Let me just start by saying that I don’t like conflict. I’m a people pleaser. So I often watch with a strange mixture of trepidation and admiration when I see controversy brewing in the blogosphere. Twitter is full of folks who aren’t afraid to speak their minds, even if it means incurring the wrath of others. And then there’s me. Sure, I have my opinions (Nike…what the heck??) but I am not what you call a pot-stirrer. Truth be told, I just want everyone to get along. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: October 2009
Dear Flack: Media Lists
Dear Flack,
I really, really hate making media lists. I feel like I do not know what I’m doing and I’m about to lose my mind. Do you have tips for creating the best media lists possible?
Listomania Continue reading
Christina’s Coffee Talk with Maria Perez
If you work in PR, chances are you’ve spent countless hours building a media list hoping that you have found the best contacts in a targeted outlet that would be interested in your client/product/service. Well, in ’92, a group of geniuses founded ProfNet. ProfNet is an online community of communications professionals made to provide reporters access to expert sources (Wikipedia). I, like many PR professionals, receive daily e-mails from ProfNet, with queries from journalists looking for experts or a specific service that I may be able to help them with. Now, this seems like a simple process, but I’ve always wondered what actually goes behind their closed doors. So this week, with the help of Maria Perez, director of news operations at ProfNet, we gain a little insight in to the ProfNet world and her position.
From the Left: God and the Devil: one night, two events
It was bound to happen one of these days: one night but two events that I wanted to attend. You know the old saying, “When it rains, it pours.” Well, lately it seems to be pouring networking events. In Los Angeles, this can spell disaster since distances between places can be huge. But luck was on my side and both events were in Santa Monica and only 5 blocks from each other. Continue reading
How Letterman Controls a Crisis
When David Letterman sat down at his desk like he does every night after his monologue and told everyone he’d conducted affairs with women he worked with, the world did not end. No one at CBS called for his head on a platter. His live studio audience did not get up and walk out of the room. As far as we can tell at this moment, his advertisers have not elected to pull their ads from his show. We’ll see on Monday, I suppose, whether his ratings will be affected, but my guess is the safe one: if there is any change, it will probably be an increase in viewers curious to see what else might happen live on his program.
Let’s be clear here: no one likes cheaters, no one is cheering on philandering bosses, no one is giving a high five to yet another high profile scandalous affair. But there is a clear difference between what is happening right now to David Letterman and what has happened in the past to other adulterous public figures. And that difference can, in part, be attributed to Letterman’s handling of the situation. It really was the best of all possible confessions.
Continue reading
Happy 1 Month-i-launch-day
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Yes, I know it’s not a real word, but anniversary can only carry you so far since the ‘ann-‘ root refers to an annual event and it’s only been a month, but we’re pretty happy with ourselves around here at PRBC HQ (it’s a place on the internet at the intersection of Gmail, GChat, Google Docs, Skype, WordPress, SMS msgs and iPhones (it’s somewhere near the Hudson River just below 14th Street — ok, not really) a very funny place with soft walls). Continue reading
FIT Vol 4: Big Agency vs. Small Agency
If you’re currently looking for a job in PR, you probably don’t have the luxury of choosing exactly where you want to work. And if you only have one or two internships under your belt, you might not have enough experience to know the differences between a large and a small agency, which means you don’t know which environment suits you. That being said, I think it’s important to know what you’ll be getting yourself into when you land your first position. Since I’ve worked for both a large (close to 50 people and multiple departments) and a small (less than 10 executives working on a handful of accounts) agency, I’ve formed my own opinions on the pros and cons of each situation, based on what I’ve observed and experienced. And since we all come from different walks of life, I’ve consulted my fellow #prbc-ers to get their take on the situation so that I can give all the other entry-level flacks out there a heads up. Continue reading
Sorry, I Can’t Hear You Through all the ‘Noise’
This is a rant. I apologize for its length…
Does anyone remember when the big social networking Web sites came out? MySpace and Facebook were the elite two. I remember those days extremely clearly because I am part of the ‘Social Networking‘ generation.
Three things I never learned about PR in college
(CC) flickr // terryballard
I don’t hide where I attended college. Quinnipiac University is listed in my twitter bio. I’m proud of where I went to school and this post is in no way knocking the stellar education I received from a well-known and respected faculty at the QU School of Communications (shout out to Professor Beverly Levy). I think it just goes without saying there is only so much you can learn in four years within the walls of a classroom. Real world experience is where it’s really “at” in the grand scheme of our public relations careers. Continue reading
Can Football Learn a Play from Social Media Pros
While sipping my morning coffee and catching up on reading, I come across another article about football players abusing Twitter. Clicking on the link and expecting to hear what happened to the Redskins player
I am shocked to see Texas Tech in the headline. Seriously, another player has crossed the line on Twitter? Don’t they read or watch the headlines?