The Flack

Just when you thought America was safe from Karl Rove, the administration's stealth puppeteer re-emerged this week. The AP reports that Mr. Rove today has even more power and presidential sway than he had prior to his alleged demotion in April.

His fingerprints are all over not one, but two big PR productions (Katrina and The Legion) designed to jump start support for Mr. Bush's domestic and foreign policy agendas ahead of the mid-term elections. I can just picture the bespectacled neo-con presiding over a PR brainstorming session in Crawford, TX this summer.


Mr. Rove: I'll open the session by asking what upcoming national events are ripe for advancing our political message?

Condi: What about the Little League World Series? It's a U.S. team from Ohio versus one from Japan.

Mr. Rove: No, although the Japanese government pulled its troops from Iraq, we're counting on them for air support. Let's not push our luck. Also, isn't Jon Stewart already exploiting the state of Ohio? Anyway, I think it's Columbus, Georgia, not Ohio. Get your facts straight.

Condi: I thought you said "no negatives" in a brainstorm session.

Mr. Rove: Sit still, Condi. I'm in charge here!

Rummy: How bout a big show of support for Joe's Senatorial campaign?

Mr Rove: Good thought, Rummy, but our base still sees him as a Democrat, and a Jew at that. It's too risky.

Dan Bartlett: Why don't I set up a friendly interview with Katie Couric as a kick-off to her debut on the Evening News? She's always been a big supporter.

Mr. Rove: Sorry, Dan, we already set that up.

Dan Bartlett: Karl, I thought that was my job.

Mr. Rove: Sit still, Dan. I'm in charge here!

Tony Snow: My news instincts tell me there'll be lots of cameras in New Orleans for Katrina's one year anniversary.

Mr. Rove: Hmmm. Interesting thought, Tony. It's risky since there are plenty of people who are still pissed off at us. Though with enough prepping, we might get Dubya to pull it off.

Tony Snow: Let's send the First Lady with him to give it a woman's touch, but keep his mama away. You saw what she said in Spike's movie, didn't you?

Mr. Rove: No. I'm waiting for it to come out on VHS, but I'll take your word. Let's do it. Set up a tour of the area, but show only the progress made over the last year. Also, let's have the President express some contrition this time...but not too much. We can't be seen as weak.

Tony Snow: Yes sir! I'm on it. I'll call my buds at Fox to see what they've got planned.

Mr. Rove: OK, just do it. Now that we have our domestic PR plan in place, how can we buy some more time in Iraq?

Rummy: That surprise visit to Baghdad worked out pretty well last time.

Mr. Rove: Rummy, in case you haven't noticed, it's much more dangerous now. If the President gets blown up on the road from the airport, it would look real bad on the nightly news programs.

Condi: Maybe another speech at a U.S. military base or school?

Mr. Rove: Been there done that. But what if....

Rummy: Vets! That's it vets!

Mr. Rove: I was just going to say that.

Rummy: No, it was my idea.

Condi: Actually, it was mine. You heard me say the word military.

Mr. Rove: Sit still, you two. I'm in charge here. I have an idea where you both can shine.

Rummy: Bring it on, Rover!

Mr. Rove: The American Legion kicks off its national convention at the end of August. I bet we can get those old codgers to give us as many speaking ops as we want. They love war. We'll be speaking to the converted. I bet Dubya would even want to get in on it. It'll be better than even the RNC. Barlett/Snow -- make sure we get lots of cameras there.

Bartlett/Snow (in unison): Yes sir!

Mr. Rove: Remember, everyone: Command and control! Session adjourned. Mission accomplished.

PR Karl Rove Condi Rumsfeld Katrina public relations American Legion Tony Snow Dan Bartlett

Talking about terrorist tools, did you see the picture of Kofi Annan leading a group of Hezbollah supporters through the rubble in Lebanon? Though he was booed, the image speaks a thousand words.

When will we see this terrorist apologist make a public appearance in one of the Israeli villages whose women and children were attacked by Hezbollah, Mr. Annan's apparent sponsor in Lebanon?

Granted, the U.N. Secretary General did "meet with Israel's leaders and the families of two Israeli soldiers, whose abduction by Hezbollah militants sparked the 34-day conflict in Lebanon."

Let's see if those photos are released. Thus far, the only thing that came out of that meeting was this AP story titled "Annan: Israel responsible for most of violations."

His next stop: Syria and Iran -- Hezbollah's main benefactors -- with a friendly visit to Ramallah worked in.

