Tag Archives: United States

Dispelling the Dark Side Myth

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   I’m joining my former WXRT News colleague, Charlie Meyerson with our first blog brainstorm.
Charlie has graciously agreed to my request about his good, bad and ugly experiences with PR people. I’ve happily obliged his idea to dispel the myths about journalists who switch to public relations. Keep visiting here for this unique online conversation between a veteran journalist and a veteran PR professional. 

 

Often when I meet new clients, someone invariably jokes that when I left journalism for public relations, I entered the “dark side” of communications. Heck, even I feared I’d sell my soul by switching to a PR career after 20 years in broadcast news at WXRT, WBEZ, and WGN radio.

I recalled conversations in the City Hall Press Room, cynically feeding the misconception about PR people with names like: hacks, flaks, spinmeisters, handlers, sellouts and worse.  So in my mind, I too feared becoming one of those dark characters lurking behind the curtains when I accepted the Communications Director’s job for Mayor Richard M. Daley’s 1995 re-election campaign.

After 17 years in PR and media relations, I can tell you that dark sinister image is great for TV dramas, but not a reflection of reality. In fact, these real-life nicknames are more fitting monikers:  ”Story Assistant,” “Mr. Communicator” and “Message Engineer.” Our role, as PR people is to communicate our clients’ stories and help journalists with story ideas.

We serve as the media’s information providers, schedulers, and fact-checkers.   With jobs continuing to decline at newspapers, TV and radio stations, those media reps lucky enough to remain employed need all the help I can possibly give them.

Providing ideas — knowing when and how

Reporters have even greater pressures to feed the beast — the 24-hour news cycle. Without ideas from people like me, they’d have to do more scouting, calling and mining for sources. I routinely get journalists’ request for ideas. In fact, even when I don’t have a client expert, I will go out of my way to find sources to help them out (in journalism as in life, there is value in paying it forward). 

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Facebook’s Got a Bleeding Heart

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May hearts & flowers © Michelle Damico

My garden’s bleeding hearts on this first day of May reminded me of Facebook, which has added a new page option for users who wish to sign up for their state’s organ registry.

As someone on the receiving end of an organ donation (my right knee’s ACL was replaced a few years ago when a snow boarder hit me while skiing) it was very humbling when the nurse offered me the chance to send a note to the donor’s family, telling them their loved one’s life goes on, thanks to the tissue donation that enables me to run, walk and have free movement.

Organ donation is not only about hearts, livers and kidneys. One body may have as many as 50 opportunities for transplantation, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Facebook is taking steps to be more socially responsible. I’m hoping that altruism is the main goal; the skeptic in me thinks Facebook wants to develop a softer public persona as well. Either way, I’ll be signing up (as I already have on my driver’s license). You should too. If you want to learn more, read about. It’s all over the web today. 

 

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Turning Heads: Farmers on Social Media

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This week I was interviewed on Illinois Farm Bureau Radio, which to my surprise is carried on nearly two dozen radio stations in Illinois and Iowa. Host Julie Root of the program Farm Week Now, interviewed me along with Emily Webel, mother of four and co-operator (along with her husband) of a livestock and grain farm in central Illinois. Emily tells her story  through her blog Confessions of a Farm Wife.

We talked about why social media is gaining popularity among farmers and agri-businesses ranging from honey farmers, corn and grain producers, organic farmers and livestock producers.

 

You can listen to the radio interview AND read Julie Root’s blog post on our interview. The audio can be found in a radio box on the left side of Julie’s blog. You can also hear Julie’s entire radio interview at http://www.farmweeknow.com/radio.aspx by looking for the “Morning Programs” and click on the date March 23, 2011. Our segment ran started about 25 minutes into the program. It was a lot of fun!

Follow Julie Root on Twitter @Julie_RFDRadio

 

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How Christine O’Donnell broke PR’s golden rule

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The new Christine O'Donnell Witch doll.

“I am not a witch!” Tea Party Senate candidate Christine O’Donnell held a news conference this week to introduce her “I am not a witch” campaign ads. She admitted that she dabbled in witchcraft at a younger age, and now her critics are taking advantage of the admission. Her response is a PR person’s worst nightmare.

Why, oh why would she create a political ad to promote this message, and why would her manager allow her to do it? By sending out this message – and giving it a campaign priority, O’Donnell has broken one of the top rules of PR — never repeat a negative. Richard Nixon broke the rule: “I am not a crook.” Mayor Richard M. Daley did it: “I am not a wimp.” And now O’Donnell. Responding to a negative question with a negative answer only reinforces in the mind of the listener that you really  ARE what you say you AREN’T! The negative sticks to you.

By putting out this ad, and making it her message, her problem didn’t go away. It just got worse. I, like many people, didn’t pay attention to the details of her background. I was amused by her candidacy, but I wouldn’t have cared, because I’m not voting for her.

Now, she’s allowed her campaign to become even more of a circus act than it already was. I’ll follow her now, just for the entertainment value of witnessing her next PR blunder.

How might she have responded to questions about her past interest in witchcraft? She could have responded “I’ve already answered questions about that, and it’s not relavent today, when so many other challenges are facing our country.” Or she might have said, “I’m sure all of us regret some of our youthful indiscretions, and my campaign is about finding answers to our problems, and not looking back.”

Is that a sincere answer? Probably not, but it would have saved her from the damaging headlines and the lingering story. Heck, just as she announced “I am not a witch,” a new doll manufacturer came out with the Christine O’Donnell action figure, and guess what, she’s dressed as a witch!

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