Here at Kent State, some of the journalism faculty urge student reporters to duck PR people at the slightest hint of trouble. PR people are obstacles on the pathway to truth, they say. And too often, I’m afraid they’re right.
As a profession, we’ve earned the brickbats of journalists based on decades and decades of bad pitches. The problem is so prevalent that Kevin Dugan — a PR professional — dedicates an entire blog to the topic.
Of course, not all PR people are media pitching flim-flam artists, and I’m certain none of my readers are — right? But armed with digital publicity distribution tools that’ll spam half the free world with click, it’s little wonder some media have slammed the door.
Just yesterday, Chris Anderson posted the emails of PR people and organizations now banned from pitching him at Wired — 328 in all, and some names you may recognize. Chris claims he gets 300 pitches daily, most of them impersonal spam from flacks hoping to get lucky.
Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can’t be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they’re pitching. Fact: I am an actual person, not a team assigned to read press releases and distribute them to the right editors and writers (that’s editor@wired.com).
For the past week or so, I’ve been blacklisting PR flacks from my email inbox. Anytime I get a press release that doesn’t interest me, I add the domain name of the PR agency to my killfile list.
So be forewarned, my brothers and sisters. The gatekeepers of the MSM and the blogosphere have put a bounty on the heads of publicity spam artists. Those who made the blacklist likely had it coming. Let’s hope they can find another line of work.
I’m not known as a “linker,” and most readers will question my credentials as a “thinker” as well. But take a few minutes to check out the info here. One will have you rolling on the floor, the other two will get you thinking about what we do and how we do it.
New Media Douchebag. This hysterical 2-minute video pokes fun at the denizens of Web 2.0, of which I am one. Don’t click if you take yourself too seriously. You’ve been warned. Hat tip, Scott Monty, who offers useful commentary with the clip. (Update: I’ve added the video below for your convenience. And here is the link to the creators.)
Passive voice rules! Yep, this little morsel comes, via boingboing, from Web usability guru Jakob Nielsen (full article). Seems that active voice isn’t always the answer in the online world. You can bet that journalism professors across America are downright suicidal. Hat tip to Jim Horton, the brightest linker AND thinker in the PR blogosphere.
Are professional associations relevant? Catherine Arrow raises the question, then challenges associations with a prescription for success in a connected world. Let’s hope PRSA leadership checks out this post. While you’re there, cruise around PR Conversations, a blog with international focus that’s growing in both readership and importance.
This post began as a customer service rant, but since it’s all been said before, I decided to let it go. Then I discovered this PR lesson, an old chestnut from my past.
It began at 6:30 this morning when I retrieved my wet newspaper from the box at the curb. It rained hard all night, but my carrier didn’t bother with the plastic sleeve. She seldom does, and I’ve given up calling or writing circulation to complain. Nothing changes.
The second complaint involves my physician, whose office staff won’t snail mail a blood work order to my home. Instead, they insist I come to the office and pick it up. The office is 30 minutes away, so that’s an hour of my day and $5 worth of gas — just so they can save a stamp.
When a business treats me shabbily, I don’t complain. I simply don’t return. But I don’t have a choice with my local newspaper, short of ignoring local events. I also don’t care to replace a competent and caring doctor with one who knows nothing about me. (Please don’t tell me to read the paper online. Sharing coffee and the newspaper with my wife is a ritual I’m not about to give up. ) Read the rest of this entry »
Since I’ve been known to cuss a bit, even when things don’t go wrong, this news lifted my spirits. Yep, the world is changing, and it’s getting more friendly for those who use salty language. Researchers from the University of East Anglia have the data to support it.
According to the AFP story, “Regular swearing at work can help boost team spirit among staff, allowing them to express better their feelings as well as develop social relationships….”
Furthermore, the researchers predict that “swearing would become more common as traditional taboos are broken down, but the key appeared to be knowing when such language was appropriate and when to turn to blind eye.” The article goes on to say that cursing “helped foster solidarity among employees and express frustration, stress or other feelings.”
Hot damn, this is welcome news — especially for you HR and Internal Comm folks, eh? As for me, I plan to test it at next week’s faculty meeting by telling at least one person that they’re full of s#@&. Wish me luck.
I know, I know. Swearing in the workplace is uncivil, and a sure sign of a declining civilization. But I’m reminded of a cute little rhyme my dad used to recite when I was a kid. Let’s see if I can recall it:
Rickety, rackety russ. We ain’t supposed to cuss. But damn it to hell, it sounds so swell, we absolutely must!
Unlike many of the A-list bloggers, I don’t use offensive curse words in my writings (though I do link to them). Truth be known, I would if my mom and dad weren’t regular readers. Yeah, they’re the ones.
If you don’t share my enthusiasm for profanity in the workplace, I invite you to click to “About Me” and check out my “favorite retort.” I wrote it for you.
Update: In case you haven’t heard, the next iteration of Strumpette is in the works. It’s called Furthermore. The evolution will be interesting.
************
A few online friends have asked for the “real story” of my no-so-secret love affair with Amanda Chapel, aka, Strumpette. Most of those calling me out are devotees of Web 2.0 – a PR practice niche we’ve all celebrated in our blogs. Since Amanda rejects the use of unmediated communication in PR, many can’t accept my fascination with this anonymous, potty-mouthed vixen — the very one who last week signed off the blogosphere for good.
Here’s my confession – for the record.
