often involves trying to understand changing consumer tastes or how new technologies could alter the way we do business. Along the way, I encountered specific articles or books that caused me to see things in an entirely new or different light.

George Gilder's Telecosm was one, as was Nick Negroponte's Being Digital, Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point, and Dan Gillmor's We the Media. All were epiphanies, of sorts, for me.

This week, Jeff Jarvis, on his Buzz Machine weblog, cites another important piece of work by Doc Searls, co-author ofThe Cluetrain Manifesto , the book that set the citizen journalism movement afoot. Searls's piece "Saving the Net: How to Keep the Carriers from Flushing the Net Down the Tubes," published this week in Linux Journal, cogently lays out the competitive forces at work to fundamentally change the Internet as we know it today. It is a must read.

BTW - The choice of Linux Journal for his piece is an interesting one. He probably could have convinced Forbes, Fortune or Fast Company to publish it. I think Linux Journal is an astute move given its small, but evangelical readership. Let's now watch how they catalyze interest in Searls's perspective from the blogosphere and MSM.

media telecom publishing

Some years ago, for a pharmaceutical company, we set out to find a town whose residents would agree (for a fee) to serve as a living laboratory. The town we found was Wellsburg, West Virginia, and our goal was put them all on a diet and exercise regimen, and measure their progress before and after.

In the category of "there are no new ideas," the clever folks at DISH Network convinced the small town of Clark, Texas to rename itself DISH (caps and all), Texas...in exchange for a decade of free satellite TV (and some national publicity).

If they were thinking, the town elders could have saved a bunch of money by contacting GEICO...I mean NECCO, the makers of the Clark Bar, to cut a deal. Both add to the waistline.

Now we know who's behind Jennifer Aniston's extreme exposure of late. He's Hollywood publicist Stephen Huvane, who, according to a quick Google check, has served as the mouthpiece for many of the overexposed "A-list" flashes these last few years -- from the two Jens (Aniston and Lopez) to Gwyneth, Hunt, Liv, Julianne and Brad Pitt.

Evidently, a measured approach to managing his clients' public images is not in Mr. Huvane's PR playbook. After writing about Ms. Aniston's excessive media presence last week, I was again underwhelmed by her semi-naked appearance on the cover of GQ, and interview by phone (presumably clothed) with syndicated gossip doyenne Liz Smith.

Ms. Smith did reveal Mr. Huvane's quid pro quo for granting access to his (now) newsworthy client, "Although our 10-minute chat was obtained with the promise — extracted by Jennifer's p.r. sultan Steve Huvane — that no personal questions would be broached, I had the feeling Ms. Aniston wouldn't have had a breakdown had we be [sic] been so bold. But a promise is a promise."

Mr. Huvane, the younger brother of CAA EVP /uber-agent Kevin Huvane, one of six Huvane siblings from the Bronx, holds the cards -- at least by Hollywood standards. If he directed one of his clients to stand on Hollywood Blvd. holding a sign, the client no doubt would oblige given the family's position on the Tinseltown totem pole.

It kind of reminds me of my first boss, super-flack Bobby Zarem, whose brother headed the plastic surgery department at UCLA. Now there's a brotherly connection worth exploiting!

PR media entertainment

The headline reads: "300 Journalists in Singapore to Report on World Cyber Games." Hmmm. Since when does the number of working journalists qualify as news? The dedication of the World War II Memorial, for example, had 600 accredited journalists covering the monumental event, but that paled in comparison to the 140,000 octogenarians in attendance. The Olympic Games have thousands of bona fide media, but it's always a small factoid that rarely overshadows the other news emanating from the international spectacle.

Still, the size of the media contingency does say something about an event's vitality, which may or may not be a good thing when one considers all the paparazzi that fawn over Paris or Britney. Whatever the case, it's not surprising that so many journalists descended upon Singapore to cover this thoroughly modern "sport" -- especially in Asia where youngsters seems to have video gaming in their DNA.

Over the last few years the industry's popularity has spawned its own media beat exploding the numbers of journalists following the phenomenon. Even the venerable New York Times dedicates regular coverage to the latest and greatest in this admittedly unhealthful pastime.