PR Israel Hezbollah Kofi Annan Lebanon public relations UN

Last week, a man was arrested in Staten Island for selling satellite access to The Hezbollah Channel (THC for short, home to the hit series "The Falsettos").

Actually, the Feds moved in since they consider Hezbollah a terrorist organization and its broadcasting arm, Al Manar Television, a tool for terrorist propaganda.

This morning I stumbled across a short item in an Israeli newspaper in which a former Director in Ariel Sharon's office (incongruously) compared Al Manar's one-sided editorial output, and it $15-20 million annual budget, to the relatively tiny sum spent on PR by the state of Israel.

"'Al Manar's broadcasts are "pure propaganda, but they are professional and are carried worldwide via satellite and cable,'" he said. 'We need to recognize that the media is a tool and that it can serve as a weapons system. Hizbullah is 10 years ahead of Israel in the ability to use and manipulate the media for its strategic purposes.'"

Is this former Israeli official saying that PR people are "propagandists" who "manipulate" the media like "tools?" Professionally, I give mainstream news organizations (versus media commentators) more credit for trying to present a balanced picture. After all, Al Manar will never win a DuPont Award.

Perhaps the official is suggesting that Israel should invest in its own propaganda channel? After all, the Bush administration tried (and is still trying) its hand at this tact.

Israeli Gov't PR people: The notion of commandeering an Israeli news organization to overtly advance your nation's political agenda would be a mistake of grand proportions. You'd be much better served by investing in digital video, RSS, and an army of expert and earnest commentators to spread your messages. It's happening in Iran, though clearly not government-induced.

Give your mainstream and citizen journalists access to more expansive information -- in digital formats -- then let them do their jobs...in the name of democracy.

PR Israel Hezbollah Al Manar journalism public relations citizen journalism

Some years ago, the PR director of a famous consumer technology company asked me to rate the likelihood of his "news" getting picked up by one of a list of top-tier media outlets, i.e., "probable," "possible," or "unlikely."

I was curious why, and he said that the size of his bonus was based on the acuity of his projections, and the number of audience impressions he could generate.

In fact, that's basically the business model still in place today for most PR operations. The more ink and airtime, the happier the client. The media placement is the "end," as opposed to a means to the end as measured in increased sales, reputation, stock price, public opinion, etc.

Over the weekend, Bob Scoble revisited a favorite subject of his -- media exclusives and the value of non-A-list bloggers to newsmakers. While he acknowledged the catalyzing effect of a Mossberg or Pogue story, he offers a worthwhile perspective that in essence urges all PR types to re-think the standard top-down mainstream media approach to big news announcements.

You may remember Mr. Scoble as the former Microsoft Geek Blogger. Today he toils for a digital content company called PodTech - a job change that itself was trumpeted by then "Z-list" vlog Beet.tv.

"The guy who actually broke my news? I didn't talk with him at all and, in fact, didn't know who he was before he broke the story. Total Z list (at that point)."

Mr. Scoble believes that PR people would be smart to first seed their client's news with a range of smaller, less authoritative bloggers (a concept this Z-lister wholeheartedly endorses.)

""If you start a PR campaign at the bottom of the stack. Yes, with Z listers, not A listers like me or Arrington or Om Malik, you'll build a much better story. It will only take a few hours for us to figure out something important is going on anyway and you'll get a LOT more adoption that way. Plus, the New York Times and Wall Street Journal will have better quotes (from real users, even!) and they'll be more likely to write about you, not less (you do have a hot product that everyone will talk about, right?)"

Of course, that doesn't change the mindset of the buyers of PR services. They all seem to want the big bang. Scoble concurs:

"...most big companies will never get this. They have to convince their bosses that their plans are correct. That means ALWAYS starting out with the A list and working down."

It's worse than that, Bob. Most PR pros continue to neglect weblogs in their media outreach plans to begin with, let alone distinguish between the blogosphere's A-list and Z-list. (At least that's this PR person's view from the Alley, not the Valley.)

PR Scoble A-list news releases public relations blog relations

I was poised to write about Paris Hilton's publicist Elliot Mintz (shown here sandwiched between the Hilton sisters ) who was profiled in yesterday's New York Times Sunday "Styles" section, but my buddy Andy Plesser pointed me to Scoble's lesson on the advantages of using blogging's Z list to gain real PR traction.

