In early May, we asked the question, "Does Non-Profit Media Have a Competitive Edge?" This is proving to be an ever-more urgent question as conventional news companies continue to bleed money and jobs, spurring alternative business models to emerge. To cut to the quick, however, any advantages...
Job-hunting is like the sales profession. It always comes down to...he who has the best "Story" wins. Unless your boss was either friends with the hiring manager, or the nephew of the owner, or had compromising photos of the President, he/she probably got into the position because they had a...
Having difficulty drumming up support for your ideas at work? Here's a tip from Harvard's Howard Gardner, one of the world's leading authorities on education and communication. Keep at it. Gardner argues that an idea must be communicated many times and in many ways...
I've now had a chance to reflect on the Bulldog Reporter 2008 Media Relations Summit held earlier this week, and I wanted to share a couple of thoughts. First off, a shout-out to all the terrific folks I met at the conference and to anyone discovering this...
This is a template as a letter to a print or broadcast outlet correcting an erroneous fact in a previous story. The story should be something that affects your industry.
It may be dirty, but it’s still cheap. With the US headed for recession, Consol Energy and Arch Coal are two companies rocking China’s growing coal market.
I had the pleasure of serving on a PRSA Silicon Valley Media Training panel last Friday with Steve Yoder, San Francisco bureau chief of the The Wall Street Journal. Steve was very generous with his time and shared many tips and strategies for doing a better job working with the...
Once an elite, respected newspaper, the Los Angeles Times is now simply the latest old media company brought to its knees and humiliated by a far younger and less honored online service, The Smoking Gun. Unless you've spent the past 48 hours in a cave at Tora...
Once an elite, respected newspaper, the Los Angeles Times is now simply the latest old media company brought to its knees and humiliated by a far younger and less honored online service, The Smoking Gun. Unless you've spent the past 48 hours in a cave at Tora...
Blender magazine recently named the killing of Napster by the major labels the Biggest Record Company Screw-Up of All Time. While that's hardly news, it is interesting that the title was bestowed in a time when there is evidence that, seven years after Napster was squashed, big corporations are finally...
Would you like to know the secret to being more successful when you try to hire a new staff member; go for a budget increase or move an intractable employee? It's something that I learned in a coaching workshop on becoming a better speaker. While you most likely won't have...
General Motors has enough problems that it didn't need another one. But in an effort to do something good -- jump into the social media world with its ambitious GMnext site -- it created some new problems for itself. The story is a cautionary tale for marketers seeking to harness...
Procrastination is the single biggest factor causing people to fall behind in their work, miss deadlines, and turn in shoddy efforts. This paper explains how procrastination can save life with the help of a story. Just a silly, maybe funny story. It can be disgusting or hilarious, depending on your...
Here's a quiz: an unfavorable story about your business appears in a major metropolitan newspaper. You should: A) Phone the writer, call him names and threaten to sue him. B) Analyze the article, note any inaccuracies and seek corrections and possibly a follow-up article....
I didn't like embargoes when I was a reporter, but as a PR person, I became a big fan. They were a good way to get a little more excitement into a story, a little more exclusivity, without giving one and only one media outlet an "exclusive." They allowed...
Farmers have always been vulnerable to weather and price fluctuations, and John Deere has been supplying them heavy equipment since there was heavy equipment to supply. Now farmers' desire for stable income and access to open land and Deere's financial clout and expertise with large machinery are combining to...
If you have an iPhone, yesterday you received this text from AT&T: "We are simplifying your paper bill, removing itemized detail. To view all detail go to att.com/mywireless. Still need full paper bill? Call 611." What's the deal? The NY Times reports that AT&T was providing bills...
Many vendors reach a point where they look beyond the industry / trade press publicity they're getting and say 'that's nice ... but we deserve business press.'Â [The implication that business press is 'better' is certainly questionable ... and I'll talk later about recognizing when your PR has become more...
