The Flack

I'm not a big MySpace fan, but there are plenty who are (for now). I much prefer FaceBook for my boys given some of the safeguards in place there.

Relatively quietly (unless you consider Ynetnews.com a mainstream media outlet) the State of Israel has opened an outpost on News Corp's dominant and youthful social network. And guess what? It's nicely done (and it's unarmed...I mean disarming).

The site is reminiscent of an initiative my digital video-enabled friend Marco Greenberg conceived for the Israeli government more than a year ago. It was the first government-sponsored video blog and it allowed ordinary Israeli citizens to post their real-life video on subjects including the arts, science, sports, lifestyle, etc. Not unexpectedly, however, that nation's political bureaucracy soon suffocated the promising project. It's morphed into this.

But back to the State of Israel page on MySpace, Ynetnews also reports that:

"Among the first to join the friend list were official fan clubs of actors George Clooney, Eddy Murphy and Leonardo DiCaprio, and singers Matisyahu and Regina Spektor."

At a time when the mere mention of Israel unjustly conjures up images of death and destruction, it's refreshing to see a more truthful depiction of life in that peace-seeking nation. It's also refreshing to see the government wise-up to the use of digital video to showcase humanity, a tactic its adversaries have long used to showcase inhumanity.

Labels: Eddie Murphy, George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio, MySpace, PR, public relations, social media, State of Israel, vlog, Ynet

You have to admire Steve Rubel. Sure, many PR people are jealous of his high ranking (89) on the Technorati stats or that he's become a really famous PR person. (I wonder if he even considers himself a PR person?)

Hey Steve, this blogger finally broke the 36,000 mark -- a motivating milestone rationalized by simple division: 35,000/57,000,000 puts The Flack in the top .06% of all bloggers. Yippee! I can now retire.

"However, in recent weeks I have started using Gmail as much more than an email host. With its gobs of storage, speed and tremendous search/tagging capabilities, you can transform it into a personal nerve center that's available from any computer or mobile device. When you tap into this power and combine Gmail with some other tools, it is perhaps the most essential site ever developed. Most of the following life hacks have not been documented."

Labels: blogger, citizen journalism, Edelman, Google, Micropersuasion, Microsoft, PR, public relations, Steve Rubel

I'm not obsessed with paparazzi. Though one couldn't help but notice the $200 million that Getty forked over last week for celeb photo agency WireImage. (Would WireImage's shooters even consider themselves paparazzi?)

The paparazzi do however play an incongruously glorified role in today's complex ecosystem of news gathering -- especially when one considers the ever-widening news holes that accommodate their real and faux-celebrity subjects.

Didn't Bob Herbert and Frank Rich (TimesSelect required) recently opine on how the sordid tales from Florida and Malibu sadly overshadow the true state of domestic and international affairs?

Well the financial rewards many a paparazzo have garnered through their voyeuristic capture of compromising images may soon be coming to an end if you believe one disgruntled shooter in Europe. The Guardian reports:

"A top paparazzo has said business for celebrity photographers is under serious threat from an army of amateurs and opportunists snapping stars on their mobile phones."

You mean the images of Saddam's hanging weren't the work of a seasoned photojournalist? And then there's the news today of MSNBC's month-old foray into the CGM arena.

"While users can post whatever they’d like at FirstPerson.MSNBC.com, the site’s editors screen all submissions, placing the best and most relevant content in specially designed galleries. Fans of the site can also vote on their favorites."

Now this is nothing new. Citizen journalists across all mediums are creating and publishing content --- some even newsworthy -- that competes handily with "professional" journalistic fare. I just haven't seen photojournalists (I'm being polite) grouse about the prospect of disintermediation by the 1.0 mega-pixel mobile phone/camera crowd. That's new.

As PR professionals, to whom then do we proffer access to our client-newsmaking events: the prolific citizen reporter, photographer or videographer, or the professional journalist? Hmmm. I would say both for the foreseeable future, but the answer eventually will rest with the ever-fine slice of audience one's trying to reach. The Vanity Fair party venue simply won't accommodate every "legitimate" scribe and shooter.

Labels: CGM, citizen jourbnalists, journalism, media, Oscar night, paparazzi, photography, Photojournalism, PR, public relations, Vanity Fair

It was fun seeing Ellen doing some man-on-the-aisle (versus MOS) interviews last night during the Oscar telecast. She handed a screenplay to eventual Oscar-winning director Marty and posed for a close-up with Clint after giving her digital camera to Steven Spielberg.

She even had the temerity -- and good comic timing -- to ask the world's most celebrated filmmaker to re-do the shot so that she and Clint were centered in the frame. Too funny...especially since it seemed ad-libbed.

Seeing Clint there last night and contemplating today's top celeb story, my thoughts turned to the closing scenes of his film "Million Dollar Baby." You remember. A battered and paralyzed Hilary Swank (Best Actress 2005) lay in a hospital bed when her trailer-trash mother popped in from her trip to Disneyland. The mother, accompanied by her lawyer, arrived not to console her dying daughter, but rather to make her sign a legal document forcing a hand-over of her assets.