Before I get into the Scobleizer, I will say that I thought Mr. Mintz came off well in The Times piece, in spite of being called Ms. Hilton's "walker" (and his black silk shirt and black tie).

"So in many ways the 61-year-old Mr. Mintz is an unlikely figure to be working the graveyard shift of Ms. Hilton’s social life."

I especially appreciated his sober assessment of the life he has carved for himself in the glam regions of the PR world:

"But to hear Mr. Mintz tell it, he has just about had it with the game — celebrities, nightclubs, paparazzi — which he finds demoralizing and embarrassing. 'I’m at the end of the trail,' he said. 'I’m done with it. If I’m still doing this 12 months from now, I will have failed.'"

Of course, his threat to quit the biz will only enhance the new biz pipeline, and the description of what he does for Ms. Hilton will only entice more young and celeb-obsessed wannabes into this brand of the profession:

"She tells him where she plans to go, and he shows up early, inserting his diminutive frame between the 25-year-old heiress and unwanted gawkers and cameramen, so that they do not scare or fluster her."

It reminded me of that vacuous MTV show "The Hills" wherein the young and the restless outmaneuver each other to get into the coolest parties and clubs under the guise of having a job.

In the end, I hope Elliott does succeed in curing his addiction to a client famous for being famous. He certainly has achieved much in his career. His legacy deserves better.

Oops. I've run out of space for Scoble. Stay tuned to the space above.

Paris Hilton PR Elliot Mintz celebrity PR public relations Scoble

What else is there to be said about the PR-fueled feud between Sumner and Tom? Virtually every mainstream and online media outlet has offered its take on the salaciously see-saw story for which the Wall Street Journal can claim first dibs.

One different take on the he said-he said drama that has Hollywood and New York tongues a-wagging emerges in Red Herring's analysis of the story's near ubiquity. True to its heritage, the biz-tech glossy focused on the echo chamber effect of the blogosphere, and whether gossip blogs are good investments.

"The new economics of content also mean web sites will hash out Mr. Cruise’s situation endlessly...And where there’s popularity, money to fund such startups can’t be far behind."

The always astute former Ziff-Davis chief (and a former client) Eric Hippeau, now a managing partner of Softbank Capital (which just invested in Huffington Post), doesn't think much of gossip-all-the-time blogs:

"'I probably would not fund a celebrity blog. I don’t think it’s a viable business model.' He said that since gossip magazines depend on subscriptions and newsstand sales for revenues, he wouldn’t want to back a site that was pure celebrity dish. 'It seems a little fickle to me—gossip mags are a good business but have their ups and downs,' he said."

Huffington's fortunes notwithstanding, the real question for PR types is how the axiom "time heels" may only apply to mainstream outlets, whereas online, news of the voyeuristic variety tends to have a much longer half-life (not to mention a bigger online footprint).

This festering (eternal?) online presence may not bode well for those wishing for a quick escape from the harsh spotlight, but it could provide a boon to PR/SEO and SE de-O pros. (Better keep my day job.)

PR Red Herring Sumner Tom Cruise public relations SEO Eric Hippeau weblogs Huffington Post Softbank

Don't you just hate that TV spot that shows the curmudgeonly baseball manager holding a press conference. The reporters' questions are focused on one abjectly inept player whom the manager steadfastly defends.

We soon learn the reason why. The "player" owns the team, having bought it with his New York State Lottery winnings.

Yeah right! The Washington Nationals was purchased by MLB for $120 million in 2002 and sold last year for $450 million -- a sum nowhere near the amount ever offered by the single-state New York Lottery. In fact, the modus operandi of the state's Lotto marketing gurus paints all kinds of far-fetched fantasies to lure players into the game.

One fantasy they didn't dream up popped today when a Long Island bookkeeper was arrested for stealing $2.3 million to feed her $6000-a-day lottery addiction. The story broke big on the front page of today's New York Times "Metro" section and elsewhere.

Since print often begets broadcast, it will certainly get good play on the New York market's local (and national) TV and radio outlets...much to the likely chagrin of the state's lottery officials, They'll remain conspicuously absent in this story, betting that the 24/7 news cycle quickly moves on to friendlier fantasies of lottery winnings.

New York State Lottery marketing Lotto crisis television

The typical sequence of events leading up to a film opening or Broadway premiere has the celebrity principals making the rounds of media to build advance WOM, and to blunt any potential negative critical reviews.

