Top Tips for Pitching Media

I usually think people's top tips for pitching media are SO LAME, but I was pleasantly surprised to find a tip list earlier today that I actually agree with (for the most part). My personal favorites are: copy and paste your release in the body of the email, personalize your pitch and know the audience. Amen, amen and amen! Check the rest out HERE

Are Lobbyists & PR experts spinning the Gaza Attack?

My Two Cents: Who cares about the "PR war" when people are losing their lives?

Israel uses the 'perfect time' to fight the PR war

The rocket-pocked zone surrounding Gaza is not only one of the biggest political fault lines in the Middle East. It is also the front line of the desperate propaganda war being waged by Israel and its Palestinian foe, Hamas.

Within hours of Israel launching its offensive against Gaza, lobbyists, spin-doctors and public relations experts were mobilised to head off critical reaction around the globe.

“The problem is that the numbers are not very flattering,” one pro-Israel lobbyist said, commenting on the huge disparity between the 360 Palestinians and four Israelis killed in the conflict.

Hamas, whose leaders have been driven underground by Israeli attacks, has relied on the shocking images of civilian casualties in Gaza, taken by local media workers, to rally support for its cause, and looked to the fury of the Arab street and firebrand preachers to mobilise grassroots support.

Source

VH1's I Love Money 2 Cast Revealed

I admit I am not perfect. One of my character flaws is I easily get sucked into ridiculously stupid reality television shows. It all started with the Real World when I was in college. Puck changed my life. Oh and Lately I've been addicted to Rock of Love Charm School 2 and Real CHance of Love on VH1. The one show I didn't like was I Love Money. And of course VH1 is bringing it back for another season. They recently announced the new cast. Some of the well known characters are Buddah, Buckwild, It, Cali, Heat, Myamme and Leilene.

Barack the Magic Negro: I Think It's Funny

Why is everyone getting their undies in a bundle about the Barack the Magic Negro song? I'm black, I voted for Barack and I think the song is FUNNY!! Furthermore, it's REALLY old. I saw the video, which Youtube recently removed, and heard the song months ago. So why suddenly is it an issue? The song is posted HERE if you haven't heard it.

It's just as funny as the Sarah Palin skits on SNL. Isn't this political satire???

What's the big deal--Am I missing something?????

*sigh*

Have You Heard About CheapOAir?

As most of you know, I came home to Milwaukee to spend Christmas with my family. Despite the cold weather, it was a great holiday...until it was time for me to fly back to Charlotte yesterday. Although I travel between Milwaukee and Charlotte at least once a month for business, because I fly on a companion pass (with an airline that shall remain nameless),I am always listed as a stand by passenger. Well yesterday was NOT a good day to fly stand by! I was the 16th person on the stand by list for my flight yesterday. I ended up staying an extra night in Milwaukee. A few minutes ago I bought a ticket that leaves at 6 a.m. Tuesday morning. Thank GAWD!

But as I was researching tickets I ran across a website that I hadn't heard of before: www.cheapoair.com . They have some good deals too! I found a ticket on CheapOAir for $175 (not including taxes and fees) leaving tomorrow from Milwaukee to Charlotte. Unfortunately, I had already purchased a ticket on Northwest for $214 (not including taxes and fees), but I thought I'd share the site with the blogosphere just in case anyone is looking for travel deals! Consider it my gift to you this holiday season.

XOXOXOXOXOXO

Sharon Osbourne Beat Up Megan at the Charm School Reunion

Wow. This is great! I have a feeling this might be a PR stunt to create buzz for Megan's new VH1 Show called Trophy Wife.

According to TMZ:

Megan Hauserman claims Sharon went ballistic during a taping of the show's reunion special Saturday night -- accusing Osbourne of running across the stage, grabbing Megan by her hair and refusing to let go.

Hauserman claims Sharon (who is the host of the show) continued to pull and scratch until security eventually separated the two. Megan went to the hospital Sunday afternoon and filed a report with the LAPD on Sunday night.

According to Megan, the whole thing started after Sharon took a verbal shot at her, and the Charmed School" contestant responded by telling Sharon she is only famous for managing a brain dead rock star -- and then all hell broke loose.

SOURCE

PR Pillow Talk Dangerous for Wall Street

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street's top public relations firms have long supplied grist to a mill hungry for tips about financial deals, but revelations in an insider trading case could lead to that stream of information slowing down.