In an eerie kind of way, life imitates art with the legal motion filed today by Anna Nicole Smith's mother to overturn wacko Seidlin's ruling in order to allow her estranged daughter's body to be buried near her home in Texas. Could Virgie Arthur's version of Graceland be far behind? Is it money or the lure of perpetual fame that drives her?

Labels: "Million Dollar Baby", Academy Awards, Anna Nicole Smith, Clint Eastwood, Ellen DeGeneres, Hilary Swank, Judge Seidlin, PR, public relations, Virgie Arthur

Talk about doing a 180. When the news first broke that fabled buyout king Henry Kravis would embark on his(tory's) biggest deal ever, the first write didn't exactly position the target in the most favorable light.

Following the superlatives from NYTimes deal reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin, there, in the second paragraph, was the rub:

"The amount of private money that is being offered is a huge financial endorsement of the company’s controversial energy strategy. TXU has riled environmental advocates by proposing to build 11 coal-fired power plants in Texas. Despite calls for regulating greenhouse gases, TXU has been the most aggressive in the power industry in pushing coal as the answer to growing electricity demands."

"Controversial...aggressive...coal-fired...Texas." These are incendiary terms (excuse the pun.) But what would you expect from Mr Kravis? He's a tried-and-true A-list donor to the GOP (where G definitely doesn't stand for green). From the Washington Post:

"In key states, McCain has enlisted the likes of New York financier Henry Kravis, one of the GOP's largest donors over the past two decades, and Texas energy executive Robert A. Mosbacher, the architect of the Republicans' "Team 100" fundraising machine that helped make soft money a staple of politics by raising $20 million in large donations to help Bush's father win the presidency in 1988."

Now here's where it gets sticky. Mr. Kravis and his partner in the deal, The Texas Pacific Group, were being advised by Goldman Sachs -- a place where the G does stand for green -- at least compared to other financial services companies. A correction was in order. Mr. Kravis' PR team appeared to go into overdrive to soften the first story's negativity.

"Under a proposed $45 billion buyout by a team of private equity firms, the TXU Corporation, a Texas utility that has long been the bane of environmental groups, will abandon plans to build 8 of 11 coal plants and commit to a broad menu of environmental measures, according to people involved in the negotiations."

Could it be true? Matthew Wald raises some valid questions about the truthiness of TXU's environmental commitments moving forward. Nonetheless, the PR efforts did appear to produce the desired editorial results, including a most positive profile of Mr. Kravis:

"In contrast to the giddy exuberance of this era’s newly minted billionaires, however, Mr. Kravis, who is 63, is making his resurgence not only as a cornerstone of New York’s social and financial landscape, but also as a seasoned executive whose survival of a series of tough business setbacks and personal tragedies during the 1990s has given him a more measured perspective."

Additionally, Mr. Sorkin weighed in with a second piece that detailed the evolution of the positive environmental aspects of the deal titled "A Buyout Deal That Has Many Shades of Green."

Hmmm. A Texas coal-driven electric utility owned by a big Republican private equity firm going green? Maybe it's true. After all, David Bonderman, co-founder of Texas Pacific Group, apparently is no friend this administration. From a 2004 WSJ profile:

"Two years ago, he booked the Rolling Stones to play at his 60th birthday party in Las Vegas, handing out black 'Bonderman Rocks Vegas' T-shirts to hundreds of invitees. In the 2004 presidential campaign, he backed John Kerry, saying President Bush was 'the worst president since Millard Fillmore -- and that's probably an insult to Millard Fillmore.'"

I reckon we haven't heard the last of this coal-fired tale.

Labels: David Bonderman, environment, Henry Kravis, mergers and acquistions, PR, public relations, Texas Pacific Group, TXU

We all know how much money an exclusive image of an A-lister out-of-context, or preferably out-of-control, can command from consumer-facing media.

But the market value of the companies that intermediate between the shooters and the media came further into focus yesterday with news of the sale of Wire Image to GettyImages for...$200 million.

The news release summed it up in its lead graph:

"It's no secret. Now, more than ever, the world is fascinated with images of celebrities, entertainers and athletes. So much so, in fact, that it's become one of the fastest growing categories in the visual content business. Today, Getty Images, Inc. (NYSE: GYI), the world's leading creator and distributor of visual content, is announcing an acquisition that will support the company's stated strategy of accelerating the growth of its editorial imagery business."

Last year, I compared the modern struggles of bloggers for newsmaker access, e.g., press credentials, to the paparazzi hoping to profit from such access:

"Back then, we turned away any photographer who did not have a legitimate assignment from a recognized mainstream photo desk. Then along came (citizen photographers) from big and small photo syndicates like Gamma, Sygma, Sipa, Retna, LGI, etc., and we had to open the door wider given the pick-up their images soon enjoyed. (Today that world is dominated by Corbis, Getty Images, and Wire Image.)"