Today, we learn how Martin Short has flipped the PR process to bolster his 90-minute Broadway show after it received decidedly mixed reviews by the New York critics.

He's pulling out all the stops to salvage what may be lost cause now that the critics have spoken:

"He's the cornerstone of a marketing and publicity campaign the producers of "Fame Becomes Me" are launching after Labor Day to overcome the notices."

What's especially surprising is the fact that Mr. Short's upcoming schedule of media appearances is now public knowledge, courtesy of today's New York Post (and the show co-producer's big mouth):

"He'll be on [Jon] Stewart's "Daily Show" tonight. He's also scheduled to hit 'The Colbert Report,' 'The View,' 'Regis and Kelly' and 'The Martha Stewart Show.' The fact that Marty's in New York, with all of its media outlets, is something we're going to take advantage of," says Scott Zeiger, a co-producer of 'Fame Becomes Me.'"

Good luck, Marty. I hope your efforts don't fall short (especially now that your PR plan is an open book to these TV bookers.)

Martin Short PR Broadway publicist critical reviews journalism television

Filed this under the headline: all publicity is good publicity. YouTube today will unveil its much-anticipated business strategy to monetize the video site's 16 million uniques (who visited in July).

Michelle Quinn, writing in the Merc-News , provides a glimpse of the ad-driven revenue model wherein an advertiser can post (for an as-yet undisclosed fee) its "participatory video ad" on the site's home page. Viewers will be encouraged to comment. Advertisers also can create their own special content areas in "themed channels."

YouTube's CEO and co-founder Chad Hurley had this to say: "This is a first. It really allows advertisers to kick start a viral campaign."

Now we all know about the consumer wrath that occurred following some advertisers' attempts to kick start a viral campaign. (Think GM.) One example cited in YouTube's new ad paradigm revolved around a movie trailer posted by the Weinstein Co.:

"Ten days ago, YouTube began testing the participatory video ad concept with a video ad for the current feature film 'Pulse,' by the Weinstein Co. As of Monday, the video had been viewed 904,898 times with 838 comments, mostly positive. One from community member CheFuser was less breathless: 'Any movie that cannot make the 90-minute mark has to be CHEAP! Don't see it!'"

So what if the participatory commercial ad really stinks?

"It is all part of the YouTube experience, and Hurley says advertisers are ready for it. 'The advertising community embraces the idea of feedback. Like anyone else within the system, they have the ability to moderate comments so they don't get out of control.'"

Ahhh. There's the rub! The ad community may embrace the idea of feedback, but I wonder how the other side of the marketing aisle, e.g., the PR community, will react. Not to worry message managers. The comments will be "moderated." Translation: truly objectionable fare will wind up on the cutting room floor.

Today's announcement should get a big send-off. YouTube's PR consiglieres hired America's favorite role model Paris Hilton to promote her new Warner Music album (and her well-worn bed?) as the post-Beta media-generator (399 comments already). I wonder if she has waived her customary appearance fee?

Paris Hilton PR YouTube viral public relations advertising Chad Hurley Warner Music

With shades of "60 Minutes" clearly in mind, my old boss George Glazer used to revel in ambushing executives as they entered their media training sessions.

He was fond of surprising unsuspecting CEOs with a video crew and a fabricated question like, "I understand your CFO was just apprehended at the airport with a suitcase full of money. Care to comment?"

Most succumbed to the bait! George eventually advised his charges to never talk to strangers with video cameras.

The current issue of Newsweek has a Q&A with once bad girl actress Shannen Doherty. The interview was pre-arranged by Ms. Doherty's publicist to promote her new TV series on the Oxygen network. After some pleasanteries, the reporter zinged the actress with the following:

"Haven't you had some bad breakups? You tried to run over a boyfriend a long time ago, right?"

Ms. Doherty, to her credit, expressed her displeasure at this question and abruptly ended the interview:

"I am not going to have things rehashed from 15 years ago. I'm not going to combat lies...I can already tell what's going to be in your article. Let me hang up and call my publicist and then we'll reconvene, because I'm not going down this path."

They never reconvened, as snidely noted by the reporter.

While I'm no fan of Shannen Doherty, she probably did the right thing by quickly ending the testy exchange. As far as her publicist goes, I'm not so certain he (or she) did the right thing by feeding his client to a reporter intent on rehashing Ms. Doherty's sordid past. Of course, control over such matters wanes once the interview starts (though reasonable prep work -- on both sides of the equation -- can help avoid surprises).