Now that we know about the unprecedented media turnout in Singapore, how can stoic images of gamers glued to their video controllers and monitors ever expect to compete?

gaming media

John Markoff, the indispensable and totally wired SF-based New York Times technology reporter, today formally tells us about Google's plans to enter the classified listings business. What had previously been rumored by the legions of Google-watchers now seems poised for the real world.

I don't hear many cheers or gee whizzes. In fact, I'm wondering whether this frontal assault on the lifelines of many big and small newspapers across the country might even produce a negative backlash. Think of the criticism from which Wal-Mart, Home Depot and Microsoft continue to suffer in their quests to dominate their respective markets.

Sure, classified.google.com (Base) will be a boon for the company's stock price, but at what expense? Under the guise of "this is cool, so it must be good," the company risks developing a reputation as a voracious, take-no-prisoners monopoly with an unrelenting quest for growth and profits.

I don't expect the Newspaper Association of America to mount an effective campaign to blunt the inevitable erosion of its members' vital revenue stream. However, shouldn't the "thought-leaders" atop the Mountain View company take into consideration the disruptive impact their myriad new "services" might have on the lives of the soon-to-be disintermediated? Perhaps they should put progress, profits and platitudes aside to step back and reflect?

PR Google

As if the FDA hasn't endured its share of tumult over the last couple of years (think Vioxx, Oxycontin, Baycol...), the latest affront to its reputation arrives this morning via a front page article in The New York Times. The report contends that officials of the drug-approving agency more or less put the kabash on the so-called morning-after pill before its scientific evaluation was even completed.

Well, we kind of figured something was amiss when a number of scientists working on the project resigned earlier this year. Now, as the facts begin to emerge, the FDA's communications team again finds itself in crisis mode trying to deflect these new allegations. "Julie Zawisza, an F.D.A. spokeswoman, said the agency stood by its rejection of the morning-after pill application. 'We question the integrity of the investigative process that results in such partial conclusions by the G.A.O.,' Ms. Zawisza said." Huh?

I've learned that there are no winners in the pro-choice/pro-life debate. Passions run too high, so it's better to leave well-enough alone...especially at the Thanksgiving dinner table.

I am, however, interested in whether this story will have the kind of "legs" to produce a legislative or policy initiative. I'm skeptical. There was a time when a front page (above-the-fold) New York Times investigative piece would ripple through the media and seep into the nation's consciousness within the first news cycle.

Today's fragmented media, 24/7 news cycle and media credibility issues make outlets like The Times, "60 Minutes," and even The AP much less empowered to move the needle of change. I would like to believe that the citizen journalist movement can sustain awareness, as it has in some other prominent cases, but I predict that this story too will be subsumed by other breathless headlines. If only the consuming media public were less fickle!

PR politics

L-R, Martha Moore, senior reporter, USA Today; Josh Getlin, NY Bureau Chief, Los Angeles Times; Alexandra Marks, NY Reporter, Christian Science Monitor; and Lisa Anderson, NY Bureau Chief, Chicago Tribune.
 

There is considerable conjecture over the fate of the PR profession now that reporters can tap the blogosphere for story ideas. In fact, I believe Fortune magazine's David Kirkpatrick recently quipped that he relies more on the Internet for his reporting nowadays.

At a recent Publicity Club of New York luncheon featuring New York Bureau Chiefs from four major daily newspapers, I decided to pose the question about our industry's imminent demise. Without skipping a beat, all answered with a resounding vote of confidence. (A palpable sigh of relief was heard from the room full of 175 PR pros.)

Here's how O'Dwyer's reported it: "[Lisa] Anderson noted that while the Internet can be an effective tool for information, it becomes hard -- impossible sometimes -- to weed out fact from fiction, thereby making the blogosphere an inherently unreliable source for news."

"There are no substitutes for an informed publicist," [Josh] Getlin said "I've yet to see anything that competes with that."

PR media

Conventional wisdom paints soon-to-be Time Inc. honcho John Huey as one tough son-of-a-gun. Today's CBS Marketwatch profile of Norm Pearlstine's successor shows a softer side of the once supposedly despotic editor-in-chief of Time Inc.'s flagship business book Fortune magazine.