Most American paparazzi were just starting to build a syndicated presence beyond Newsweek's "Newsmakers," TIME's "People," People's "Star Tracks," and WWD's "Eye" sections. It may have been former NY Post photographer Dave McGough who first left the pack to dabble full-time in the riches of celeb photo syndication. It was so agreeable that he hung up his lens, hired a stable of others do the clicking, and bought a farm in upstate to syndicate full time. (WireImage closed his DMI brand last year.)

Then Corbis and Getty rolled in, buying up all the smaller photo syndicates. The public's rapacious appetite for celeb images (preferably indelicato) drove up the syndicates' value, not to mention their shooters' command of the front-and-center spots on the velvet rope. Move over, Ron Galella.

Today, the glossies are starting to be threatened by online upstarts who have the ability to instantly satisfy the insatiable cravings of today's voyeuristic public.

Labels: celebrity, Dave McGough, DMI, Getty Images, litigation PR, paparazzi, photography, public relations, Ron Galella, Wire Image

Labels: Dancing with the Stars, divorce, Heather Mills, litigation PR, O.J. Simpson, Paul McCartney, PR, public relations

Yesterday The Guardian reported on a new social media product called "Sway" that not only mines the online conversation, but purports to "influence" that conversation. Sherrilynne at StrivePR pointed to the piece.

Sway's makers at the UK-based marketing group Creston make no claims about lowering one's cholesterol. Instead, the company's "Director of Influence" had this to say:

"We eavesdrop on the conversation, and then impart that public domain information to clients in a structured way. It's important not only to collect that information but to influence the conversation."

"Eavesdrop," "sway," "influence"... This is language guaranteed to raise the hackles of journalists of any stripe. In fact, they are what likely precipitated the Guardian to report the story in the first place. Why not just call the product "Spin?"

At a time when digital has blurred the lines between PR, marketing and advertising and the rules of social media relations are still being written, it's dangerous (if not disingenuous) to tout one's ability to manipulate the cacophonous world of social media.

Sure, monitoring and analyzing what's being said across multiple platforms are vital steps in the development of a PR, marketing or crisis communications program. My friend Rob Key at Converseon has built a booming practice by doing just that for the last several years.

It's what you do with publicly available online intelligence that will continue to elicit scrutiny for some years to come. The Guardian reporter rightfully poses this question:

"So if the point of this is to "sway" the online conversation in the brand's favour, does that make the internet a less objective place for consumers? And what will that do for online trust?"

Creston's director of influence responded: "Brands definitely need to be transparent. It would take away from the credibility of their own site if they weren't." Right.

PR practitioners, of all the marketing professionals, learned long ago that our success "swaying" the conversation will come through journalistic engagement, enlightenment and education. Marketing types, who've toiled in the realm of paid and controlled messaging, just have a harder time grasping the subtle discipline of working with the fourth estate.

Know this, marketers: mainstream (and citizen) journalists will always bristle at the notion of being swayed, influenced or spun. As one AP reporter recently quipped, "I don't care to be a cog in your marketing campaign."

Labels: conversation mining, Converseon, Guardian, journalism, marketing, PR, public relations Creston, social media, Sway

Labels: brand esteem, crisis communications, David Neeleman, Dell, JetBlue, Peter Greenberg, PR, public relations

Shaved heads and The Donald. Is there anything closer to Nirvana in today's popular culture? Well, yes, there is. Add the taint of world wrestling to the mix, and you get the picture.

News Flash from yesterday's Detroit Free Press : wrestlers representing Donald Trump and WWE's Vince McMahon will face off in a Detroit ring on April Fool's Day in Battle of the Billionaires. The "loser" shaves his head. (Could this be true?)

Now I know many of you were hoping to see The Donald and Rosie come to fisticuffs. And I'm sure you would have settled with the loser getting a baldy (versus a bloody skull). Unfortunately, we're stuck with two of the planet's biggest self-promoting pugilistic pretenders as opposed to a modern twisted version of Billy Jean King versus Bobby Riggs.

Since we've already entered the realm of disbelief (and there are no negatives in a brainstorm), I would like to recommend three publicity-producing add-ons:

The loser gets shaved down at Esther's Hair Cutting Studio in Tarzana, California

The losing hair (hopefully Donald's) is auctioned off on eBay for a worthwhile charity, and

The winner's initials are tattooed on the loser's torso live on "Access Hollywood."

Donald, Vince -- you guys aren't above that, are you?

Labels: Battle of the Billionaires, Donald Trump, PR, promotion, public relations, Rosie, Vince McMahon, WWE

Labels: Darrell Jackson, Hillary Clinton, New York Post, politics, PR, public relations, South Carolina

Did you see the piece last week that talked about how YouTube is a favorite among the Al-Qaida crowd for hosting/posting terrorist propaganda video?