Strumpette delivered a critical and seldom-heard take on the PR business. We needed it. But many couldn’t accept the message thanks to Amanda’s, er, unorthodox style. Unlike most bloggers, Amanda didn’t “converse” with us about her views. She spewed them, sometimes in venomous fashion, and she couched them in satire that many found offensive. But if you read Strumpette as the “Theatre of Amanda,” as I did, you chuckled and you moved on. Amanda loved opponents who locked horns with her, and she ate most of them for lunch. Read the rest of this entry »
Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize, and you know that by now. But did you notice how the honor came less than 48 hours after I praised his intellect and perceptiveness? Coincidence? I’m telling you, this blogosphere is more powerful than you think. I’m gonna check my stats for referrals from Oslo.
**********
Have you thought about the similarities between Jack O’Dwyerand Howard Beale, the character in the 1976 film, “Network”? Both are characters so angry about the status quo of their professions that they begin railing loudly and publicly about it. In the movie, Howard draws a huge following to chant his mantra: “We’re as mad as hell, and we’re not gonna to take this anymore!”
I wonder if Jack can assemble a similar group of loyalists when the PRSA Assembly gathers in Philadelphia next week? I’d pay to see it. I’ve spoken to PR pros who thinks Jack could be more effective if he toned down the anger in his message. But you know, Jack was pretty reasonable for most of his 30+ years as journalist and industry critic, and what did it get us?
Al Gore hasn’t much use for PR people, and that’s real clear in his latest book, “The Assault On Reason.” But today I’m wondering why the book, released last spring, hasn’t triggered significant discussion in the PR blogosphere. Maybe I can spark some here.
“The Assault on Reason” is about lying — deliberate, deceitful, organized lying by the Bush administration. Yeah, it’s also a political book with an anti-W slant, but Gore presents a ton of evidence to support his claims. He explains to us just how adept government is a fooling the electorate, often using the tools of PR.
As Gore inspects the history of political lying, he sets his sights on Edward L. Bernays, the man he says turned the art of propaganda into a science of manipulation.
If you studied PR history in college, or later in preparation for the APR exam, you know Bernays as the acknowledged “father” of modern public relations. He is revered in the eyes of many who work in our business — a hero in a profession adept at manufacturing such heroes.
Bernays is credited as being the first to use the term “public relations counselor,” and the first to apply the ideas of social science to PR practice. Historians never fail to link Bernays’ knowledge of human nature to his DNA. Ed was the nephew of Sigmund Freud. Read the rest of this entry »
Amanda Chapel, the voice of Strumpette, signed off yesterday — for good. Or so she says. I hope it’s not the end of the blog many of us have come to depend on for comic relief and hard-edged criticism of public relations. But time will tell.
I was privileged to be among the final guest writers on Strumpette. And if you look closely at those who wrote there for the last 3-4 months, you’ll find a good many “normal” mainstream PR types.
I’m sad to see Amanda leave the stage, as Strumpette was evolving into something important — something the business really needs: a courageous and critical voice. Say what you will about the anonymity of “Amanda.” She managed to bring together a good many of us willing to put our names on the record. The voice she created was collective, and very real.
As I told Strumpette’s creators last week, the site has earned a place in modern PR history, as it gave many of us the courage to question the hypocrisy that so often surrounds us in this business. I know it empowered me.
Mark Rose offers a far more intelligent and eloquent piece at PR Blog News. It’s one of those essays that had me saying, “I wish I’d written that.” Kudos, Mark. And thank you, Strumpette.
How’s this for a change? ToughSledding hits the proverbial road this week with guest gigs at two — count ‘em, two — prominent PR blogs.
At Strumpette you’ll find me under “Leader’s Perspective” with commentary and analysis about Jack O’Dwyer’s reform manifesto for the Public Relations Society of America. If you’re a PRSA member, it’s a must read (he said with all humility). If you don’t give a flip about PRSA, drop in at Strumpette to enjoy great satire and much-needed criticism of mainstream PR practice. Oh, yeah. You’ll see a portrait of me on this post never before unveiled, so click already!
My other appearance is at the Forward Blog, the PR student site at Auburn University. It’s a podcast hosted by Luke Armour, a principal contributor at Forward and PR coordinator for Blog Talk Radio. Confession: I haven’t had time to listen to it yet. But, hey, I was there. Luke is one of my local blogger pals in Northeast Ohio. Catch him at Observations of Public Relations. Yeah, we still love the guy, even though he went to Akron U!
UPDATE (10/5): My post on Strumpette reports Jack O’Dwyer’s claim that PRSA has denied him press credentials for the Assembly. Response from PRSA is that Jack has simply not applied for those credentials. I don’t want in the middle of this one, but I have an obligation to air both sides. Thanks to Bill Murray, PRSA president, for his cooperation. It appears to be a misunderstanding; it does not appear to be an attempt by PRSA to censor Jack or to block his access. I apologize to Bill and PRSA for implying that in my post. But I’ll also say that a little faster response to my inquiry by the society would have helped me get both sides of the story in time to make my deadline.
Here at Kent State, some of the journalism faculty urge student reporters to duck PR people at the slightest hint of trouble. PR people are obstacles on the pathway to truth, they say. And too often, I’m afraid they’re right.
Just yesterday, Chris Anderson posted the emails of PR people and organizations now banned from pitching him at Wired — 328 in all, and some names you may recognize. Chris claims he gets 300 pitches daily, most of them impersonal spam from flacks hoping to get lucky.
Mark Frauenfelder at BoingBoing is taking a similar path, but without the public outing.
Posted by Bill Sledzik 
Posted by Bill Sledzik 
Posted by Bill Sledzik 
