We’ve all heard about the evolution of communication methods. Fax was the new snail mail. Email is the new fax. Twitter is the new email. Snail mail is passé.
So what does this all mean? Some like it in 140 characters and some like it with a postage stamp on it. Continue reading
I began my college career as a broadcast journalism major. For some reason, my parents (bless them) thought I was going to be the next Katie Couric . . .
I digress. I had a hardcore journalism professor my sophomore year whom I respect like you wouldn’t believe. She discussed her days as a TV reporter often, and mentioned how many journalists only ever hang out with other journalists. Continue reading
We took away game night in my house growing up because it got too competitive. In a Cuban household, you have the short temper and the ‘always want to win’ mentality. We did away with it because it took away from the family dynamic. Social Media and the blogosphere is starting to point at a typical Fernandez style game night.
Social media can be a selfish space, and it’s starting to reflect in the blogosphere. Who has the best posts, the most comments, who’s publishing the story first – all questions that I hear people chattering about. Continue reading
Tell me if this scenario sounds familiar to you:
PR/Marketing Guy: So tell me, Mr. X, who is your company’s audience? Who is interested in what the Widget Factory has to offer?
Mr. X: Well, we consider our audience to be widget consumers, widget manufacturers, those who work in the widget industry and our own internal employees.
PR/Marketing Guy: Sounds like quite a diverse group. How will you be alerting all of these individual and distinct audiences of your upcoming big company announcement?
Mr. X: We were going to do what we always do: Blast out a generic e-mail announcement that goes to that entire group. That way, they all get the same exact message.
PR/Marketing Guy:
Frustrating? You bet. An exaggeration? Sadly, not even close.
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Spotted, Tyra Banks attempting to play an actress getting ready for her movie premier with a few secrets being held by her publicist.
Gossip Girl is one of my guilty pleasures (other than bourbon and Kentucky sports,) and this week’s episode was anything but settling.
*Spoiler Alert* So here’s the gist on the PR prospective, Serena isn’t going to Brown and wants to prove her worth by getting a job. She happened into a publicist’s job because she knew how to escape from the paparazzi through a back entrance of a restaurant. Continue reading
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
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
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.
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
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.
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