I recently had a chance to hear Huey speak at a Center for Communication roast of his boss, Time-Warner CEO Dick Parsons. I found him very approachable, and not without his trademark dry wit, e.g., "Yet Huey called Parsons' Republican cred impeccable. 'Who else would watch 'All the President's Men,' pour himself a glass of fine wine and root for the guys in the Nixon administration? ... Well, I guess Rupert Murdoch would.'"

Why the profile of Mr. Huey now? His annointment was announced nearly a month ago. I guess it comes with the PR run-up to the hand-over, and the lingering fact that the harsh perception of him actually jibes with the reality.

media

That elusive word: buzz. Building buzz is a holy grail for marketers, and by extension PR pros. Wasn't it Malcolm's Gladwell's musings in The Tipping Point that ignited the recent hysteria over buzz-making and trend-setting methodologies? In either case, buzz is a visceral phenemonon that would not be buzz without publicity. Today this includes the conversations of citizen-journalists as captured in Intelliseek's Blogpulse and others.

This morning, the publisher of Esquire waxed to The New York Times about the magazine's plans to create its own buzz by commandeering (at no cost) a $12 million bachelor pad in Manhattan for use by designers. In exchange for the free rent, the magazine promises publicity coverage for these designers and the real estate property, no doubt. I wonder if this means Esquire has bartered its feature pages, or it is simply promising to publicize the pad?

In either case, it's clear to me that buzz wouldn't be buzz without a decent dose of media coverage. Brand proprietors continue to be captivated : "We live in a world gone mad," [Esquire publisher] Mr. O'Malley said. "If you don't have buzz and heat around your brand, you aren't relevant." (BTW: This is not the first time the magazine has gone the bachelor pad route.)

I'm not sure I'd trust those who claim to hold the keys to buzz marketing, but I do know that the PR component is key. PR pros thus need to think more like marketers in conjuring up non-conventional strategic alliances that can generate the requisite press to feed buzz.

PR marketing

I'm often asked by friends how much a guest gets paid for an appearance on one of the network morning shows. What's the going rate? They are invariably surprised to learn that the network morning shows do not pay their guests to appear. All three programs are part of their networks' news divisions, so pay for play would be considered a journalistic breach. (Don't ask me about "ET," "Access," and "Extra.")

To remain competitive, however, the network morning shows must have some leverage to entice in-demand real (and faux) celebrities to their studios. Often it comes with an offer of multiple appearances, upgraded travel hospitality, and/or clandestine agreements to avoid sensitive subjects, e.g., HSH Prince Albert's love life, Tom Cruise's religion, etc. (Though they'd be hard-pressed to admit the latter.)

That scenario played out in yesterday's "Page Six" of the New York Post. Apparently, the publicist for the $340-million dollar lottery-winning in-laws from Oregon had pitted rivals NBC's "Today" against ABC's "GMA" to get the best deal, i.e., theatre tickets, first class flights, limos, etc. First, I ask, what were the Lotto winners doing with their own publicist anyway???

To his credit, when "Today's" executive producer Jim Bell heard of the demands, he had this to say: "[Bleep] them!" They were booked on "GMA," forcing an ABC News spokesperson to fess up with a detailed explanation of what the network did...and didn't do for the newly rich, but still chintzy Oregonians.

PR TV media

I ask if it's possible for Jennifer Aniston to be more overexposed? The former TV sitcom star, aspiring movie actor, jilted lover, newly in-touch with her estranged mother, is simply (and annoyingly) everywhere: "GMA," "Larry King," "ET," "Access," the tabs and weekly rags. This will not help her career. It may even hurt it.

Organizing media interviews for an "A"-lister does not require much effort. The weight of the celebrity and a simple story line like, "Jennifer's on the romantic rebound (with another A-Lister)...and she has a new movie...typically does the trick. Once the booking is made, the star is set free to answer reporters' questions, often with pre-negotiated interview parameters. Relatively little is done with the star in the way of advance messaging or preparation.