And then today we have the terrorist release of some new footage -- with the hatefully inciteful title "Holocaust of the Americas" -- that purportedly shows a resurgent insurgent Taliban battling U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

It's no secret that the radical Islamists are pretty sophisticated in their use of digital media -- especially video - to influence world opinion. I recently spent some time with a senior leader of a respected American Jewish organization who all but admitted (lamented) that Israel, in spite of its standing as the only true democracy in the region, is still far behind in using modern weapons of mass communication. (So what else is new?)

It was therefore encouraging to hear the news that Israel would deploy live webcams at a disputed construction site -- adjacent to where Ariel Sharon singlehandedly precipitated the last Intifada.

"The Israeli government hoped the live pictures would put fears to rest, demonstrating that the excavations are well outside the wall in front of the Al Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third-holiest site."

Hey look, if you can put webcams on the slopes of every major ski resort, why not do the same in a conflict area to quell accusations of a snow job? A smart, simple and relatively sophisticated solution (to the degree that anything is simple in the State of Israel).

PR Israel webcams public relations Al-Qaida Temple Mount

Who's not following the problems wrought by the big Nor'easter that besieged the Middle Atlantic States this week, New York among them?

And who couldn't help but notice how the CEO of the nation's most esteemed airline (is esteemed and airline an oxymoron?) taped a mea culpa as part of last night's lead story on (the newly #2-rated) "NBC Nightly News?"

Well and good, 'cept that while Jet Blue's David Neeleman sat in his office to tape an apology for stranding hundreds and hundreds of passengers, his airline's issues were still unresolved. Two days after the storm, local NYC media carried reports from disgusted passengers who traveled to the airport last night (Thursday) -- after JetBlue's website indicated some modicum of normality -- only to find their flights has been cancelled or delayed. David, did you really think that NBC News could solve the airline's operational problems?

Calling Wednesday’s delays 'unacceptable,' the airline planned to offer the affected passengers refunds and free flights. 'It’s going to certainly impact us, and it’s going to be many millions of dollars that we’re going to lose from this,' JetBlue CEO David Neeleman told CNBC television. 'I don’t blame our customers for being upset with this,' he added.

Nor do I. But you may have jumped the gun a bit in your declarations to the news media. I mean do you think Tim Hardaway can sweep away his problems with a simple apology?

PR Jet Blue David Neeleman public relations Nor'easter crisis management

"We're not here to create a show that panders to our celebrity-driven culture."

This is a quote from John Pavlik, spokesman for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, who yesterday announced his retirement. The quote appeared in a February 2001 Wall Street Journal piece by Tom King. Shortly thereafter, Slate's Tim Noah derided the comment as the "Whopper of the Week."

With the Oscars nearly upon us, and the era of celebrity pandering obsession showing no signs of abating -- Think TMZ, Perez, Defamer, PopSugar, The Superficial, Gawker , Fishbowl LA -- it is with mixed feelings that we learn that Mr. Pavlik is stepping away from Oscar night's klieg lights after 39 years. "I've enjoyed every single solitary minute of it," says the 67-year-old, a white-haired man with smiling blue eyes. According to the AP:

"Over the years, he has lunched with Alfred Hitchcock and George Burns, chatted with Boris Karloff and Jimmy Stewart. He has walked miles of red carpet. He has learned that 'Hollywood is just like any other place, except everybody's interested in it.'"

Now there's an understatement. What's especially impressive to me is just how low-key Mr. Pavlik has managed to remain given his leading role as intermediary between the most glittering event on the planet and a news industry mobilized to feed the public's avaricious appetite for tales from the red carpet.

In an age when celebrity "uber" publicists frequently find themselves the focus of the stories that chronicle their clients' chronic behavior, Pavlik should be acknowledged for his stealthy and steadfast approach to his job, often in times of adversity.

"The Iraq war began that year, just days before the awards. 'It was a tough decision whether to put on the show or not,' Pavlik recalls. He and his team canceled the red carpet that night and turned away hundreds of journalists. When President Ronald Reagan was shot in 1981, the awards were called off just as guests were arriving. Everyone was told to return the following day. From media coverage to the Governor's Ball, everything was rebooked and rescheduled. 'It was unbelievable and it all worked,' he says."

John, we wish you well. You may not have the name and face recognition of some of today's Hollywood hypesters, but the stature the statue has achieved during your watch speaks volumes. (We look forward to one day reading your memoirs.)

PR Academy Awards Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences public relations John Pavlik Oscars celebrity

Journalists can sometimes be a curmudgeonly bunch. Take this British chap covering the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona this week. Apparently, his inability to land an ethernet connection in the event's press room produced a hissy fit and general castigation of the global telecon show:

"3GSM -The most boring ever? Or just incompetent PR?"

