Sure it was dumb. And yes, the firm, and the industry in which it prominently resides, have paid a heavy toll for this unfortunate transgression. I’m talking of course about the recent firestorm generated by two former journalists, new to agency life, who email-pitched an influential writer to pen an opinion piece on behalf of…… Continue reading Truth in PR
Category: spin
Conversation M̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ Declining
Over the years, this blog has examined how ordinary citizens and eventually bona fide newsmakers — from NGOs to CEOs to politicos — have the capacity to create, manage and syndicate original content, in effect giving them mostly unchecked control over their “media” personas. The advent of blogs, sponsored Facebook sites, Twitter feeds and YouTube…… Continue reading Conversation M̶i̶n̶i̶n̶g̶ Declining
The PR Police
Throughout the day, my Twitter feed hums with insightful and sometimes inane news and views from a group of carefully parsed individuals who usually have something worthwhile to share.My taste in tweets tends to the techno, media and marketing crowd, with the occasional politico, CEO, movie star and savvy aunt peppered in. (I’ve resisted the…… Continue reading The PR Police
Voodoo Doctors
How much influence does post-debate coverage have in determining the evening’s ultimate winner and loser?A considerable amount, if you believe the WashPost’s media watcher Howard Kurtz who today turned his sights on the “spin doctors” who were working their “voodoo” at Ole Miss following Friday’s stand-off: “Obama may have won the insta-polls after Friday’s debate…… Continue reading Voodoo Doctors
Thinning Press Cred
If you thought Ari Fleischer and Dana Perino were/are liars and apologists for this failed and deceitful administration, get ready to deal with Brooke Buchanan (pictured at left).The McCain mouthpiece (and former Bush Cheney comms. director in Nevada) already is in Bush-style deception mode, if her quip to an AP reporter seeking comment on the…… Continue reading Thinning Press Cred
“Trained in Spin”
The Washington Post’s main media man Howard Kurtz today profiles Senator Obama’s newly anointed press secretary Linda Douglass, a former broadcast TV political reporter.In the course of the interview, Ms. Douglass makes an observation about jumping to “the dark side”: “The thing that really made me feel at peace with the decision is this conversation…… Continue reading “Trained in Spin”
Just What the Doctor Ordered
When Jeff Bewkes took the helm at Time-Warner, media watchers and pundits were quick to pontificate on the trials and tribulations of the entertainment giant’s long-time jewel in its TV programming crown, HBO, (versus thorn in its TV programming side, The CW Network).With its milestone programs “Sex & The City,” “The Sopranos” and “Six Feet…… Continue reading Just What the Doctor Ordered
Blow Me Down!
From Dennis Rice, Disney’s senior vice president for publicity: “When (a senior Disney publicist) forwarded the ashes story to me, I thought, ‘How are we going to spin this?'” Dennis, smart move pulling Keith Richards from the “Pirates” publicity tour (for obvious reasons), but I sure wish you had given some more thought to your…… Continue reading Blow Me Down!