MSM reporters rarely provide their questions in advance (but if John Mark Karr agreed to answer ten questions, few news organizations would think twice about submitting them.) In the end, I suspect that the mere mention in Newsweek of the show's title and network justified the effort in the minds of the interview's orchestrators. The show premieres tomorrow night.

Shannen Doherty PR Oxygen publicist media training journalism television

Periodically, I stumble across one of the poorly written paid wire service "news" releases touting 5WPR's anointment as agency-of-record for some company residing at the end of the long tail.

Hey look, who can blame the self-proclaimed "fastest growing PR firm for the past two years" for wanting to grow faster by press release edict (not to mention baiting many PR bloggers and better known PR pros)?

Two of the firm's recent releases caught my eye for their originality (and, again, their disdain for the English language). One touted a Russian company with a grandiose name: Mega Media Group, the other for a novelty company called Notch Novelty. Here is what the agency head had to say about his firm's latest conquests:

For Notch: "We are excited to be working with Notch Novelty Corporation to both implement a comprehensive financial communications strategy as well as an aggressive media strategy designed to both elevate the company's stock and corporate profile," said Ronn Torossian, President & CEO, 5W Public Relations. "Our tremendous experience in both the consumer products and niche retail community makes this an ideal account for the firm."

For Mega: "We are excited to be working with Mega Media Group to both implement a comprehensive financial communications strategy as well as an aggressive media strategy designed to both elevate the company corporate profile," said Ronn Torossian, President & CEO, 5W Public Relations. "Our tremendous experience in both the entertainment and niche marketing community makes this an ideal account for the firm."

I guess the staff didn't want to disturb Mr. T's vacation to get a fresh quote.

PR news release PR Agency public relations 5WPR

Today's Guardian of London questions the BBC's use of an outside entertainment PR firm to publicize one of its most popular programming franchises, "Doctor Who."

The reporter reluctantly accepts the use of the publicity shop given the Beeb's budget cuts in recent years, much of which has decimated the venerable broadcaster's in-house PR operations. He wrote:

"In the last year 115 jobs in marketing and publicity have gone - its [sic] one of the hardest hits [sic] departments in the BBC. But the BBC still has the same number of programmes to promote. No wonder some journalists aren't getting their calls returned as quickly as they'd like."

Is returning journalists' phone calls the reason for deploying an outside agency? I would say this may be true, especially if you work in a busy in-house press office. However, with 25 years of agency experience, I'm a little more bullish on the resources an outside firm can bring to a bare-boned and beleaguered PR department.

Most firms pride themselves on helping clients get ahead of the curve -- mostly to develop and enterprise press-generating opportunities (as opposed to simply helping fulfill the media's informational requests). Secondly, with more human resources and a broader portfolio of clients, the agency may be able to better uncover and capitalize on trends, tools and editorial opportunities -- something for which busy press offices have little excess bandwidth.

Still, why do some journalists hint at scandal when a public entity retains an outside PR firm? I don't see it happening with law and accounting firms.

PR BBC Doctor Who public relations TV

About a year ago, when this ultra-niche PR blog was still in its infancy, its author received an e-mail offer to test-drive a free state-of-the-art cell phone from one of the big four mobile service providers.

While flattered, I was a bit put off by the overture and its implication that I would eventually tout, as a quid pro quo, the phone's pin-drop virtues. I also was surprised that my lowly blog ranking and distinctly unrelated editorial orientation would even merit inclusion on this enterprising PR person's target "media" list.

Now I understood why journalists cite PR people's misguided queries as their greatest source of annoyance.

Of course, the art of blog relations has evolved considerably since the days when the purveyors of Nick Denton's Gawker group would totally diss any publicist using the usual tools, e.g., news releases, tip sheets, etc., to garner a mention in one of his sometimes snarky blogs.

Today, most of the big consumer tech blogs, e.g., engadget, gizmodo, techcrunch, encourage (and thrive on) thoughtful (i.e., relevant) story and product suggestions. Rafat Ali (pictured), founder of PaidContent, even spelled out the rules of the game for PR types in a recent posting.

Including blogs in the media relations mix is now the norm, I think. The Washington Post's Kim Hart recently reported how PR firms are hiring "blog relations experts" to help their clients tap into the virality of this medium.

It's not that any one blog has the lock on eyeballs, but through link relevancy and the Google juice it produces, online consumers (and mainstream journalists) can now more readily discover your client's news. Also, let's not forget about how Technorati searches can lead to the story. I would just say that transparency, familiarity with the blog's essence, and willingness to "give and take" with the blogger will help gain that elusive foothold.

