The Reality of Being a Publicist

Spinning TopRemember when you were a kid and had all these aspirations of success when you grew up? An astronaut, the president, a chef, a cashier, the sky was the limit. However, it really isn’t until the senior year of high school where reality sets in and you have to figure out what your path will be. Lucky for my generation and future generations we have something called “Reality Television” which can give us good insight to what we want to do. From Ice Truckers to Cake Boss, there are reality shows for almost every profession these days.

What was my calling? Powergirls. Remember that show? The show of a small PR Firm in NYC run by Lizzie Grubman? What a cool job they had. Planning events, hanging out with celebrities, always around pretty people…I would fit in so well. I was too short to be a model, so I decided to become a publicist and declared my major.

Well as I entered the industry, one week after graduation, I realized that Powergirls was way off. Maybe that’s why it got canceled. Regardless, I dove into the industry with what was given to me and have become very successful in what I have been exposed to. Looking back on the show, obviously I thought that being a publicist was all fun and games, but there is way more.

It’s now 2010, and it’s back. The misinterpretation of a publicist…The Spin Crowd. Maybe the worst show known to man, The Spin Crowd chronicles the Napoleon Dynamite twin, Jonathan Cheban and his company Command PR West. As a publicist I know this show is whack and such a misinterpretation of what we do…but this show is “supposedly” the epitome of a publicist, and to the recent graduates that read PRBreakfastClub, do NOT use it as a guide.

Jonathan Cheban is a party planning/promoter and celebrity seeker…not a publicist. He makes people think that all PR is celeb-driven parties. Kids, it’s not. He makes us look dumb, because he is dumb. His show is called “The Spin Crowd” for god’s sake; how much more negative can you get?

In the first episode we were forced to watch his latest associate, get lip injections because she wasn’t up to his aesthetic standards. Hello Jonathan, you need to touch base with Heidi Montag cause she can probably help you get your face transformed, or not :-x. Thanks for making us look like we are all stereotypical shallow people. In addition, his other “associate” is 19. Why is he hiring 19 year olds? College education anyone?

My favorite part of the episode was when Jonathan planned a celebrity party for some “self tanner made for men” and it was hosted by Mario Lopez. All of a sudden, one of his ladies (again stereotype) goes, “OMG, I have the best idea! I was thinking, like, Mario Lopez is the host of Extra, maybe we can, like, get Extra there to cover the party, OMG!” Jonathan then goes…”I LOVE THAT! That’s a great idea!”

Are your kidding me? OF COURSE EXTRA WAS GOING TO SHOW UP. Mario Lopez is the host of the show, obviously they are going to show up – it was probably in his contract. If they were such good “Spin” masters they would have gotten a few other outlets there because, umm, Extra would have done it anyway. Come on people, let’s use our brains today and think outside the box (like a real publicist).

There is no doubt that a reality show about a PR firm can be successful, i.e. Kell on Earth, and informative. My advice to newbies, don’t use The Spin Masters as a basis for a career choice, you’ll end up failing and washed up. Also, I would like to address Kim Kardashian. If you want to produce a good show, with hot people, that are not nit-wits, know what they’re doing and are not ruled by Napolean Dynamite, get in touch with me.

Love,
CT

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