U.S. authorities have accused former Lehman Brothers salesman Matthew Devlin of tipping friends and relatives about 13 impending mergers with confidential information he got from his wife Nina, a partner at Brunswick Group, an international financial communications firm.

While Nina Devlin is not charged in the case, and Brunswick has said the information was obtained without her knowledge, the breach of client trust is immense, PR experts said.

Brunswick said on Monday it has suspended Devlin pending the outcome of an internal review by outside counsel, saying it was an "appropriate course of action in this situation".

Experts said the case shows the danger of "pillow talk" between PR professionals and their spouses, or gossip with friends.

The Devlin case involved some of the biggest deals in the last four years including Alcoa Inc's $27 billion hostile offer for Alcan in 2007 and Dow Chemical's $15 billion acquisition of Rohm & Haas this year.

There will likely be a crackdown at PR firms with such sensitive news, not only on who has access to information but where and when they have access.


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Mark Penn's firm resigns Pakistan People's Party account

Opposition researchers dredging up tough questions for Hillary Clinton's secretary of state confirmation hearings have just lost a key piece of ammunition: The global public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, headed by her campaign strategist Mark Penn, has quietly ended a two-year relationship with the Pakistan People's Party, the ruling party of Pakistan.

The questions could have been awkward for Clinton both politically and substantively, since she will have to manage relationships both with the Pakistanis and their cross-border rivals in India.

Still, the details of the Pakistan contract provide a rare and revealing look at the techniques Penn's firm promised a foreign government to use to legally influence American public opinion and official policy.

According to the terms of a contract on file with the Department of Justice's Foreign Agent Registration Office, Burson-Marsteller planned to interview "100 American political journalists and business elites in Washington, DC and New York, as well as elites in the United Kingdom, the European Union and Pakistani expatriates living in the United States. The contract made clear that Mark Penn's market research consultancy Penn, Schoen, Berland & Associates would also contribute to the project.

Other efforts Burson-Marsteller would conduct on behalf of the Pakistan People's Party included conducting "an internal brainstorming session," authoring "white papers" by experts and academics, and drafting and seeking placement of op-ed pieces in newspapers. "Burson-Marsteller will work with the [Pakistan People's Party] to draft and seek placement of op-ed pieces on the issue and will identify appropriate 'authors,' depending on tone and subject," the contract noted.

What's more, Burson-Marsteller promised it would promote credible "third-party" supporters of Pakistan, recruiting such backers from the ranks of "former U.S. government officials involved with Pakistan during their tenure"; "Academics and think tank experts"; and "Pakistani Americans in influential positions."

In the lobbying section of the contract, the companies committed to launching a broad public affairs campaign within the Bush Administration and the U.S. Congress, coordinating meetings for the late Prime Minister Bhutto in Washington, as well as working to "identify House and Senate champions."

The public relations firm also promised an aggressive reach out to American journalists, such as New York Times Columnist Thomas Friedman and Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria. Burson-Marsteller planned to compose articles about the need to hold free elections in Pakistan and "place these articles in top publications." And finally, it said it would find Pakistani families living in the United States whose plight might make good raw material for journalists writing human-interest feature stories.

The most recent version of the contract on file with the Department of Justice was signed in January, 2007 by Rob Tappan of Burson-Marsteller and Asif Ali Zardari, who is now the president of Pakistan.

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Detroit Papers Cut Delivery to 3 Days Per Week

Detroit papers drop home delivery to 3 days a week
By ED WHITE

DETROIT (AP) — Fighting to stay in business, Detroit's two daily newspapers will radically change their relationship with readers by slashing home delivery to three days a week, printing small editions on other days and encouraging people to get information online.

The Detroit market is the largest in the country to undergo that transformation. But it reflects a calculation facing newspapers across the country, with print circulation dropping as readers increasingly get their news on the Internet.

By curtailing home delivery on certain days, the papers reduce printing, fuel and labor expenses for editions that tend to attract fewer advertisements.

The chief executive of Detroit Media Partnership, which runs the Detroit Free Press and The Detroit News, said the move announced Tuesday was not an experiment. He predicted it would succeed in keeping two papers alive.

"I don't think we're ever going back," said David Hunke, who also is publisher of the Free Press.

If it fails, "I'm fired and I may have led two great institutions down the wrong path," he said. "It's a huge risk. It's disruptive to folks. I understand that."

