Unity in Unity

If authenticity is the new PR buzzword, then who’s going to explain it to Sen. Obama’s PR consiglieres?Didn’t anyone learn anything from the faux photo-ops and canned colloquialisms deployed by the Bushies to intentionally deceive the public these last seven years?Americans so desperately want a commander-in-chief with a reasonable command of the English language, but…… Continue reading Unity in Unity

Sen. Obama, Don’t Try This

It’s simply the nature of the beast. As much as the Obama campaign insists it will forgo the saccharine opaqueness and command & control ways of the Bush PR machine, the need to “manage” his public image remains paramount if the Illinois Senator ever expects to get elected.There’s nothing new here. Joe McGinness first threw…… Continue reading Sen. Obama, Don’t Try This

A Blown Nomination

Dear Hillary,Yes, I see the daily e-mails from you, Terry, Bill, Chelsea and Geoff, but I’m afraid they’ve fallen short in pulling me back into your fold.Do you remember the PR advice I offered up in January and February? Be authentic, lay off Sen. Obama, and direct all your attention to this administration’s failed policies…… Continue reading A Blown Nomination

Control & Authenticity

At least she didn’t plant reporters in the audience. (Think Gannon and FEMA.) As I ponder the early salvos of the swift-boating of Hillary Clinton, I implore her PR handlers to take extra caution in the conduct of her campaign.Over the weekend, my right-of-center buddy Ike gleefully twittered this left-of-center blogger with the “news” of…… Continue reading Control & Authenticity

Tight-Lipped

I really hadn’t read New York Magazine, well, since the days when my buddy, MSNBC.com’s newly retired Scooper Jeannette Walls , penned the once-venerable Intelligencer column.I know. I know. Former Timesman Adam Moss has worked miracles in resuscitating the moribund glossy weekly. Didn’t it just garner more than a fair share of magazine awards ?Anyway,…… Continue reading Tight-Lipped

Full Non-Disclosure

The once-booming VNR industry is in the dumps. Much of its demise can be traced to the efforts of PR Watch and others to hold accountable the disseminators of privately-produced video “news,” and the Congressional hearings that followed as a result. The issue: transparency.At the time, this blogger commented that most, if not all VNR…… Continue reading Full Non-Disclosure

Top Job Interview

It’s no secret that the 2008 presidential campaigns will fully embrace (and experiment with) many of the latest digital tools and strategies in disparate (and desperate) ways to engage the widening swath of online denizens old enough to vote. Over the next 18 months, we’ll see many of their new media maneuverings emerge — for…… Continue reading Top Job Interview