Dirty Words

Arizona Senator John McCain, Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and White House Press Secretary Tony Snow all have at least two things in common: They are all Republicans and they have caught flack for using the term “tar baby.” (Read more…)

Disturbing News Cycle Has Its Lessons

The news cycle over the past week or so has been disturbing, to say the least.

The unraveling of Don Imus’ career showed the power of advocacy groups, the 24/7 media and the free markets. The dismissal of charges against three Duke University student-athletes proved how people can manipulate the media and how the media can rush judgment. Meanwhile, the senseless mass murder at Virginia Tech University has brought up questions about insensitive over-coverage and the role of citizen journalists. These events have many things in common – race, class and age being the most obvious. These events also have the worst common denominator — victims. (Read more…)

Election PR Winners and Losers

Elections may be won or lost by votes, but individuals and organizations can win the public relations game even if the votes don’t add up, or even if there are no votes at all. (Read more…)

Giving Up on Wal-Mart

Dumbstruck. That’s how I felt after reading Jeffrey Goldberg’s article in the April 2nd edition of The New Yorker entitled “Selling Wal-Mart.”

“The Edelman team assigned to Wal-Mart, I learned, is divided into three groups: ‘promote,’ ‘response,’ and ‘pressure.’ The Jobs and Opportunity Zones notion came from the promotions team. The response-team members – veterans of political campaigns – are supposed to quickly counter criticism in the press or on the Web. The pressure group works on opposition research, focussing on the unions and the press,” Goldberg wrote. (Read more…)

Good Intentions Turn Into Bad Public Relations

It was just a simple contest. For Toys “R” Us, Inc., however, it turned into a public relations nightmare.

The toy retailer started off 2007 in ugly fashion after a contest to award the first baby born in 2007 a $25,000 United States savings bond went awry amid charges of xenophobia and racism. The company smartly did an about-face, but will consumers be forgiving? (Read more…)

Gossip at Your Own Risk

Another week, and another fun journalism scandal. This one, however, contains an interesting public relations element.

Late last week, news broke that Jared Paul Stern, a freelancer for the New York Post’s infamous Page Six gossip column, has been accused of trying to extort money from billionaire Ron Burkle. According to press reports, Stern promised Burkle “protection” from scurrilous gossip items in exchange for cold, hard cash. (Read more…)

Super Winners and Losers

The Super Bowl is the biggest entertainment and media event of the year in the United States. The game and all its side dishes can make or break players, companies and brands. As is the case most years, there were some big winners and big losers in 2008. (Read more…)

Beware of “Gotcha” Journalism

When transit strikers in New York City went on strike last December, I tuned into NY1, a local news station owned by Time Warner and carried exclusively on the company’s cable system. The station had up-to-the-minute information on the labor negotiations and traffic situation. I didn’t bother to watch the local ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC affiliates. In fact, I haven’t watched very much local television news since the immediate aftermath of 9/11 for one reason: It makes my stomach turn. (Read more…)

Grading ExxonMobile’s PR Gambit

I don’t own a car, but historically high oil prices are taking their toll on me.

My airfare for a recent trip was 25 percent higher than I normally pay, and taxis to and from the airport cost me at least 20 percent more than I’ve paid in the past. High oil prices also impact my life because petroleum derivatives are used in thousands of products, including food (plastic containers and pesticides), beverages (plastic and glass bottles), clothing (polyester and rayon), consumer electronics (plastic), home furnishings (carpet) and utilities (gas-powered plants). Even the government is feeling the pinch (which means my tax dollars are wasting away), because petroleum is central to everything from government-owned transportation to government-sponsored works projects. (Asphalt is a petroleum product, and asphalt prices are up about 20 percent over the past year). (Read more…)

Helter Skelter in the Summer Swelter

The looming launch of the Fox Business News channel should be a boon for anyone who wants to get on financial television. CNBC will now have a major competitor, and Bloomberg TV may have to rethink its strategy in order to compete. (Read more…)