He even dissed the tea:

"...made of mildly warm water in which some possibly tea-related foliage has been moistened..."

Guy Kewney, writing for newswireless.net, continues his rant:

"I haven't spoken to many people here in Barcelona prepared to dispute the suggestion that this is probably the most dull, irrelevant and uninteresting Congress for years. In a world where publicity is the lifeblood of every industry, it's hard to imagine why the GSMA would deliberately prevent journalists from writing about the 3GSM show. And yet, that's what they've done. Is this because they are trying to reduce the bad publicity?"

Hey Guy, it could be worse. You could be out there doing a stand-up at the Hard Rock Seminole in Hollywood...Florida.

I don't see the folks at PaidContent's MocoNews.net complaining. Rafat's followers set up a dedicated site to report on what's what in the wonderful world of wireless. Moco reported that Apple was conspicuously absent from the global mobile confab, but its presence was felt. T-Mobile's CEO (not unexpectedly) had this to say about the iPhone:

"It could become concerning, we don’t know," he said. "A surprising aspect is the aspect of exclusivity. This doesn't necessarily go hand in hand with promoting usage - as soon as you limit yourself to a certain supplier, you limit yourself. It’s not 100 percent clear what the benefits of this exclusivity are. This could become concerning if not managed. We don’t know what the success of iPhone will be ... it's not guaranteed that this model is successful. The iTunes phone model wasn't as successful as expected. There are a number of competing offers."

Anyway, I hope Guy gets his ethernet since the free wireless hotspot in the lounge didn't cut it for him either:

"In reality, I've used faster GPRS links, in a tunnel, the wrong side of a mountain, on a boat, in the Ionian sea. Just logging in took two or three minutes and as for getting your online editor to work..."

Maybe Guy has a point. One would think that for this particular conference, the press room would be adequately enabled for the hordes of journalists expected. But then again, I read the piece in the Journal today about people who go into withdrawal from being untethered. Makes you think.

PR 3GSM Barcelona public relations media journalism media relations Apple T-Mobile

It's just common sense that as journalism evolves, so must the practice of public relations. Of course, there are some who believe that the art/discipline of journalist engagement is inconsequential (or irrelevant) in PR 2.0.

I'm not one, though admittedly the practice has grown more complex given the proliferation of outlets across multiple channels, not to mention changed media consumption behavior in which individuals can have it their way on their time. Then let's not forget bypassing the journalistic filter altogether in favor of DtC communications.

Here are some recent links to give you a sense of how some news organizations, a media conglomerate, and one J-school are adapting:

• Time Inc. is announcing today that it's launching an in-house studio to help its 130 magazines develop videos for the Web.
• The Associated Press and NowPublic.com announced Friday that they have agreed to an innovative initiative designed to bring citizen content into AP newsgathering, and to explore ways to involve NowPublic's on-the-ground network of news contributors in AP's breaking news coverage.
• One smart perspective on the Web-work landscape comes from the Columbia University School of Journalism, where they've been thinking a lot recently about how to better reflect the Internet in their journalism curriculum.
• The Wall Street Journal is now allowing users to embed its video on their sites, and The New York Times is planning on enabling a similar feature soon. Thanks Kami.
• Viacom moves on without YouTube. The company recently began offering so-called embed code that allows fans of popular programs such as the "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" to post clips to their MySpace.com pages or blogs.

Obviously, I can fill this weblog daily with nothing but the digital machinations of media's multiplicitous proprietors. As PR professionals, we should not lose sight that our clients are newsmakers, and that we still have a strong hand in how that news is presented, delivered, parsed, amplified, spiked, received, believed, morphed, ignored, blogged, embraced and/or echoed.

Let's not obsess over the delivery channels. Shaping client-generated content for a cacophony of interests and consumptive habits remains a core competency that will sustain the profession.

PR PR 2.0 The AP public relations media journalism media relations Time Inc. Columbia Journalism School Viacom Wall Street Journal

In my Sunday morning hoops game, the talk among the Advil-infused aging adversaries turned to the annual auction held the night before to benefit the local JCC. After spirited bidding, the top prize finally fetched $33,000. What was it? A Lexus? A round-the-world cruise? A diamond necklace? Noooo. It was a walk-on on the HBO series "Entourage."

Geesh?! Is anybody immune to the trappings of fleeting fame? And what role do PR pros play to ensure that fame will be more than fleeting?

Killing off the client may be one tactic judging from the mythic status suddenly thrust on the trashy and talentless trailer-park tabloid star Anna Nicole Smith. Are there people who really give credence to her comparison to Marilyn Monroe? Sure. They're the same ones who see Prince Frederick von Anhalt in the same light as JFK.

Have you ever heard of Rick Rubin? Nor had I. I wonder if the bouncer/selectmen at any of L.A. or N.Y.'s hottest clubs would unhinge their velvet ropes upon his solo arrival. Probably not. But Rick Rubin (pictured), in my estimation, is a bona fide celebrity -- not of the Paris, Lindsay or Howard K. Stern mold, but one who actually earned his place on the A-list by plying his craft.

