Archive for November, 2008
Mumbai Terror & the Media Role of Twitter
Like many people, I have been following and trying to understand the vicious attacks by terrorists in Mumbai. On one hand, the militants have struck at India’s tourist and financial heart, and have focused on killing or taking hostage foreign visitors, including Americans, British and Israelis. On the other hand … why? There have been [...]
Tips for Surviving an Internet Era Thanksgiving
Here is a list of the top ten things to keep in mind during Thanksgiving, especially if you are an online addict: Nobody will not take kindly to your tweeting on your iPhone or Blackberry at the table. Sure Aunt Bertha always loves to tell her crazy stories about being a radical in the ’60s [...]
Media Coverage of “The Barber’s Diaries”
Really nice story in a local Illinois newspaper about the diaries of Charles Everett Ellis, the central subject of a television documentary project I am producing. “Black barber in Altamont focus of documentary,” writes journalist Bill Grimes for the Effingham Daily News. His story continues … ALTAMONT — “Forty years ago today, by Jingo. Looking [...]
5-Steps to Becoming a Media Savvy Leader in 2009
There is little room for the status quo or traditional tactics as business and organizations strive for authentic leadership in 2009 and beyond. More than ever before, companies will turn to the media – mainstream and the fast-evolving online New Media of Web 2.0 – as they seek to build brand awareness, leadership positioning, new [...]
Porter-Novelli PR Retrenches
In the time-honored custom of always releasing the worst news on a Friday … Porter Novelli said today it is revamping with the departure of “senior leaders” of its management team, according to an internal memo penned by Julie Winskie, who assumed the presidency of the Americas post Jan. 1 of this year. PN is [...]
Investigating the Media
It has been disclosed, reports The New York Times, that the psychiatrist and radio host, Dr. Frederick K. Goodwin, earned at least $1.3 million between 2000 and 2007 giving marketing lectures for drug makers, income not mentioned on the program. Such omissions raise serious ethical and conflict of interest questions. Furthermore, Dr. Goodwin’s radio programs [...]
Clueless on the Hill
As someone who works with many organizations on leadership, I can say – with tongue in cheek – that none of the CEOs of the Big Three auto makers will ever be accused of being leaders. To the contrary, they are a PR disaster. As their recent demonstration on Capital Hill revealed, they are too [...]
Consider a Bold New Direction
During many interviews with corporations, organizations, and PR agencies—in addition to the media—in preparation to write my new book, The Media Savvy Leader, I found that not many corporate leaders are exchanging high-5s over the performance of even the largest global public relations agencies. While agencies today, whether advertising or PR, charge hefty fees, many [...]
Cuban Seeks to Define Transparency
What would the typical corporate leader do if sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for alleged insider stock trading? Most would duck and hide. If ambushed by a reporter, they’d firmly say, “No comment,” and other dumb things. Mark Cuban is not the typical corporate leader, and that’s one reason he is so [...]
Twitter for Beginners
While I continue to wrestle personally with the obvious time demands of paying attention to Twitter, I am a big proponent of using Twitter to build their own respective groups of acquaintances who may share common interests. Twitter is an effective door-opener to meet new people, and to build our own level of awareness online. [...]
Obama Job Seekers Must Reveal All … Info
President-elect Barack Obama and his staff apparently don’t want any surprises. As a result, they are grilling Obama administration job seekers with a thorough seven-page job questionaire. Suzanne Goldenberg of Britain’s Guardian Newspaper writes: Have you led an entirely blameless – or better yet, blander than bland – existence for your entire adult life?. Can [...]
The Perfect Coffee
Every once in a while, I get completely off the subject of what I usually write, and write about coffee. I love a superbly made cup of coffee. It could be a latte or cappuccino or simply a cup of black coffee with non-fat milk and raw sugar. It’s such a disappointment to enter any [...]
Media Falls For Another Hoax
To an old journalist, like me, the story never did sound right – an unnamed McCain advisor alleging that Gov. Palin didn’t know Africa was a continent. You, no doubt, have heard the story. I suppose one could say the media was taken-in because of Ms. Palin’s apparent naive grasp of the world, including the [...]
Veteran’s Day
It was the image in the New York Times of President-elect Barack Obama embracing Tammy Duckworth, a veteran of the Iraq war, that will create a lasting memory about this Veteran’s Day. Ms. Duckworth had lost both legs in the war, and today is director of the Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs. They were at [...]
Focus, and Get Powerpoint Madness Under Control
While helping an association a few years ago to initiate a plan to attract more members, funders and media, I remember attending presentations where one SVP had Powerpoint presentations of as many as 80 slides, each slide containing more than 300 words and complex diagrams. Our eyes would glaze over. Neither she nor her audience [...]
Secrets of the Annotated World
Boston-based Chris Brogan, one of the new leaders in the world of how to use communications in Web 2.0, has written a fascinating blog post, Secrets of the Annotated World. There is a new form of communications out there that is active and growing each day, and defining online communications for tomorrow … and trust [...]
