“What CEOs Can Learn from Oprah’s Sex Abuse Scandal” is my first contribution as a blogger for the Huffington Post. They posted it it under both Business and Entertainment. I elaborated on an item I wrote here, giving Oprah high marks for managing the sex abuse scandal at her $40 million academy for girls in South Africa so thoroughly that she left… Read More
crisis communications
Oprah scandal: A lesson in crisis management and a correction
Please note the correction in the seventh paragraph of the post below, which was brought to my attention today, October 4, 2008 when a reporter from People magazine called me for a comment regarding this story. The story states that Oprah’s former headmistress has filed a defamation suit against Oprah, the Huffington Post, and me.… Read More
FEMA’s phony press conference a PR disaster
Talk about a PR disaster. FEMA, the federal disaster agency, created its own when it staged a phony press conference last week in which FEMA employees posed as reporters and threw soft-ball questions at agency leaders so they could tell us what a good job they were doing at the California fires. During yesterday’s commentary on “Face the… Read More
Ellen DeGeneres could have averted a PR crisis
If only Publicity Hound Joni Hubred-Golden could have been around to help avert a PR disaster for Ellen DeGeneres and the dog rescue group Moms and Mutts. Ellen, you may have heard, adopted a terrier mix dog named Iggy from the nonprofit dog rescue group Moms and Mutts. When the dog didn’t get along with her cats, she… Read More
Free press release distribution for Calif. wildfire news
Starting immediately, PR Newswire is offering to distribute press releases free of charge if they pertain to the wildfires in California. It has created an archive of releases on both the public site and the media-only PR Newswire for Journalists website. To take advantage of the free service, submit a news release via email and use the subject line “California Wildfires.” Include… Read More
Why Purell and other hand sanitizers can be dangerous
I keep a bottle of hand sanitizer in the glove compartment of my car because, I confess, I sometimes eat in my car when I’m in a hurry. Yesterday, when I was conducting a teleseminar for people in The Publicity Hound Mentor Program, I learned that that’s not so smart. Marilee Tolen, an expert in holistic health marketing,… Read More
Media interviews: Balance of power has shifted to sources
If you’re involved in a news story and you’re afraid the media will misrepresent you, slant the news, or write it according to their own agenda, don’t refuse comment, thinking they’ll just go away and leave you alone. As I’ve said so many times before, refusing an interview is akin to screaming “we’re guilty,” even if… Read More
Bad restaurant review? Fight back with a blog
Here’s another tool for restaurant owners who receive bad restaurant reviews and want to fight back. Start blogging, and review the reviewers. That’s exactly what Roberto Donna, owner of Bebo Trattoria in Arlington, Va., is doing. He’s upset about the factual errors in a review his restaurant received in this month’s issue of Washingtonian magazine. So… Read More
Writer of ghoulish Anna Nicole press release responds to criticism
Because this is a business blog, I have to be careful to mind my manners and not say anything that I wouldn’t say in the executive suite of the same CEO who might be reading what I write here. I just learned another lesson about manners and good business. Respond thoughtfully and professionally when other bloggers or… Read More
Monday Morning Media Minute resumes
PR guy Jerry Brown’s excellent Monday Morning Media Minute ezine resumes after a two-year hiatus. It’s a quick one-minute read, delivered to your email box each Monday morning, that gives you a quick tip about how to work with the media. Today’s topic, for example, is how to frame an issue to control the debate. The… Read More