Archive for March, 2009
Die Press Release!!!
A friend was telling me today about a conference she has just attended that brought together a large group of public relations people with a smaller group of working journalists. The discussion had centered, as it often does at such sessions, on what journalists really need in today’s demanding media world, and the merits of [...]
CEO Blogs: Pros and Cons
While there is increased popularity in the concept of CEO blogs, the whole idea is a tactical discipline that must fit with an organization’s overall strategic purpose. Blogs are nothing more than a tactical interactive online delivery platform to share ideas. So, if a CEO recognizes the importance of achieving unique differentiation in today’s fiercely [...]
Today’s Reality: Nothing Is Secret
Washington, D.C., where I am based, is full of consultancies run by former members of Congress or government staffers who sell their connections and supposed clout to just about anyone who hopes to have greater influence before the federal government or in the halls of Congress. It’s influence peddling for a price, and often, their [...]
What Does a Great Story Look Like?
This week I have been writing about the power and value of organizational storytelling for the purpose of achieving sustained image and reputation leadership. But, what does a great story look like? As someone who began my career in network television news, and then moved to a second career in public relations, storytelling comes second-nature [...]
A Great Story Has Legs
Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of effective communications … and one of the most timely. My colleague Anne Bell at PBS NewsHour says it best: “A great story has legs that in today’s world can travel many miles per hour.” The discipline of storytelling can energize (or re-energize) any business or organization. It [...]
Communications Leadership: Storytelling
Brooke Gladstone of National Public Radio’s “On the Media” program says: “Journalists are taught to talk and write in human terms. Tell me a story.” We are all part of a storytelling culture in America. It’s been that way forever, and it’s no different in countries, cultures and communities around the world. We share stories [...]
Tactics Seldom Work, Without Strategy
More than ever, I am convinced we live in a tactics-driven world, and it’s leading us in a downward direction. When we embrace tactics, we relinquish leadership, by default. When tactics are used, it reveals a level of anxiety over needing to get fast results. But results don’t work that way. Congress tries to fix [...]
The Coming Explosion in News Online
Despite the fast-decline of the traditional newspaper industry, I predict a new era of influence, interest and credibility of online news resources that will lead to an exciting explosion of new online media sites. Too many online media-oriented sites today – ranging from blogs to sites like Huffington Post – are run by people who, [...]
How-To Land a Job at a PR Agency
When people ask me for advice and guidance on getting a meaningful position at a public relations, I don’t sugarcoat the process – when you are considered for an agency slot, it’s all about money. If you want to land a job at a public relations agency … one that is at least a step [...]
World Wide Rave
Let me just begin this review of David Meerman Scott’s “World Wide Rave” by saying that I admire and respect the innovative concepts that David teaches. If you are in marketing or communications or public relations or, especially, the leader of an organization, today’s world has gotten to be too competitive, too fast-moving, and too [...]
Turning Point in New Journalism
The recent “showdown” between comedian-turned-faux-newsman Jon Stewart and stock-huckster-turned-cable-TV-stock-carnival barker Jim Cramer was an important moment, I believe, in today’s new style of journalism. Cramer, host of CNBC’s borderline insane stock hype program “Mad Money,” came off as defense, and a guy who knew he was in deep trouble for misleading investors. He seemed to [...]
Newspapers: A New Period of Decline
If you are in the public relations or strategic communications business, as am I, it’s still common to hear clients express a desire to have a story in a newspaper. Stories in newspapers are influential, especially if something favorable is written. But those days are quickly coming to a close. The newspaper business is dying. [...]
Next Gen of Social Media has Arrived
For some months, I have been curious about what the next generation of online social media will look like in practical terms. Like … when we get bored of Twitter and Facebook, what’s next on the horizon? I began on what I thought was a logical path of querying visionaries, gurus and journalists of technology [...]
When Things Go Terribly Wrong at a Hospital
I haven’t blogged in the past week because I’ve been in a hospital, twice. Last Thursday, I underwent a delicate operation on my knee, followed by three days at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, MD. The procedure is called a “revision” to my total knee replacement last October, and was to fine-tune a tendon, remove scar [...]
The One Best Quality of a Leader
While doing many media interviews over the last few weeks about my new book, The Media Savvy Leader, there’s one question that is nearly always asked: What one single quality distinguishes a good leader in today’s world? My answer, based on research for my book and my own experience, is always the same – the [...]
How-To Vet a PR Agency in the Internet Era
How does any organization in today’s online world develop a credible voice online and stay competitive? How can you go about selecting a PR agency that really can deliver expert help for building a footprint of awareness online? Building off my post of March 1, this is one of the biggest challenges facing any business, [...]