But the newspapers, he said, can't afford to wait. Detroit Media Partnership is losing millions of dollars this year, and Michigan has been hammered by home foreclosures, high unemployment and the near-collapse of the auto industry.

SOURCE

Is Lois Whitman Giving Us A Bad Name?

I found this article by Noah Marlin very interesting. As a PR person and a blogger, I can see this issue from both sides. The bottom line is that PR folks need to understand the important role of bloggers and the blogging community. Although bloggers are different from traditional media outlets (tv, radio, & print), they definitely cannot be ignored. In my opinion it's often the more seasoned (ahem, older) PR practitioners who struggle with the explosion of blogs, because they don't understand and don't take the time to learn how to use them to their clients' advantage; folks like Lois Whitman, from HWH PR, who whose ignorance is giving PR Folks, like me, a bad name. Shame on her!

Kanye Karaoke on SNL

I like Kanye, but his recent SNL performance everyone is talking about was pretty bad. It's already painful to watch and listen to, and then to make matters even worse, he forgot the words at the 1:08 - 1:10 mark.

MTV's Daddy's Girls Preview (Airs January 5)

"I ain't perfect baby girl, but work with the kid!" LOL

MTV Shows

Blagojevich:Fight, Fight, Fight (Lie, Lie, Lie)

National Cancer Institute Selects Ogilvy Public Relations

Dec. 12, 2008

WASHINGTON, Dec 12, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (Ogilvy PR), an integrated global communications firm, announced today that it has been awarded a five-year comprehensive communications support contract with the National Cancer Institute (NCI), Office of Communications and Education. The work will be performed by Ogilvy PR's Washington, DC-based Social Marketing team in collaboration with the company's life sciences consulting subsidiary, Feinstein Kean Healthcare (FKH).

"This is a very important new relationship for us," said Tom Beall, managing director of Ogilvy PR's global Social Marketing Practice. "This work with NCI builds upon our years of experience in promoting cancer prevention and early detection, as well as FKH's deep credentials in cancer that include longstanding efforts on behalf of NCI. These capabilities, along with our experience working with other federal government agencies on major health issues, place the Ogilvy Team in a very strong position to contribute to NCI's efforts to combat cancer - an opportunity and responsibility we take very seriously."

SOURCE

Michael Jordan Is a Failure...And So Am I

Great commercial. Period.



Dear Michael,
I've had typos in hundreds of documents, written some pretty crappy media pitches, missed some deadlines, invested in some crappy stocks and hit the reply all button by accident on numerous occasions. I've failed over and over and over again in my life, and that is why I succeed! LOL

Not Impressed with Beyonce's New Movie "Obsessed"

The Beyonce PR Machine is in OVERDRIVE. I think it's funny how she always releases an album in conjunction with a movie (For example: I Am...Sasha Fierce & Cadillac Records or Bday & Dreamgirls). I guess her PR team says "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." And clearly it's working. But they might have a challenge on their hands pushing her new movie "Obsessed." I'm not loving the trailer, but don't take my word for it, check it out here...

WWE Taps Zimmerman for PR Post

WWE announces new head of Public Relations
Wednesday December 17 BY Press Release
WWE TAPS ZIMMERMAN TO HEAD PR

STAMFORD, Conn., December 17, 2008 - World Wrestling Entertainment®, Inc. has named Robert Zimmerman as Vice President, Public Relations and Corporate Communications. In his new role, Zimmerman will be a strategic member of WWE’s management team, and oversee business, consumer, financial, and trade press relations and strategy.

Zimmerman brings with him 17 years of experience having worked for Dan Klores Communications and Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, among others. He has spearheaded corporate activities, media affairs and crisis management for such well-known brands and personalities as Michael Eisner and his new media studio, Vuguru; Howard Stern; Sean “Diddy” Combs; The Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition; Ziff Davis Media; Donatella and Allegra Versace; Bill Hemmer; CKX; and Bill O’Reilly.

Victoria's Secret's PINK Brand shows HBCU's Some Love

As most of you already know, I'm a proud graduate of Johnson C. Smith, a Historically Black University in Charlotte, NC. Despite my old age LOL, I'm also a huge fan of PINK, Victoria's Secret's brand that targets younger markets. That is why I was thrilled when I learned that PINK is going to start offering HBCU gear! My college is too small, but some of the larger schools like FAMU, Howard and Hampton made the cut. Pretty cool, heh?