Over the past year, Rick worked with both the Dixie Chicks and the Red Hot Chili Peppers to produce albums that respectively garnered five and four Grammy Awards. He also picked up one himself as Producer of the Year. (I suspect he's not paying anything anytime soon for a walk-on anywhere.)

Cluetrain Manifesto co-author David Weinberger recently had this to say about what it takes to create buzz:

"...quoting Doc Searls: there's no market for messages...we don't want to be buzzed...nor manipulated...with a good product and a good service, you'll create buzz."

New York Times personal tech columnist David Pogue echoed a similar theme recently when talking about Microsoft:

"If Microsoft really wants to earn high marks from the public, it might want to consider earning them the old-fashioned way: By creating products people love."

Personally, I'd much rather represent an unknown person with a fabulous talent than a fabulously recognizable person with no talent. Unfortunately, there are many practitioners who thrive on the glow of their famously infamous clientele.

Maybe the adage that you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear doesn't apply in this era of faux-celebrity. Nonetheless, I still accept the notion that that the unheralded silk purse of today has a greater capacity to generate redeeming fame and fortune tomorrow.

PR Grammys celebrity PR Rick Rubin public relations Anna Nicole Smith Dixie Chicks Red Hot Chili Peppers Entourage

I've noticed of late that the self-proclaimed purveyor of "what's next" has been touting in her blog a new book, and specifically a social media contest to generate some viral buzz for the book. How nice, I thought. B.L. Ochman (pictured at right) is giving some social media help to this author for her second novel.

In fact, over the last month, B.L. has promoted the book and the contest no fewer than six times on her blog. Now I know why. The book is a client project of B.L.'s, a fact about which B.L. has not been shy (in her favored first-person kind of way):

"I'm in the process of launching [this author's contest], inspired by her new novel..." or "I am the creator and producer of the contest and blogad campaign."

Now I'm not one to judge, and all of us PR bloggers -- from the A to the Z list -- have used our syndicated pulpits to promote a client here and there (with full disclosure, naturally). But I found it noteworthy, if not a bit unusual, that a PR/marketing pro is using her blog as a regular vehicle to promote a client's social media contest...that she was paid to create.

Moreover, the business association is not disclosed in all the postings. Now I wouldn't make much of this except for the fact that, of all the marketing/PR bloggers, B.L. is perhaps the most vocal in exposing ethical transgressions in the digital marketing realm. Our candid and constructive exchange on the issue can be found in the comments below.

PR public relations BL Ochman social media consumer generated media

My friend Christine over at Business Wire sent me a link to a fun and thought-provoking video clip about the changed world in which we (or many of us) now live.

It was produced by Digital Ethnography, "a working group of Kansas State University students and faculty dedicated to exploring and extending the possibilities of digital ethnography." Asst. Professor Michael Wesch took the lead. Social Media Club had this to say.

Ethnography, according to Wikipedia, is "the genre of writing that presents varying degrees of qualitative and quantitative descriptions of human social phenomena..."

I should warn you that the last time I posted a cool little video from a big university located in the nation's bread basket, its provenance was not what it was purported to be.

"Web 2.0 ... The Machine is Us/ing Us" is for real and it's worth a look...especially by those who ply their trade in the communications fields.

Enjoy.

PR Kansas State Digital Ethnography Web 2.0 digital video social media public relations Michael Wesch

Some years ago, during the nascent days of the Internet, the newspaper industry, as embodied by its national trade association the NAA, believed itself to be disadvantaged.

You see, the barometer of the medium's health, the Audit Bureau of Circulation, only measured circulation, e.g., single copy sales at newsstands and the actual number of subscribers. The industry's glossy competitors, on the other hand, used readership data, which reflected pass-along copies.

In fact, it also was apples to oranges when comparing newspapers to the TV biz, which measured viewers (e.g., # of households times persons per HH). So newspapers believed, rightly so, that they were being short-changed -- especially in the eyes of eyeball-counting advertisers. Our advice: level the playing field.

The CMI or Competitive Media Index was born, and issued around the time the ABC numbers came out. If my memory serves me well, CMI took data from Scarborough Research to create, for the first time, a "true" medium-to-medium comparison using newspaper readership data (versus straight circulation). At the time, I also remember telling the NAA that newspapers needed to somehow assimilate the growing online audience for their same-branded websites (and then monetize that data with increased ad rates.)

A posting today in my Google Reader quantifies the vitality of online newspapers, e.g., 57.6 million monthly uniques to newspapers.com, 22% increase in full year uniques from 2005 to 2006, 2.8 billion average monthly page impressions.

