The public relations department at Lake Superior State University has released its list of “banished words” and phrases, some of which I’m horribly guilty of using in casual conversation, including “perfect storm” and “sweet.” Aside from making me self-conscious when talking to others, this list is a good reminder to check over my writing for […]
Archive for the 'Journalism' Category
Overused words get banished in 2008
Published by January 3rd, 2008 in Education, Journalism and Writing. 0 CommentsNewspaper circulations continue to fall, online readership is up
Published by April 30th, 2007 in Journalism, Mass Media and Web/Internet. 0 CommentsWeekday newspaper circulations have fallen 2.1 percent in the last six-month reporting period, and Sunday circulation fell 3.1 percent. Not surprisingly, more people are turning to reading online newspaper sites:
Online readership of newspaper sites continues to grow. The NAA pointed to recently released data from Nielsen//NetRatings showing a 5.3 percent increase in the number of […]
How can newspapers pull themselves from the grave?
Published by March 26th, 2007 in Journalism, New Media, Technology, Web 2.0, Web/Internet, Weblogs and Writing. 0 CommentsRobert Scoble says, “Newspapers are Dead” and that his son will never “subscribe to, nor read, a newspaper.” He’s probably right. Most people my age and younger get their news online or from news/entertainment shows like The Daily Show. I’ll admit to reading papers daily, but that’s because it’s a part of my job- Otherwise […]
Sony PR “blackballs” video game blog over leaked story
Published by March 1st, 2007 in Journalism, PR Practice, Technology, Web/Internet and Weblogs. 0 CommentsWhile public relations pros can influence what journalists report, and certainly serve as an information resource, they don’t dictate what reporters can and cannot write about. It’s usually inevitable that someone, somewhere, is going to write a story that’s perceived as “less than flattering” or even damaging to your organization or client, especially if that […]
“It’s not guerilla warfare, it’s guerilla marketing.”
Published by February 1st, 2007 in Journalism, Marketing Events, Mass Media and PR Disasters. 2 CommentsThe best part of the Aqua Teen Hunger Force “bomb” scare? All of the media outlets photoshopping out, blurring out or outright removing the Mooninite’s crude middle finger. Fortunately the Mooninite threat has been quelled, as arrests have been made.
These little LED objects were placed in ten cities around the United States. Why was Boston […]
Twenty media relations tips from twenty journalists
Published by January 9th, 2007 in Journalism, PR Practice and Public Relations. 0 CommentsI’ve said it before and I’ve said it again- I love it when journalists talk about what kinds of PR folks they enjoy working with. It’s like drinking at the source of the information river. That being said, the terrific Into PR blog pointed me in the direction of this post over at Valleywag, which […]
The Dreaded PR Pitch
Published by September 14th, 2005 in Journalism and Public Relations. 2 CommentsBlake Barbera of Wet Feet PR, one of my favorite PR blogs, has some great advice for young PR professionals on pitching stories to the media. I look at pitching from a salesman’s view- Know your product! The more you know about the particular story you’re pitching, the more confident you’ll be on the phone. […]
Newspapers Still (Rightfully) Dominate
Published by September 6th, 2005 in Journalism, Weblogs and Writing. 0 CommentsWith all this talk of blogs, wikis, podcasting and the "new media," sometimes it’s easy to forget that the overwhelming majority of people are still getting their info from time-tested "old media" sources, such as dead-tree newspapers. Tom Rouillard (via Tim Porter) has a fun post about a few of the things that make newspapers […]
Does the Press Release Format Need to be Altered?
Published by August 18th, 2005 in Journalism, Public Relations and Writing. 3 CommentsTodd Defren cuts right to the point in his post, "Press Releases Suck," in which he writes about the standard press release format and how boring and stagnant it is. In principle, I agree with him. I’ve written my fair share of "standard" press releases, to be sure, and have had mixed success in getting […]
Recognize the Reporter’s Angle
Published by July 25th, 2005 in Journalism and Public Relations. 1 CommentIn his terrific book, “Never Eat Alone,” Keith Ferrazzi
recounts an experience with a reporter where his comments were taken out of
context, painting him in a slightly less-than-positive light.
Ferrazzi’s experience reminded me a lot of a very similar experience
I had when I was new to working with the media. I had an entry-level
communications position at […]
