As you set out on this historic day, you may wish to read the urgent plea Stanford University Law Professor Lawrence Lessig posted on the eve of the election. It recounts where we were at this time in 2000 and 2004, and the dangers of complacency.Lessig, like many of us who choose the future over…… Continue reading Palin’s PR Ploy
Category: politics
Blogging Buddies
As a politically progressive person, I often spend my free time perusing the gamut of like-minded blogs, thought-leading news sites and one especially dominant microblog. In so doing, I’ve gained a better understanding of how news and views gain currency in today’s changed media ecosystem. (In PR, this is probably a very good thing to…… Continue reading Blogging Buddies
Libelous Liddy
At the recent Time Warner Politics 2008 Summit here in New York City, it seemed like every panel eventually touched upon media bias and the responsibility mainstream news organizations have to ensure objectivity.At one point, Vanity Fair’s progressively minded editor Graydon Carter proclaimed that The New York Times is the greatest newspaper today and we’d…… Continue reading Libelous Liddy
Ron, Andy, Henry and Will
As we head into the weekend, ask yourself this. With whom would you really rather align yourself come November 4: Joe the Plumber or Ron Howard? I mean, they’re both bald. View this clip from Will Ferrell’s “Funny or Die” site and decide. As for Ferrell…if you were glued to the (yawn) Phillies-Devil Rays game…… Continue reading Ron, Andy, Henry and Will
Live from NY: It’s Sarah Palin
Say it ain’t so, Lorne Michaels. You invented and then re-invented television’s most valuable piece of youth-oriented programming, and I hear you’re poised to betray those who’ve made it so.We all know how Tina Fey’s artful, yet scary take on one vice presidential candidate has opened America’s eyes to the real Sarah Palin, even more…… Continue reading Live from NY: It’s Sarah Palin
Pres. Obama’s Policy Base
Of the several sessions I attended at the Time Warmer Summit: Politics 2008, it was the last one, “The Candidate and the Media: Creating the Brand, Maintaining the Brand, Preserving the Brand” that held the most resonance for the PR/marketing set.It featured Mark McKinnon, vice chairman, Public Strategies, former strategist, George W. Bush and Senator…… Continue reading Pres. Obama’s Policy Base
The Journalist’s Tableau
John Batelle may not agree, but Danny Sullivan certainly will remember: Google once had a competitor in search.Cambridge, MA-based search engine Northern Light, a client back in the day, happened to produce more relevant results than the fledgling Google (though admittedly not as fast).We were so confident in the engine’s abilities that we prodded our…… Continue reading The Journalist’s Tableau
See No Evil
The Times’s Andrew Ross Sorkin today draws our attention to the exuberance displayed by those financial titans whose companies were a hair’s breath from insolvency.In the piece, he cites buoyant prognostications by the CEO or CFOs of Wachovia, Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, all of whom made the media rounds to extol the virtues of…… Continue reading See No Evil
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
Yellow is the Color…
Everyone Democrat, Progressive, liberal, and centrist observer of the machinations of the media, let alone a decent share of conservatives, acknowledge the role Fox News has played in advancing this administration’s failed policies, let alone its current efforts to advance the fortunes of those who wish to perpetuate this seven-year national nightmare.When the parent company…… Continue reading Yellow is the Color…