The data, from Nielsen NetRatings, was released yesterday by the NAA, which has more than a passing interest in bolstering the maligned medium. From the NAA's head of marketing:

"Newspaper Web sites continue to shatter records each quarter as they execute innovate strategies to expand the newspaper footprint," said NAA Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer John Kimball. "These sites continue to grow newspaper readership and increase revenue streams, attracting young and affluent consumers to a continually evolving medium."

So now that the numbers are there, tell me how long it will take for the beleagured industry to use this data to restore its fiscal and reputational health.

PR newspapers NAA public relations Audit Bureau of Circulation Competitive Media Index Nielsen NetRatings journalism

"'She's past the point!' declared Kristian Laliberte, a fashion publicist and self-appointed arbiter of New York socialites, as he finalized the guest list for the show of Yigal Azrou, a designer attempting to woo the socialite in-crowd. 'She's becoming Paris Hilton!'"

Anyone strolling by Bryant Park in midtown this week will no doubt glimpse the fabulously fashionable tents that herald the arrival of Fashion Week to our city. In the quote above, The New York Times's Eric Wilson attempts to wrap his arms around the PR value to designers (and their publicists) of having ever-younger socialites (emphasis on the lite) in the tent to spruce up the shows' mediability. (Marc Jacobs pictured at left.)

"At Mr. Azrou's show on Friday, there in one row was Fabiola Beracasa, a jewelry executive-slash-socialite; Derek Blasberg, a freelance writer-slash-socialite; Annelise Peterson, a publicist-slash-socialite; Byrdie Bell, an actress-slash-socialite; Ms. Palermo, the college student-slash-socialite; and Luigi Tadini, also a jewelry executive-slash-socialite whose trademark is an artfully wrapped scarf. One moved seats to be closer to the cameras. Another was displeased. 'She's dead to me,' that one said."

Where have you gone Mrs. Astor? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.

In a different, and perhaps more disturbing take on Fashion Week, The Journal's Vanessa O'Connell reports on all those newly minted fashion bloggers - and their purposely less than objective reporting from the shows. Her piece "The New Fashion Bloggers; Retailers Review Own Wares," exposes bloggers who are paid by the same retail stores that will eventually profit from the designers' collections.

"But unlike other media covering the shows, these commentators are in the awkward position of reviewing their own suppliers and their aim is more to boost sales rather than offer impartial critique."

The advent of citizen "journalists" paid by retailers to cover the collections may be a good idea for the retailer (and the designers who, for obvious reasons, offer coveted show access to the retail bloggers), but what does it portend for the blogger-as-journalist movement (versus blogger-as-marketer)?

"EBay Style Director Constance White, who posted her first fashion-week blog on Friday, acknowledges being 'pretty gentle because we still do want to have great relationships' with designers.

Sadly, it seems, Pay-Per-Post extends its insidious influence.

PR social media Fashion Week Pay-Per-Post public relations

I'm always a little skeptical when I see a headline that touts the first of this or the first of that. Sure, no company expects to make news by debuting the second product or service in its space. Therefore, as PR advisors, we often are charged with probing our clients to uncover that "superlatively speaking" news hook that will grab some jornalist's attention.

When I saw the headline this morning on a release from the UK, I scratched my head. It read: "The First Automotive PR Blog." The operative word (excuse the pun) is "PR" since we all know that Jalopnik and others would bristle at the suggestion of another grabbing the premier mantle.

I soon was relieved to see the PR firm qualify its claim by saying, "London-based automotive communications agency, Automotive PR, has launched what it believes is the sector's first PR agency blog." The automotive sector's first PR agency blog...hmmm.

Without quibbling over the veracity of the claim, I am impressed by the initiative in and of itself. Sure, most PR agencies have blogs and bloggers covering a range of issues. Some even focus on their functional areas of expertise, e.g., crisis, IR. But I haven't seen very many that have created what is ostensibly a vertical industry blog that showcases the agency's expertise and industry news via the same delivery vehicle (excuse the 2nd pun).

Kudos to Automotive PR. Hopefully you've got the drive and horsepower to fuel the effort.

PR Automotive PR weblog public relations social media NewCarNet media relations

Ken Auletta takes a look at the world of New York PR man Howard Rubenstein in a lengthy, well-researched (and some might say fawning) feature that appears in this week's issue of the New Yorker. I spoke with Ken about Howard and had mostly complimentary things to say.

After all, who can argue with Rubenstein's top ranking on the short lists of the rich & famous hoping to quell scandals played out in New York's media playground? From Ken's piece:

"For some of the most prominent New Yorkers (and some of the dubious ones as well), Rubenstein...quietly helps control the damage and put the best gloss on their disasters: the marital blowup, the business implosion, the humiliating defeat."

The continued success of Mr. Rubenstein -- and his legendary (if not self-effacing and self-aggrandizing) press relations and political influence peddling -- is all the more impressive given the sea change sweeping over the PR industry. (No, I still wouldn't choose his firm to build a social media program.) But, perhaps his tried-and-true brand of PR validates the saying that more things change, the more they stay the same?