The goal (and challenge) for PR advisors lies in assuring the A-lister remains on the A-list throughout his or her career. A measured approach to media exposure helps nurture and propel that goal. Too much unmanaged exposure in a condensed time frame can hurt. Tom Cruise, you agree?) Even Paris Hilton, once the media rage, has grown very tired. Watch her less-exposed cohort Nicole Richie land a role on "The OC" and surpass Ms. Hilton in legitimate celebrity. Few, however, will surpass her in notoriety.

PR TV entertainment

Many media trainers subscribe to the KISS principle when advising trainees on how to respond to reporters' questions. KISS equates to Keep It Simple, Stupid. That apparently wasn't the case last month when JP Morgan Chase incoming CEO James Dimon (Jamie to those of us who knew him at college), got caught up on a question during an investor call. Today's New York Times described his response like this: "But instead of a clear answer, Mr. Dimon's meandering response bordered on the unintelligible."

The KISS principle is valid, but more importantly, why wasn't Mr. Dimon sufficiently prepared to deliver a thoughtful message to the easily anticipated query on future acquisitions??? It's one thing to attract a quorum of reporters and analysts to a briefing, but quite another to be ready for their questions. The PR/IR team at Chase perhaps couldn't get any quality time with their superstar and super busy CEO. The net consequence of not making the time manifests in today's headline: "When C.E.O.'s Are Entangled in Their Own Web of Words." Ouch!

PR media

The outcome of today's vote in Kansas to adopt "intelligent design" in its schools will ripple through the curricula-design trenches of the nation's public education system.

The many interest groups involved on both sides of this Darwinian issue are not waiting for the verdict to come in. In the typical double-speak to which we've grown accustomed these last few years, Casey Luskin, a spokesperson for the cleverly named Discovery Institute, the drivers of I.D. (whose website nefariously looks like National Geographic's ), had this to say: "Under these standards students will learn more about evolution, not less."

On the other side of the argument, the Campaign to Defend the Constitution, launched an email campaign to espouse its point of view. Its PR firm is Fenton Communications, which is probably the top firm in the industry for left-of-center cause-related advocacy. (Think Cindy Sheehan, Greenpeace, moveon.org, etc.) Whatever your political leanings may be, Fenton is a first-rate firm schooled in the most cutting-edge PR techniques. (DNC, are you paying attention?)

Even so, some days it feels like we're all living in a surreal dream. I read yesterday that the makers of the popular doll American Girl are under attack -- no doubt by backers of Intelligent Design -- for supporting a 140-year-old non-profit organization called Girls Inc..

PR politics

I think living in La La Land has finally gotten to NBC News & Entertainment prexy Jeff Zucker. It was he who granted "The West Wing" permission to allow the NBC News bug (that little translucent icon in the lower right of your screen) to be displayed during the fictional debate between actors Alan Alda and Jimmy Smits. Add real-life TV journalist Forrest Sawyer as moderator, and the blur begins. I guess this is what qualifies as synergy at the Peacock network. To me, it's an ominous breach of church & state that diminishes the esteem of the news division.

The Washington Post's Tom Shales had this to say: "This is a small sign of how standards at the news division have deteriorated over the years, and an indication that maintaining the line between news and entertainment is no longer much of a priority -- at NBC or, for that matter, at CBS or ABC." Ironically, CBS-TV News' "Public Eye" blog chimed in.

America has reluctantly come to accept the barrage of blatant commercial endorsements and less-than-subtle product placements in entertainment programming (just think of ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" as one giant commercial for Sears). But it's quite another to exploit a trusted news organization so that a TV episode can appear more realistic. At least Jon Stewart is up front about his absurdist approach to his daily "news" show.

media TV news

When the news is bad, just fire your publicist! Harder to do, if your publicist is your sister, but that's the news out of the Tom Cruise camp as reported in the new issue of TV Guide .

It's no secret that Mr. Cruise has endured his share of tumult since his Scientologist sister began handling the megastar's PR chores in March 2004. She replaced Pat Kingsley of PMK (that's Pickwick Maslansky Koenigsberg, for the uninitiated), one of the more vaunted entertainment shops in the biz today. Rogers & Cowan vet Paul Bloch picks up the duties. Bloch also has repped bad boy Macaulay.

Quotes from the now split siblings are here.

