It’s amazing how clearly you can see things in hindsight. Like media bias, for instance. During the 22 years I worked as a newspaper reporter and editor, if you had told me the media were biased, I’d have wanted to arm-wrestle you. But here we are, 12 years later. In the column I wrote for Bulldog Reporter… Read More
crisis communications
Crisis management: Learn from the best
Crisis manager Jonathan Bernstein, one of the very best in the business, has been teaching companies how to get out of trouble—or stay out of it—for more than 20 years. Today, he’s dealing with the most unusual crisis he’s ever seen. In an email message this afternoon to subscribers of his electronic newsletter, he writes: “I am probably,… Read More
Spinach crisis: Here are ways you can piggyback
News stories about the spinach-related E. coli outbreaks all over the United States offer lots of opportunity for savvy Publicity Hounds to piggyback onto this story. Here are some ideas off the top of my head: —What’s the effect on restaurants? Have they pulled spinach completely from their menus or are they using frozen spinach… Read More
Northwest Airlines PR nosedives due to tips booklets
Is anybody awake in bankrupt Northwest Airlines’ PR department? How could anyone—even somebody with a brain the size of a pea—let the company distribute tips booklets titled “101 Ways to Save Money” to employees whose pay has just been slashed? The booklets offer these tips: Shop in thrift stores Take a date for a walk in the woods… Read More
Mr. Shell Oil, wipe that smile off your face
Whoever trained Shell Oil President John Hofmeister on how to do media interviews, particularly on TV, forgot to tell the client that when discussing high gasoline prices, don’t smile and look like you’re having a good time. On “Meet the Press” this morning, Hofmeister had an ear-to-ear grin on his face while he was answering Tim Russert’s questions… Read More
Dole shrivels by not responding to ‘Dateline’ story on bagged lettuce
Dole, the world’s largest producer and marketer of fresh vegetables, is hiding behind its attorneys, while a scathing report on tonight’s “Dateline” most likely will send sales of its bagged lettuce heading south. Attorneys apparently told the company not to allow executives to be interviewed for the story on how at least 26 people in three states have gotten sick after eating Dole bagged lettuce… Read More
Gossip columnists tell what happens when celebrity publicists say ‘no comment’
When the gossip mags are tracking down a rumor about a celebrity, how do they know when they’ve struck gold? When they call the celebrity’s publicist, and the publicist says “no comment.” O’Dwyer’s Public Relations News, which covered a panel of celebrity gossip columnists at Dillon’s Lounge in New York recently, quotes Jo Piazza, a columnist for the Daily News.… Read More
Diamond Pet Food Finally Offers an Update
If you read about the Diamond Pet Foods recall on the front page of the Jan. 2 issue of PR Week magazine, you’d walk away thinking the company did just about everything it could to deal with this crisis. Its crisis plan included: —A consumer alert and recall three days after a veterinarian in upstate… Read More
Donate a second home for the homeless
Publicity Hound Jerice asked me to help spread the word about a campaign under way to help find housing for the homeless in New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama. Here’s what she’s asking: Please donate the use of your camp, vacation home, empty apartment or second home for this emergency response to Hurricane Katrina. If you… Read More
Wal-Mart PR push is too little, too late
I love Wal-Mart’s convenience, store hours and low prices. Of all the merchants that get a chunk of my money, Wal-Mart probably gets the most. But when it comes to PR, I’d give Wal-Mart the booby prize. A story in the July 25 issue of PR Week says Wal-Mart has begun a media relations and… Read More