Archive for May, 2009
The Wall. 2009.
Among all the many people at The Wall in Washington, D.C., I saw Chuck (right). He was paying respects to 26 friends who had lost their lives in Vietnam. The Wall, as it’s called, is the Vietnam Memorial. It contains the names of 58,195 American service men and women who lost their lives in the [...]
How-To Hire Online Communications Expertise
There are an awful lot of overnight online and social media communications “experts” out there, many light experience in communications, and lacking credentials both online and with more traditional, yet essential, methods. Here is a practical starter checklist to use when vetting any PR or communications agency, team or person … in order to really [...]
It’s Called … Work
I got into a discussion the other day with a friend over which group is lazier – mainstream media, bloggers or public relations people. The subject came up because he remarked, rather accurately, how easy it is today to spoon-feed the media with information that they will use, without question. While mainstream media has gotten [...]
Air Force One Through Expert Eyes
My good friend, Ed Lallo – a professional photographer based in Austin, Texas – has posted a commentary on his blog, LalloPhoto.com, that’s made me chuckle. Ed has evaluated the photo taken recently of Air Force One flying over the Statue of Liberty in New York. It’s the controversial photo that led to the resignation [...]
The Passion and Inspiration of Video
The latest popular thing to do among many organizations and PR firms is to create videos that they believe will deliver some “killer” message, and put it on YouTube. There are hopes the videos will be viewed by millions, and somehow make the earth stop dead in its tracks while people are thrilled by what [...]
Build an Online Newsroom, Using WordPress
As you have no doubt noticed, I’ve written quite a bit about the overuse and ineffectiveness of press releases. In this Internet era – a time when the ways of public discourse are changing, whether online or otherwise – one-way shouting out an announcement no longer is effective. Press releases are shouting. We are in [...]
The Short Lifespan of Press Releases …
Let’s talk practical, and about the real world. As we all know, the news media is undergoing seismic changes. Maybe it’s more accurate to call it, chaos. Newspapers are failing. Broadcast news is losing audience. There are layoffs every which way your turn in mainstream media. Online media is all over the map when it [...]
Is PR Out-of-Sync with the Internet Era?
When I wrote on this blog a few weeks ago about the fact that public relations people are woefully slow (or maybe fearful) at learning and developing expertise about latest developments in today’s online world, including even the basics of blogging, a fellow on the digital team of one major PR agency objected. He said [...]
A Remarkable View of the World
During a trip to Houston recently, I had the pleasure of visiting with an old and treasured friend, Ed Lallo. Ed is a professional photographer, and we have worked together on client projects for many years, from Kansas City to St. Petersburg, Russia. In a world filled with many talented photographers, Ed is ranked at [...]