PR media

Newsmakers have leverage. No where is this more true than with those wielding political power. The higher the office, the greater the capacity to "control" what appears in newspapers, and on news programs, websites and, even weblogs. Todd Purdum, who covers the White House for The New York Times, yesterday examined the mechanics of how this administration controls the national news agenda. (His colleague Frank Rich, writing for the opinion pages of the newspaper, also touched on this phenomenon, but with his usual flair for the subjective.)

In his piece, Mr. Purdum quotes Harvard professor and author Howard Gardner: "Any one person or agent or institution that has the capacity to decide which story is operative, to sideline or minimize rival stories and to prepare for the next regnant stories, is in a very powerful position."

PR practitioners come in many flavors. They work on Wall Street, Main Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. The vast majority, however, will never hold the consistent national media clout that comes with representing a newsmaker like Google, the U.S. President, or Tom Cruise, for that matter. Most are confined to dealing with a limited spectral band of beat reporters, industry analysts or special interest media who they hope will take an interest in their clients' "news." Simply put, most PR pros are suppliant to the news media.

There was a time when working as a journalist was a prerequisite for landing a PR job in the private sector. Today, working in politics (e.g., public affairs) seems to be the ticket for entry. The business world nowadays is enamored with "political war rooms," "daily message tracks," media trainings, etc. They are convinced that those working inside The Beltway are the sole holders of the keys to these tools of the trade. I can tick off the names of companies who have siphoned their PR reps from politics - from Google to Disney to Wal-Mart to Citigroup.

They figure that those working for a political campaign or newsmaker are better equipped to manage the message. This may be true for the big newsmaking enterprises where the PR teams tend to react to the myriad daily inquiries from journalists. But, for the rest of us, whose clients are striving to build a buzzworthy name, I'd much prefer the enterprise and aplomb of a smart PR pro from a creative shop.

PR politics media

What's with T.O.? It seems that every time the Philadelphia Eagles' star wide receiver opens his mouth, someone gets offended. Who can forget Owens' diss of his teammate, QB Donovan McNabb, following last year's Super Bowl? I think he said: ``I wasn't the guy who got tired in the Super Bowl,''

Now he's been quoted in the media vetting his anger at the Eagles franchise for not recognizing his milestone 100th reception. It was sufficiently offensive that it required a very public apology. With his apology barely making it through one news cycle, T.O. again opened his mouth to insert his big foot . McNabb was again the object of his disaffection. (Don't these two have to see one another in the huddle?)

I've talked in the past about how common the practice of media training is for sports pros, but in Terrell's case, he should be trained to avoid being interviewed.

PR media sports

Ken Tomlinson's resignation from the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (the CPB), overseer of PBS and NPR, was announced this evening. It comes in advance of the imminent release of an investigation by the Inspector General into Mr. Tomlinson's alleged partisan practices while heading the CPB. (He's the guy who hired some like-minded friends to ferret out the supposed liberal bias on PBS.)

Of interest to me was Mr. Tomlinson's condemnation of the report prior to its release. Apparently, it's going to be somewhat damaging to his reputation, so he reasoned that by flagging his distaste for the findings, he might just neutralize the deleterious impact it will have. Geesh. If anything, by citing the report as part of the news of his resignation, he has only succeeded in whetting the media's appetite for schadenfreude.

Of additional interest to me, from a PR perspective, is the attention Mr. Tomlinson's successor, a former Republican National Committee co-chair, received when she filled her first three "senior staff positions." Their titles: VP of Government Affairs, VP of Communications and Senior Director of Corporate Communications, respectively. Three PR people. Republicans all. No bias there.

PR media politics

This one is to be filed under the anals of "s**t happens," along with the urine-tampered Mountain Do, the syringe in the Pepsi bottle and the finger in Wendy's famous chili.

Home Depot is being sued (oh what a litigious society we live in!) by a man whose derriere was glued to a toilet seat at a Home Depot store. Look for a settlement.

And next time use the seat protection.

PR business

It's one thing to have your best-laid plans for a press conference thwarted by breaking news that draws away media attendees, but quite another to have your day intentionally foiled by a rival party. This seems to be the case of late with the Fernando Ferrer NYC Mayoral campaign.