PR paidcontent.org Gawker news releases public relations blog relations

It was a small item in the Arts, Briefly section of yesterday's New York Times. But we certainly have not heard the last of it. The headline of the item culled from a Reuters report: "Disney Stands By Gibson Film"

Now I'm not one to second-guess the wisdom of the highly paid communications gurus at one of the most powerful media and entertainment companies/consumer brands in the world, but I suspect that continuing its association with Mr. Gibson portends much angst for the studio leading up to this film's December release.

The brief announcement by a Disney spokesperson was prompted by rumors that the studio was shopping the film's distribution rights. It was strategically issued late Friday to no doubt get lost amidst a mid-August's weekend's activities. The news coincided with the release of a Fox News poll showing that Americans are still OK with Mr. Gibson.

When Mr. Gibson was arrested, this blog took a contrarian view in its assessment of the permanent damage to the actor's career. While veteran Hollywood publicists likened his anti-Semitic tirade as a death knell, I said that the 24/7 news cycle, fragmented media, fickle consumers, and the economics of Hollywood would put this episode in Mr. Gibson's speeding car's rear-view mirror "as fast as one can say Pee Wee Herman and Jimmy the Greek."

I just didn't think the pendulum would swing back to Mr. Gibson's side as quickly as this.

"Hollywood experts said that until his arrest, it was expected that Gibson would lead the publicity campaign for the film." Don't bet on his absence. I'm sure the film's marketeers are presently weighing just how to channel the newly notorious Mr. Gibson's "mediability" to drive box office. Three-parter on "GMA," anyone?

Ironically, the new Mayan-language film "would touch on universal themes about 'civilizations and what undermines them.'" How does one say intolerant lunatic in Mayan?

PR media Mel Gibson Disney Apocalypto marketing public relations

This was not exactly the photo-op Boy George envisioned for re-building his career. But sure enough, there he was early this morning on the streets of New York City performing his legally mandated community service chores as a garbage man, er, sanitation worker.

The 80's pop star and Broadway wannabe yelled to the gaggle of media on hand:

"You think you’re better than me? Go home. Let me do my community service."

One has to feel bad for the flamboyant British transplant. This is the kind of come-uppance that Kate Moss deserved. Instead she gets to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair as Marlene Dietrich. Go figure.

Don't expect to see Rosie come to her former paramour's side. She's too busy resurrecting her own image following her highly publicized failures in the publishing and theater worlds.

On the other hand, Meredith Vieira, Ms. O'Donnell's predecessor on "The View, finally comes out of her quiet PR period with a prominent and deservedly positive profile in yesterday's New York Times Magazine .

The Vieira piece likely marks the beginning of a carefully orchestrated PR effort to retain and build a new audience for the newly (configured) and still top-rated network morning show. Look for much more on Meredith as we approach her early morning debut next month.

PR Boy George Rosie O'Donnell Kate Moss celebrity public relations Meredith Vieira

Yesterday, Auburn University finally took action against two tenured professors accused of grade inflation for athlete-students.

The university's "directed-reading courses" saw students, mainly athletes, forego formal classes to work directly with professors. The draw: less rigorous academic standards and better grades. The practice came to light in a New York Times investigative piece (TimesSelect) last month titled "Top Grades and No Class Time for Auburn Players."

While the two professors were forced to resign, their tenure will keep them on as salaried employees. More significant was the seemingly lack of contrition or reasonable assignment of blame by Auburn interim president Ed Richardson:

"This is clearly an academic problem," Richardson said Thursday during a news conference in the lobby of the school's administration building. "Athletics is a minor player in an academic issue. Having said that, this is a matter of great concern to this administration."

Also absent, from this blogger's perspective, is any mention of this national story unfolding in his midst from Auburn's esteemed Marcom professor and blogging pundit and protagonist Robert French. What's what here, Robert?

PR Auburn University public relations Tigers blogging

As Bill Ford extols his company's commitment to the environment in a pricey TV campaign, yesterday the company seems to have contradicted Mr. Ford's CSR marketing message. It announced that it planned to build two gas-guzzling muscle cars: a 325-HP Shelby GT and a big luxury car, the Lincoln MKS.

