In love and in politics, it’s long been the practice to tell your “target audience” what they want to hear. And there is an upside: Just before you get screwed, at least someone promises to love you in the morning.
Mitt Romney’s “47 Percent” speech (Do I even need a link here?) handed us something hot and sexy. And today, the orgy continues needing no more help from Mother Jones. Continue reading
You’ve all heard the warnings about charity telemarketers. And you probably know that these paid solicitors keep a disproportionate amount the monies they raise for charity.
But these companies do provide jobs, and in our rustbelt town of Akron, Ohio, one telemarketer provides even more. Infocision Management is the name sponsor of the new $61-milliion football stadium at Akron U and a frequent supporter of local charities and institutions.
A few weeks back I wrote about Ohio’s new governor and my hope he would seek competent PR counsel. It seems he has not. It also seems that Ohio’s John Kasich isn’t the only state CEO with a penchant to say the wrong thing, at the wrong time, to the wrong people.
In Maine, Governor Paul LePage initially refused to join in MLK Day events on Monday. When challenged by the NAACP, he told the group to “kiss my butt.” He then played the race card, pointing out that he has an adopted “black son,” ergo, he gets it. LePage later backtracked and attended an MLK breakfast. But the damage to his relationship with the Black community was done. Continue reading
This summer, I’m reposting some of my personal favorites from the early days of ToughSledding. This one appeared on Sept. 14, 2006, when the blog was just 3 days old. I did edit slightly to enhance clarity. Can’t help myself.
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If you had just 5 minutes to summarize the major ethical issues facing public relations professionals, what would you say?
It happened last week when Lauren, a PR major at West Virginia University, contacted me via email for input on a paper she was writing. She was on deadline; I had a class to teach. If I didn’t answer her immediately, I knew I never would. Besides, helping her is good PR for Kent State, right?
Here’s my 5-minute response to a semester-long question, edited slightly to tighten copy and fix typos. What would you have said in your 5 minutes? Continue reading
Our School of Journalism at Kent State doesn’t have a famous name like Newhouse or Scripps. And we probably won’t any time soon, given the financial state of the news business.
But let’s say, just for fun, that Rupert Murdoch offers Kent State $10 million to endow “The Fox News School of Journalism…fairness, balance, accuracy, truth.” Continue reading
I asked my students this week how news of the West Virginia mine disaster might have sounded if prepared entirely by the PR firm for Massey Energy, the mine’s owner.
Would we have learned about the 100+ safety violations at Upper Big Branch this year alone? Would we know about Massey’s environmental record in strip mining? Would the CEO’s arrogance toward the media have been highlighted? Probably not. But thanks to an independent news media, we’re getting a more balanced story.
Ike Pigott
Now, imagine a world where the mainstream media no longer have enough journalists to cover the news? Yeah. I know. We’re already there, aren’t we? But stick with me.
A thoughtful essay by Ike Pigott has me wondering and worrying about “The future of journalism.” The post scares me because it presents an all-too-real scenario. Continue reading
Update 2/10/10: Cavs will restore water fountains, saying H1N1 threat has passed. Oh, yeah. Policy also violates state building code. Doh! Maybe they can use water from fountains to wash egg from faces. Did I call this? Huh? See last paragraph.
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You may have heard by now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have turned off the drinking water at the Q. That’s right, if you attend a Cavalier’s game you won’t find a water fountain anywhere. Team management has ordered them removed.
According to this piece from the Plain Dealer, the Cavs’ maternal instincts kicked in, so team management has pulled the drinking fountains to save us all from H1N1 and other furry boogers that might make us really sick. Thanks, Mom! Continue reading