Mr. Ferrer's news conference to showcase the filthy conditions in a city subway station lost its bite when cleaning crews came and went an hour before the media arrived. The same scenario happened in a city park, once strewn with beer bottles and trash.

The challenge to Ferrer's PR handlers, of course, is to alert reporters in advance so they may plan to cover, but without tipping their hats to his opponent, in this case the Mayor, who has the capacity to quickly take action to blunt the message. However insidious this sounds, one must give credit to the mayor for his campaign's war-room mentality, a must-have these days given the 24/7 news cycle.

Of course, the Mayor's cantankerous spokesperson "bristled at suggestions that the workers were trying to take the air out of Ferrer campaign events. 'Not only does Freddy have no record, he doesn't have any ideas of his own, which is why he had to steal this press conference idea from Giff Miller,' said Stu Loeser, Mr. Bloomberg's campaign spokesman..." Talk about dubious credibility!

PR media politics New York

I have written about the trials and tribulations of White House spokesperson Scott McClellan on several previous occasions. After all, next to "The West Wing's" C.J. Cregg, he is the country's most famous public relations professional.

Now former Clinton spokesperson Mike McCurry, someone with whom I've mused on the PR biz over the years, has weighed in on the issues facing the current job-holder to National Public Radio's DC-based media reporter David Folkenflik. The catalyst for NPR's interest was yesterday's head-butting White House press briefing wherein Mr. McClellan refused to recant his previous denials of Mr. Libby's and Mr. Rove's involvement in the Plame affair.

Mr. McCurry, who certainly understands what it's like to be on the firing line, opines on the need to preserve one's credibility with the news media in order to remain effective in our line of work. The NPR audio segment is worth a listen.

PR media politics

Two of Hollywood's biggest names have lent their media-generating power to defeat next week a slate of Gov. Schwarzenegger's legislative initiatives. Warren Beatty, who's been rumored recently to be considering elective office, and Rob Reiner, the award-winning director aka "meathead" (from a different TV era), each have stepped up their public and advertising appearances to oppose The Terminator's hopes to terminate some abortion rights, etc.

When asked by TIME Magazine about his own political aspirations, Beatty replied coyly: "I don't think any good citizen should take that off the table," he said, adding, "I am flattered by the question."

SpongeBob SquarePants has even gotten into the fray by taping a spot urging defeat of the measure. I wonder what political aspirations he may have?

PR Hollywood politics

PR trouble for Infinity Radio? After much fanfare to breathe new life into Infinity post-Howard Stern -- both real and engineered -- the programming team at the shock jocks's soon-to-be former home now has the inklings of an even bigger PR challenge on its hands. After spending six figures on a 24-page unprecedented advertising buy in Ad Age to tout its new line-up of on-air talent, the inimitable "Page Six" today reports a brewing revolt by some of Stern's terrestrial outlets.

I guess David Lee Roth, Adam Carolla and Jack Radio didn't exactly add up to the mojo Stern has built among fans (and advertisers). Did Infinity really think that advertising its new line-up would create the necessary advanced WOM to secure station carriage and advertiser/audience esteem? The #2 radio company did issue a news release, but really. With all the buzzworthy tools available today, I would have to say that this marketing campaign seems, well, so old-fashioned.

Howard Stern, of course, will manage his own message and satellite debut. He starts with this parting shot, and look for quite a bit more. I'm sure former WSJ reporter-turned PR man (now for Sirius) Patrick Reilly is swimming in shocking ideas designed to raunch us into subscribing.

I've written about them previously, as has my old friend MSNBC "Scooper" Jeannette Walls, but you have to give the folks at the increasingly mainstream animal rights activist group, PETA, credit for their PR acumen. We can still expect the blood-throwing-on-the-fashion-editor trick to conjure up some newsworthy images, but now PETA has set its sights on the fur hats worn by Buckingham Palace guards.

And guess who PETA will dog during their upcoming trip to the U.S.? Prince Charles and his new bride. Might there be a chance encounter for the royal couple with the star of TV's "Stacked" Pam Anderson, an active PETA member, who was born in British Columbia? Now there's a money-making photo from some paparrazzo!