Of course, this yin-yang approach to brand rebuilding wasn't lost on The New York Times or others following yesterday's announcement. To explain, Ford's VP for North American sales said:

"We do have great car products; we do have great fuel performance."

This prompted one analyst to quip:

"It is a mistake and it’s very disappointing," said John Casesa, managing partner of Casesa Strategic Advisers in New York. "I just think it shows that Detroit still has a business model predicated on low energy prices."

Can the nation's #2 automaker successfully tout its green-ness, while building decidedly ungreen cars? Let's watch and see.

PR Bill Ford public relations CSR Ford Motor Co. muscle cars environment

There are no shortage of pundits and political commentators who have weighed in on the forces behind Senator Joe's primary loss to the deep-pocketed and blue blooded Ned Lamont.

The bloggers, of course, attribute the upset to their brethren's growing political influence. Others blame the incumbent for his lateness (arrogance?) in acknowledging the threat at hand. Some lefties would have voted for anyone who didn't get bussed by Bush.

Personally, I have my own thoughts. Over the weekend, I managed to catch both Sen. Lieberman and Mr. Lamont on ABC's This Week George Stephanopolous. The Senator lacked energy, and frankly was cumbersome. Lamont, in contrast, was quick and appeared much more alert. Net net: Lamont looked and sounded much, much better.

In fact, it didn't even matter what he said. It was how he said it. If I were a Connecticut Yankee, I would have voted the 800 Ned number at the bottom of the screen based purely on his telegenics

So, Peter, how then do you explain the inarticulate Mr. Bush's ascension to the top political office in the land? Let's just say, he had some help.

Joe Lieberman PR Ned Lamont politics public relations TV News

How many times have we seen some corporate bigwig get skewered in the media when a gross distortion suddenly turns up in his or her CV? Also, wouldn't most reputable PR firms resign a piece of business if it were learned that the client knowingly misled or lied?

These thoughts recently crossed my mind when I saw a piece quoting the next-gen mogul Paris Hilton declaring:

"'I’m not having sex for a year. ... I’ll kiss, but nothing else,' says Hilton, who told the magazine she has had sex with only two men during her lifetime." Huh??? (This must be a typo.)

I wonder if her publicist would consider this brand of poetic license grounds to resign her business? Or could this be part of a grander scheme by the high-profile priestess to lie her way to the top of the celebrity-o-meter?

I think there may be some credence in the latter theory after seeing her kindred spirit Lindsay Lohan quoted in the Post today:

"The busty 'Herby: Fully Loaded' star also insists to the mag that she's never had plastic surgery, nor does she snort cocaine. But the loquacious Long Island native admits she often tells the press 'things that aren't true . . . just because it's fun.'"

File this one under "Clients from Hell."

Paris Hilton PR Lindsay Lohan publicist public relations journalism

Dear Floyd,

Anyone watching you saw shades of Lance in your 17th stage comeback -- a spectacular feat of athleticism by any standard. At a time when there's little to cheer about, all Americans were proud to see you prevail...in France, especially.

Today, however, our pride has turned to bewilderment and dismay from the latest revelations of enhanced levels of "synthetic" testosterone in your bloodstream. (I'm sure there were plenty of guys out there hoping that your initial explanation of elevated testosterone naturally caused your super human performance.)

Today, we hear you gripe about the "agenda" of cycling's governing bodies. You complain about not having sufficient time to react to the public release of your lab test results.

"I just got the information on the 'A' sample a day and half ago...I had to find out about the 'B' from reading it in the media...I had only two days to react to mine."

Floyd, shame on your PR consiglieres for not having their RSS readers or a Google News Alerts keyworded to capture breaking news about your fate. Had they taken the easy steps to set up these digital testosterone tools, the tainted test results might have found their way into your inbox, thus allowing more time to react in the first news cycle.

Now you really have to spin some wheels with a full-out media blitz just to catch up...

Best of luck.


PR Floyd Landis public relations Tour de France RSS testosterone

About a week ago, we learned of an effort by GM to use Google AdWords to neutralize (i.e., educate) those critical of the troubled automaker's aborted electric car initiative.

It seems that the company's digital issues management (DIM) advisors purchased some ad copy to pop adjacent to the organic results listings when people searched for the film doc "Who Killed the Electric Car." Hey, isn't that what AdWords was created for?

Taking it a step further, it's being reported that the decidedly right wing Beltway PR firm DCI produced and posted on YouTube a slick anti-Al Gore video called "Al Gore's Penguin Army" allegedly for its client Exxon Mobil.

