Creating buzz for U.S. Census no small task for Kent State Bateman team

I’m from the government, and I’m here to help you.

In the old joke, that’s one of the the “3 Great Lies.” But for so many Americans in these troubled times, mistrust of government is no joke at all. Officials at the U.S. Census Bureau worry this mistrust along with overall low awareness, could prompt citizens to ignore the national headcount that begins in March.

As part of a nationwide PR campaign to promote the census at the grassroots,  Kent State’s 5-person Bateman launched its 2-week PR campaign in the midst of the season’s worst snowstorm on Feb. 11. The campaign, which relies heavily on face-to-face tactics and word of mouth, has team members crisscrossing the city — seeing the people and telling the story.

The elephant in the women’s restroom

Overheard in the 3rd floor women’s restroom in Franklin Hall:

“What’s with Sledzik and the hair thing. Is he going hippie on us — or hermit-y?”

No, I didn’t hear the comment myself, but one of my colleagues was paying attention from a closed stall. She’s a veteran journalist, and I’m workin’ from her notes.

It’s the elephant in the room no one wants to talk about. Unless you’re good friends, it’s impolite to ask about personal appearance. So, instead, we chat in the bathroom or whisper out of earshot.

Enough with the gossip. Today, I meet the elephant head-on.

What’s up with the #%@*ing hair, dude?

So glad you asked.

For stakeholders of Ohio’s Scripps School, it’s time to take sides

Update (3/30/10): Late yesterday afternoon, Ohio University President Roderick McDavis said he will accept the recommendation of the ad hoc committee of the faculty senate and recommended that Bill Reader be granted tenure and promotion at Ohio University.

Here is the latest from Inside Higher Ed

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If you’re among the PR professionals drawn to Grunig’s symmetrical model, you tend to shy from conflict. You’d prefer that organizations and key publics adapt to one another, that they live in accord.

But real life doesn’t always work that way. Sometimes you gotta fight.

At the E. W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University (my alma mater), they’re waging an ugly war over the denial of tenure to Professor Bill Reader. I wrote about it on Groundhog Day, and just like in the movie, the story has returned for another unsettling visit.

Student news releases offer more fluff than a marshmallow factory: This week’s teachable moment

I’ve decided to pick on the students in my “Media Relations and Publicity” class this week. I know they’ll be good sports about it, and I won’t call them out by name.

The problem: I’m unhappy with some of the news releases they’ve been writing this semester. It’s not the writing quality or mechanics that bothers me. The target of my ire is fluff — the fluff that oozes into their work in the form of vacuous, self-serving quotes.

Take last week’s assignment as an example. Students were asked to write a news release to draw local food writers to a story about a restaurant opening. While the story is one I made up for the assignment, it’s based on a real place.

When did accuracy become relative?

I should probably shut my mouth on this one. But I can’t.

I called out a journalist yesterday for two inaccuracies in her post promoting an upcoming news series. Here’s her response to my comment:

While I agree with you that accuracy is critical, not all subject matters warrent (sic) the same level of accuracy.

Forget the typo. Focus on the important question: When did accuracy become relative? In my 19 years on the faculty of a journalism school, no one ever told me that truth comes in “levels.” A fact is a fact because it can be verified.

Cleveland Cavaliers “Watergate” may be dumbest business/PR move ever; I’m calling bullshit

Update 2/10/10: Cavs will restore water fountains, saying H1N1 threat has passed. Oh, yeah. Policy also violates state building code. Doh! Maybe they can use water from fountains to wash egg from faces. Did I call this? Huh? See last paragraph.

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You may have heard by now that the Cleveland Cavaliers have turned off the drinking water at the Q. That’s right, if you attend a Cavalier’s game you won’t find a water fountain anywhere. Team management has ordered them removed.

According to this piece from the Plain Dealer, the Cavs’ maternal instincts kicked in, so team management has pulled the drinking fountains to save us all from H1N1 and other furry boogers that might make us really sick. Thanks, Mom!

Groundswell of opposition greets company’s support for animal-rights group

Unless we’re friendz on Facebook, you probably didn’t notice the recent dustup involving Yellow Tail wine. It emerged a few weeks back when the Humane Society of the United States announced a Yellow Tail promotion designed to generate $100,000 for the Washington-based animal-rights group.

I should tell you now that I don’t care for Yellow Tail wine, but sometimes serve it at parties after my guests get into the 3rd or 4th bottle. At that point, who can tell the difference? I should also tell you I don’t care for the Humane Society of the United States much, either.

How can I dislike folks who rescue homeless cats and dogs? I don’t. And they don’t. Like many of you, I long believed the HSUS and my local humane society were one in the same. Turns out, we were victims of brand confusion.

The world is getting dumber, or there’s something in the water in Northeast Ohio

If Jim Traficant wins a seat in Congress this fall, I may have to move. How could I live in a state of collective stupidity? That we’re even discussing “candidate” Traficant is downright crazy, and it has me wondering what’s happened to critical thinking.

Jim Traficant

You remember Jimbo, don’t you? He’s the former congressman from Ohio’s 17th District who spent the past 7 years in federal lockup, convicted of bribery and racketeering. He’s back, and a cadre of loyalists want to send him back to Washington.

Can PR fix the scandal at Scripps? I doubt it

Update: Seems that U.S. News reporter Jeff Greer has published a blog post (at the U.S. News site) about the Scripps/Reader dust-up. I suppose this raises the PR stakes a bit, since the story now has a broader potential audience. Unfortunately, the reporter relies entirely on the Ohio University Post (the student newspaper) for his information. In that sense, it’s pretty shoddy journalism. But then again, my own post here also relies on secondary sources. So I’d best not throw stones.

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If you don’t live and work in academe, the scandal brewing at Ohio University’s E. W. Scripps School is inside baseball. And because it centers on universities granting lifetime job security (aka, tenure), it’s sure to piss people off even more. No one likes tenure except for those of us who have it.

Background. Last semester, the powers that be at Scripps recommended denying tenure to Bill Reader, a faculty member since 2002. The s#&* has now hit the fan, and the pro- and anti-Reader forces have gone to war.

As always, there are two sided to every story. If you want details, check the account in Inside Higher Ed. For the lazy among us, here’s my summary: