Archive for April, 2008
BlogStrategies.net
I urge you to check out BlogStrategies.net. So many acquaintances have asked me to assist with developing and launching blogs that I have taken my show online at BlogStrategies.net: step-by-step instructions to create a self-hosted or independent blog that can be customized for a business, online newsroom, organization, or individual. The outside services I suggest [...]
Bowling 1, Health Care 0
My gosh … did Elizabeth Edwards get it precisely right about the trivial and clueless nature of today’s mainstream news media in her call-it-like-it-is OpEd in The New York Times. “If voters want a vibrant, vigorous press, apparently we will have to demand it,” she writes, and then, she challenges all of us to raise [...]
Shoddy! Tawdry!
“Shoddy! Tawdry! …” is how Frank Rich began his column in yesterday’s New York Times about the absolutely disgraceful behavior of ABC anchorman Charles Gibson and his co-moderator, George Stephanopoulos, during the Obama-Clinton debate last week. It was every bit that and worse, as dozens of columnists and observers have written. But I believe one [...]
Image Crisis at the Pentagon … again
At a time when America’s infrastructure is suffering from federal budget cutbacks — bridges crumbling, layoffs, subprime scandal, financial pressures on Americans, skyrocketing gas prices — Air Force Major Stephen Goldfein steered $50-million to two of his cronies who hoped to set up a private company to … get this … “jazz up the Air [...]
Ether
Washington, D.C., is conference city. Each day, there are countless conferences and forums held in the city. Seven days a week, year-around. People fly in, attend conferences and fly out. We don’t hear about most, even though many conference organizers hope the spotlight of media attention will shine brightly on their event, if only for [...]
Death of American’s Brand
I think we may be witnessing the death of American Airlines’ brand reputation, caused largely by self-inflicted poor corporate communications. Yes, the airline was faced with a real problem of fixing the aging wiring in their aging fleet of MD-80 jetliners, some that date back to the ’70s. Yes, the airline could have spread it [...]
Everyone’s Got Something to Sell
I switched on the TV this morning only to see Phil Donahue on a cable news/talk show slamming America’s stance in Iraq. I thought, how odd to hear Donahue, who is no expert on the subject, making such statements. Then, I learned that he is promoting his involvement in a movie that criticizes the war. [...]
Starbucks Flunks “Who Cares?!” Hype Test
It’s a hard lesson for companies and organizations to learn in today’s new world of intelligent communications but … here it is: No one cares ‘about’ you. When an organization, for example, issues a news release and concludes with a puffy ‘about’ section, no one … and certainly no one in the news media … [...]
CNN May Prop-Up CBS News
CBS News, once known as the “Tiffany” news operation because of leadership and excellence in the industry, has been self-destructing over the last 20 years through a continuous series of colossal and highly public missteps. CBS News has fallen to sixth place in a three way television network news race for audience ratings simply because [...]
04.08.08: What’s Starbucks Up To?
I enjoy the coffee house culture that Starbucks has helped to rekindle around the world, and I respect the company’s integrity and use of meaningful publicity. So, what is “04.08.08” all about? If you know, please let me know.