"Exxon denies knowing anything about the film, and DCI says, 'We do not disclose the names of our clients, nor do we discuss the work we do on behalf of our clients.'"

Now this not what YouTube was created for...or was it? Can "CGM" morph into corporate generated media without tainting the viral video hosting company's brand essence? Or more importantly, shouldn't video posted on YouTube (and elsewhere) require full disclosure of who financed the production?

PR astroturfing issues advocacy Exxon Mobil public relations GM YouTube digital video Google AdWords

Some months back, I recalled a story in which then AP president Lou Boccardi chastised a late-arriving Washington Post photographer who asked the head of the world's largest news organization to re-enact the remarks he just missed. Mr. Boccardi, the consummate journalist, naturally bristled at the shooter's suggestion to stage such a photo.

In the last 24 hours, a brouhaha has developed over the authenticity of some wire service images emerging from Qana, Lebanon. A blog called EU Referendum, taking note of the time-stamped photos, concluded that the same dead child was repeatedly used as a prop in a terrorist PR ploy.

The allegations prompted all three wires to quickly and emphatically deny any such complicity in the manipulation of public opinion. Having worked with The AP -- both as a client and as a news outlet -- I would find it difficult to believe the esteemed news organization would have knowingly staged these heart-wrenching and incendiary photos.

HOWEVER, in looking at the images, it was patently clear to this blogger that this dead child was being held up and showcased for the media on the scene. So where does a news organization draw the line?

Time stamps notwithstanding, the wires should have thought twice before globally disseminating these clearly choreographed photographs. By moving the most dramatized of the group, they too became pawns in the propaganda game.

PR journalism politics photography PR Lebanon Qana propaganda

No stranger to the machinations of PR'dom -- given all the time she spent in the Beltway -- Arianna Huffington, the grand dame of populist blog aggregation and a prolific pontificator in her own right -- weighed in last night on Mel's second meticulously crafted words of apology in as many days:

"If they are the work of a publicist, I want his name and number. He's the Shakespeare of spin, the Picasso of PR, the Camus of Contrition."

There's no doubt that Mr. Gibson had a PR assist here (probably Sitrick or someone of that ilk from the left coast), but a publicist? Now if Mel's public relations consigliere was merely a "publicist," his or her job would be a piece of ruggola. After all, how hard would it be to generate publicity for the newly notorious Mr. Gibson?

I guess in the minds of many, all PR people are publicists -- from $400/hour crisis counselors to marketing communications specialists to media strategists. It's part of the Hollywoodification of the profession. I wonder if Harold Burson or Richard Edelman would consider themselves publicists? Unlikely.

I'm headed out to L.A. next week to catch up with some old friends in the biz including Howard Bragman whose new firm Fifteen Minutes is gaining traction. I'll be curious to hear his take on Mr. Gibson prospects for survival, and wearing the publicist badge of honor.

Huffington PR Mel Gibson publicist public relations journalism

In the very early reports of civilian deaths at Kafr Qana, I was relieved to hear that Israel released video showing Hezbollah rockets being fired from in-between residential buildings in the village of Qana.

Finally, here was a way in which Israel could unequivocally put the blood of innocent Lebanese women and children squarely on the hands of the Hezbollah terrorists.

Soon, however, that video, or most references to the "human shield" story line, yielded to words like Israel "condemnation" and "massacre." (It didn't help that Kofi Annan, who commands a good share of the dedicated U.N. press corps, is in bed with the terrorists.)

What happened? Why is Israel only able to effectively fight this war on the military front, but lose in the court of public opinion? The News Hound posted a piece on a Fox "Special Report" that aired last night during which The Weekly Standard's Fred Barnes opined:

"They should have said look, the blood is on Hezbollah's hands, they knew that it's a war crime to use civilians as a shield, and that's what they were doing. It's Hezbollah's fault, not Israel's. But, instead they apologized."

I don't disagree that Israel should have banged the "human shield" drum much, much louder. In fact, add to it the timpani of Hezbollah's missiles aimed directly at innocent civilians within Israel. (Is anyone asking Hezbollah to apologize for its intentional murder of civilians?)

It was correct, however, for Israel to apologize for this tragic accident, but the Jewish State erred in not quickly sequeing to the real culprit here by hammering home how Hezbollah has embedded its warriors in neighborhoods -- using words, pictures, video and RSS.

PR Israel Hezbollah Qana Lebanon public relations