Pink Rolls Out HBCU Apparel

Brand has largest retail distribution of HBCU gear
by Marcia A. Wade - December 16, 2008

When Victoria’s Secret Pink visited Florida A&M University (FAMU) last fall to announce that the historically black university would be included in Pink’s roll out of its collegiate collection—the largest retail distribution that has ever been given to an HBCU collegiate apparel—the students responded by buying out every single item at the makeshift Pink pop-up campus store.

So it’s no wonder that Richard Dent, CEO of Victoria’s Secret Pink brand is expecting huge returns when Howard University, Hampton University, North Carolina A&T University, and Southern Louisiana University joins FAMU in the second phase of Pink’s collegiate collection, which already includes 33 other schools that were launched in June 2008.

The Pink brand is geared toward young, college-aged women and includes t-shirts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, underwear, and other apparel. Its Historically Black Colleges and Universities apparel is now available at Victoria’s Secret stores near four of the universities and will be available online Dec. 23. (Hampton apparel will appear in stores mid-January because they submitted approval late, according to Dent.) Pink is in discussions to partner with the Tom Joyner Foundation and Black America Web to do a joint promotion for the HBCU line of clothing under the Pink brand.

SOURCE

Journey's "Racist Nigger" Reciept Story & Company Statement

I've never been a huge fan of Journeys. Maybe I'm just too old. I had heard some recent rumblings that the shoe store was racist, but wasn't clear why people were saying that. But now I understand, (and you will too)after watching this video that was emailed to me today. I felt compelled to share this with my readers. Yes, all 3 of you LOL. I did a little digging and found the company's official statement regarding this situation. This incident happened on October 17 and the corproate statement was issued on November 13. They basically waited almost a month to respond. That's a PR no-no.

Find more videos like this on www.truveo.com.

Jamie Foxx on Terrance Howard

Maybe Terrance should have his publicist contact Jamie? LOL

5W PR Looking to Buy Smaller Agencies

5W Public Relations Seeks to Make Acquisitions a Priority for 2009 Growth


NEW YORK, Dec 15, 2008-- 5W Public Relations, today announced intentions to make acquisitions, and aggressively pursue small PR agencies in 2009. The firm is currently in discussions with several firms. 5W Public Relations has quickly grown to be the nation's 21st largest independent firm (O'Dwyers 2007 rankings) since their founding in 2003.

"Thankfully, despite the tough economy, 2008 was a growth year for 5WPR as we continue to organically grow and mature. Given the state of the economy, as entrepreneurs, we understand the struggles small firms may have with collections, lowering of retainers and simple balance sheet issues, and as such we are interested in acquisitions or agencies that may be looking to merge into a larger agency," said Ronn Torossian, CEO of 5W PR.

"We are targeting small firms and we are seeing a lot of Public Relations firms doing great work, but are facing tough times. We are very confident that we will continue to grow and view acquisitions as a component of that process. We are cash positive and want to invest in acquisitions to grow."

MORE

Tis The Season: Nonprofits Recieve Pro Bono PR Services

Neotrope Announces Non-Profit PR Grant Program Recipients for 2009
For 25th Anniversary California Firm Again Donates Services to Worthy Causes

LOS ANGELES, Dec 15, 2008 / Neotrope(R), a brand identity, PR, and marketing firm established Jan. of 1983, announced today the 2009 Non-Profit PR Grant winners: those non-profit organizations chosen to receive $25,000 in free public relations and newswire services. Neotrope previously donated $25K worth of services in 2000, and $22K in 2005. This year, services are being donated to worthy smaller non-profit and charitable organizations to celebrate its 25th anniversary.

The 2009 Neotrope Non-Profit PR Grant Program Recipients are (in order chosen):
1) Children Awaiting Parents, Inc., New York,
http://www.ChildrenAwaitingParents.org

2) Starlight Children's Foundation, California, http://www.starlight.org

3) Project SEED, Inc., California, http://www.projectseed.org

4) Girls Write Now, Inc., New York, http://www.girlswritenow.org

5) Paws of Life Foundation, Iowa, http://www.pawsoflife.org

6) Newhouse, Missouri, http://www.newhouseshelter.org

7) World Savvy Inc., California, http://www.worldsavvy.org

8) Special Equestrians, Pennsylvania, http://www.specialequestrians.org

9) Barnabas International, Inc., Florida, http://www.biijax.org

10) Museum of Photographic Arts, California, http://www.mopa.org


MORE

Bush Gets Shoe'd, President Dodges Size 10's

This is classic footage. I keep watching it over and over again! The actual story is below.