Whatever the case, he's squarely on the radar of the city's beleaguered movers and shakers, just as Edelman is on the radar of digitally aspirant enterprises seeking social media solutions. (Is it a coincidence that both firms frequently end up as part of the stories they're brokering?)

For those representing the bold and beautiful, the PR challenge lies less in gaining media access, and more in parlaying that access into a redeeming business result. What was Donald Trump's net gain from his exploitation of Rosie: bigger ratings for "The Apprentice" or media-induced ego gratification?

This past week alone we witnessed the world's most famous billionaire being trotted around to all the right outlets (likely with a simple phone call). And then, yesterday, we had the world's most famous sports icons, covered in shaving cream, posing for the press. (I won't even mention the Girls Gone Wild cover of Newsweek this week.)

For those of you who rep clients that lack that celebrity "je ne sais quoi," you're the ones who deserve a profile in the New Yorker. But of course, it's those famous-named and branded clients -- and the deftness with which their PR firms craft a public association with them -- that can drive a firm's long tail of new business.

PR social media Ken Auletta public relations Howard Rubenstein Donald Trump Tiger Woods Roger Federer journalism The New Yorker

Can you really blame them? Fortune (and former NY Post) scribe Tim Arango reports the news, which others have picked up , that the Sulzberger-Ochs family is pulling the majority of its investments held at Morgan Stanley.

The purported reason: the crusade by one of the investment firm's fund managers in London to pressure the family that controls The New York Times Co. to eliminate its two classes of stock and separate the editor and publisher positions, now held by Arthur Sulzberger Jr.

In my opinion, as a regular Times reader and a sometimes Times PR advisor, the Ochs-Sulzberger ownership of the world's most-influential news organization is simply good for you, me and the nation. Just consider the Tribune Company's decision to can L.A. Times editor Dean Baquet for defying the corporate bean counters by refusing to decimate his newsroom -- and the quality of its daily report. The New York Times just named Mr. Baquet as its Washington Bureau chief.

I am not insinuating that Times management is fiduciarily irresponsible. Certainly, all longstanding, traditional media properties are facing unprecedented challenges. (Consider the $814 million write-down of NYTCO's New England Media Group.)

I am saying, however, that under Mr. Sulzberger, his father, his father's father, and his father's father's father's oversight, the newspaper has an unwavering directive to pursue the highest quality of journalism available anywhere. And few will argue that a commitment to quality offers the best protection in challenging times.

Morgan Stanley CEO John Mack is said to have privately wished his analyst had never begun his crusade. That story line will likely remain muted given the banking conflicts that surfaced in the dot-com era. Think: Mary Meeker, Henry Blodget and Frank Quattrone.

With private equity firms, former PR executives, and Hollywood types clamoring for the cache of media ownership, it's reassuring to know that Adolph S. Ochs's legacy is being staunchly defended by his journalism-bred descendants. I don't blame Arthur for one second for reportedly pulling his family's assets from Morgan Stanley.

PR Fortune New York Times public relations Arthur Sulzberger Morgan Stanley journalism

I'm confused. For two days running, the fabled New York Post recounted the nocturnal exploits of P. Diddy and celebrity-du-jour Sienna Miller.

On the third day (today) of the scandal-in-the-making coverage, the Post pops a photo on its front page of the rap/fashion/business impresario with Kim Porter, his long-time girlfriend, coddling their seven-week-old twin girls.

The cover shot was no doubt brokered as an exclusive by People magazine's PR department to drive single copy sales of the couple's cuddly spread in the celeb weekly.

Hey, isn't this the same girlfriend who took Diddy to court to increase child support payments for their shared son? And why, after two days of Diddy-Sienna canoodling coverage, was there no mention of Warhol (celluloid) protege Sienna in the baby cover story? Was that part of the deal? Diddy's doing?

Apparently, Sienna and Diddy were quite-a-flitty on Saturday night at Crobar (and beyond). "Reps for Miller said, 'Sienna is only interested in Sean as a friend.' A rep for Diddy said, 'They are just friends,'" according to the Post's venerable Page Six. Even Cindy got into the mix, but to promote Sienna's new role as Warhol's muse Edie Sedgewick. Ahhh. There's the rub.

Sienna's diva ways (see photo above) surfaced earlier this week when it was reported that her (and Lindsay's) publicist made some demands of the hoi polloi in advance of Sienna's arrival to her suite at Sundance.

"Sources said the publicist for her film 'Interview' called ahead to the Kara Feinstein Lounge and demanded it be shut 30 minutes early for Miller. Vendors there were also told to 'minimize the number of employees present and to not harass Sienna.'"

Leslie, I just don't know how you keep up, and maintain your sanity (not to mention your clients' repeated 15 minutes of fame).

PR Sienna Miller Lindsay Lohan public relations P. Diddy Leslie Sloane Zelnick New York Post