If I was teaching a PR class, there are some media events that could make great case studies. Take the case of Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., son of the famed civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson. Jackson Jr. is currently being hospitalized for depression and another unnamed physical ailment. However, the way this story was… Read the rest of this entry
Category Archives: Manny Otiko
Do you Need to Have a Bland Internet Persona?
Nowadays it is not unusual to hear someone being fired for something they posted online, tweeted or said in the media. It seems there is a new Internet gaffe every day, and sometimes these faux pas are committed by industry insiders who ought to know better. The latest head to roll for a media gaffe… Read the rest of this entry
Media Relations 101:Beware of the Sound Bite Trap
One of the problems of working in the media is that you really never turn off. Since TV is ubiquitous, us media types are always analyzing the press to see how we would have handled certain situations differently. I often find myself saying about media disasters, “How the hell did that happen?” And I am finding… Read the rest of this entry
Positive PR Boosts Credibility, Brand
When you work in PR, you are often faced with the question, “What do you do?” And this can be a challenge, because if you give someone the text-book definition of PR, they will end up even more confused. I had one former boss who told me to simply say I work in advertising, because… Read the rest of this entry
Why Celebrities Should Keep Their Political Views Private
I have always believed that everyone, whether they are a celebrity or an average person, has the right to express their political views. I remember back in the 1990s, when I was working as a newspaper reporter, there would always be a local eccentric who would run for office every election season, knowing they had… Read the rest of this entry
Why Journalists Need PR People
In these days of shrinking newsrooms, there is an increasing overlap between the worlds of PR and journalism. And old PR joke is reporters always hate PR professionals, until they need a job. I have noticed that as journalism jobs are eroding, many reporters are turning to PR and public affairs positions with mixed results.… Read the rest of this entry
How to Become a Reporter’s Best Friend
A few weeks ago, I was pulling into my driveway, after a long week of work, when I received a phone call from a reporter I work with wanting a quote for a story. I spent the next two hours calling and e-mailing clients trying to gather a comment. I never did get a comment,… Read the rest of this entry
Death of News Outlets Isn’t Good News for PR Business
Another day, and another article bashing the growing ranks of PR flacks. The Economist, a British publication, recently ran an article saying the media business was in danger of being overrun by PR professionals. Republican, a publicly-financed American news outlet, also wrote a similar article recently. As someone who has worked on both sides of… Read the rest of this entry
Four Interview Nightmares Guaranteed to Give PR Specialists Heartburn
A few weeks ago, Ilyasha Shabazz, the daughter of Malcolm X, the revered Civil Rights icon, was interviewed by Michel Martin on National Public Radio about a controversial new book, that claimed her father had at one time worked as a male escort. When confronted with that very sensitive question Shabazz, simply got up and… Read the rest of this entry
Will Hollywood Be the Next Industry Consumed by the Internet?
As someone who recently turned the big 4-0, I can say that I have seen a lot of technology come and go in my time. I remember the days when families used to gather around a black and white TV, and you had to get up to change the channel. The stations would also shut… Read the rest of this entry