Sunday, December 14, 2008

BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi television reporter hurled two shoes at President Bush -- one after another -- as he held a news conference Sunday with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

The president -- who dodged both shoes -- was not hurt during the incident.

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino, however, was hit in the eye with a microphone as security guards scrambled to restrain the man, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadiya television -- an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.

As al-Zeidi threw the first shoe at Bush, he shouted, "This shoe is for goodbye!" He then yelled, "You dog. You killed Iraqis," as he was tackled to the ground.

Neither leader was hit. In Iraqi culture, throwing shoes at someone is a sign of contempt; Iraqis whacked a statue of Saddam Hussein with their shoes after U.S. Marines toppled it to the ground in 2003.

"All I can report," Bush joked of the incident, "is a size 10."

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Real Housewives of ATL PR Nightmare

Where does the weekend go? I just got back from church and I'm in the middle of writing a response to a government RFP my company is going after. But of course I had to take a quick break to catch up on some celebrity gossip. I ran across this clip, which any fan of Bravo's Real Housewives of ATL series should enjoy. Looks like reality might not be so fabulous for reality TV star Nene!

UPDATE: The video has been removed from youtube, but here's the link to the video from Fox 5's website!

Mark Mathis: The Best Weatherman Ever!

I had the pleasure of meeting Mark Mathis yesterday in uptown Charlotte. What a funny guy! In case you don't know who I'm talking about, Mark Mathis is quite possibly the most entertaining weatherman EVER. He works for FOX Charlotte. Check out the video.

More Mark Mathis! | Viral | SPIKE.com

Actress Diane Lane: "Give a Heifer for the Holidays"

One of my favorite actresses, Diane Lane, is doing a little PR this holiday season for Heifer International. You must admit it's kind of strange to see Diane Lane's name and the work "Heifer" in the same sentence. Come On! You know it is. LOL But, to make matters worse, I just watched a very awkward interview of Diane Lane and her daughter as I was getting my daily dose of CNN. Did anyone else see it? Her daughter was literally echoing Diane's comments. I'm not sure what was going on, but of course the PR person in me was cringing and screaming "Media Training!"

I found the video so take a look. But despite the awkwardness, it's all for a GREAT cause. Giving charitable gifts of livestock allows impoverished people in other countries to become self reliant. It's a great concept. The jury is still out on the organization's name, however.


Actress Diane Lane supports Heifer International
Heifer Study Tour a "life changing experience" for Lane, daughter

Diane Lane at "Ark in the Park."
Actress Diane Lane has been a Heifer celebrity supporter for several years. She hosted the “Ark in the Park” fundraiser for Heifer in Beverly Hills last year, and then in August traveled with her daughter, Eleanor, 14, on a Heifer Study Tour to Rwanda. Since then she has talked about Heifer and the work she saw in Rwanda during interviews with national media. She describes how moving her Rwanda experience was in the latest issue of Heifer’s World Ark magazine.

Recently, Diane Lane has discussed Heifer's work and mission on several morning talk shows.

As an actress, Diane Lane has had a distinguished career starting as a teenager playing opposite Laurence Olivier in “A Little Romance.” Perhaps best known for her roles in “The Perfect Storm,” “Under the Tuscan Sun,” and “Lonesome Dove,” she has appeared in numerous well-regarded independent hits, including “Vital Signs,” “My Dog Skip” and “The Outsiders.” She was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award in 2002 for her starring roles as a suburban housewife who has a dramatic affair in “Unfaithful.”

Have You Heard About HARO?

I just signed up for this cool new service. It's a website called HARO-Help A Reporter Out. If you're in PR you can sign up as a source or you can sign up as a member of the media. Pretty cool, heh? You can sign up here:

PR Pros: www.helpareporter.com
Media: www.helpareporter.com/press

PR Pros Are All Liars!

First things first: I AM NOT A LIAR!!! (You'll understand after you watch the clip)

Now that I got that off of my chest, let me say it feels great to be back in the Blogosphere. I've been gone far too long. But, this time, instead of dishing about celebrity gossip, like I did on Hollyhoodbuzz, I've decided to do a blog that focuses on the PR industry (mostly). Speaking of PR, I ran across this video about the PR profession tonight. As a hardworking PR professional, I must say this piece struck a nerve. I was actually angry after watching it. Take a look and let me know your thoughts.



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