If you blog, the worst of your worries shouldn’t be how many times to post, or what to write about, or whether to use WordPress or Typepad. Your Number One concern—the question bloggers never think to ask—should be: “What if somebody sues me tomorrow for copyright infringement, defamation or invasion of privacy—what does that mean?” Here’s what… Read More
crisis communications
Attleboro, MA threatens granny for past-due bill of 1 cent
If you’ve done something dumb and bad publicity results, the quickest way to make the story go away is to apologize. But not in Attleboro, Mass. where the city has threatened to place a lien on the home of Eileen Wilbur, a 72-year-old blind woman because she has failed to pay a past-due water bill of 1 cent. The… Read More
Blog about your company’s layoffs before someone else does
In the old days, when a company was planning layoffs, it delivered the bad news to employees, and then—if it was smart—issued a press release to let the world know how many people had been laid off and why. These days, companies concerned about crisis management and joining the “bad news” conversation online will also post the announcement on… Read More
Grade Edwards’ ‘Nightline’ interview: How did he do?
Put politics aside for a minute. If you saw the interview that ABC’s “Nightline” did with former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards on Friday night, tell us how you think he did from a PR standpoint. If you missed the interview, you can watch it in two parts here and here. I don’t care if… Read More
Did Jesse Jackson know the mic was on?
How could the Rev. Jesse Jackson, a master at playing the media like a fiddle, not know the mic was on last week when he made that repulsive comment about castrating Barack Obama? One of the very first things you learn in Media Training 101 is that if you’re mic’d, always assume it’s on and never… Read More
What Tim Russert taught us about how to interview
After almost five days of non-stop tributes to Tim Russert, none was as fascinating as the five-year-old article I found last night titled “How to Beat Tim Russert.” Jack Shafer, who writes the press column for the online magazine Slate, dissected in step-by-step detail the strategy that any guest can use to disarm Russert, the toughest… Read More
Crisis at your company? Consider embedding reporters
When seven people in the Chicago area died in 1982 after ingesting Tylenol capsules which had been laced with potassium cyanide poison, Johnson & Johnson moved quickly to manage the crisis. The company embedded journalists in meetings with top management so they could hear first-hand all the issues and problems the company faced. That move, and others, were brilliant. Johnson… Read More
Bury bad news with online press releases
It could be a lawsuit against your company. Or a health department violation against your restaurant. Or a post at somebody’s blog, written by a rabble-rouser who wants to drag your name through the mud and destroy your business. If it’s bad news and it’s online, it could live on forever. Anybody who uses the… Read More
What else should American have done after canceling flights?
Here’s the list of public relations tactics American Airlines adopted after canceling more than 3,000 flights this month: According to PRWeek, it: —Enlisted its seven-person PR team, other staffers and Weber Shandwick, its PR firm, to inform the public about the reasons for the delay. —Handed out press releases to customers at some of its largest hubs. —Sent… Read More
What you can learn from TripAdvisor.com’s ’10 Dirtiest Hotels’
In today’s newsletter, “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” I wrote about the “10 Dirtiest Hotels” contest sponsored by TripAdvisor.com. The annual contest draws attention to TripAdvisor’s “Travelers’ Choice Award Winners” in 10 categories, from the Best Luxury Hotels to the Best Inns and B&Bs. Each year, consumers nominate the filthiest hotels, then weigh in with… Read More