United Airlines, stop. Just stop. You’re only making the indefensible worse. United Airlines once again takes over the headlines as the world’s most hated/least trusted corporation for the second time in a week. And they did that in spectacular fashion straight out of Hollywood, with company goons dragging the bloodied, hapless victim…er, passenger, down the …
Tag: professional image
May 26
Don’t Talk Yourself Out of a PR Career
I recently read a blog post from someone I know who’s hunting for a job. It was posted on Facebook and, I’m assuming, other social media sites as well, which is bad, because in it he makes a strong case against ever being hired in the PR profession. I’ve observed this person, and even made …
Jun 22
PR has a PR Problem…and it’s Journalists, Pt. I
Late last night, as I sat grading final projects from my PR writing students, I had one of the all-news TV stations droning on in the background for the noise to keep me going, I heard it. The “P” word. Actually, he said the “P words – plural. PR Problem. As in, “that company has …
Jul 16
Survival Tips for the Solo PR Practitioner
Being fortunate enough to be a speaker at the PRSA Midwest District Conference in Chicago on July 19-20, I spent some time pulling together some survival tips for PR freelancers, based on my experiences with my partners in launching Quicksilver Edge Strategic Communications:
Jan 01
PR New Year’s Resolutions – Sunday Coffee Contemplations
Happy New Year! It’s time for the obligatory New Year’s resolutions, which as one cartoon I spotted briefly last night and now can’t find, explained as a set of guidelines for the first week of January. I’m starting 2012 with a little more willpower than that, I hope. So to play my part in this …
Dec 25
Six PR Skills in Short Supply – Sunday Christmas Coffee Contemplations
The end of the year is customarily a time for reflection on the past and prognostications for the future. This past week, PR maven (such an inadequate and overused word for someone who’s so much more) Gini Dietrich posted a list of six skills that every PR pro needs in this digital world on her …
Nov 13
My Brother’s Keeper: When a Colleague Crosses the Line – Sunday Coffee Contemplations
What responsibility do you as an ethical public relations professional have when a colleague crosses the boundary and engages in unethical behavior? And no, I’m not referring to the child sex abuse situation at Penn State, but another ethical situation that slipped in under the radar this weekend: The case of Mike Winder, the director …
May 05
PR People Don’t Just Lie, We’re Unethical Propagandists As Well
Public relations is nothing more than propaganda, or so a different discussion posited At first I couldn’t believe this was a serious discussion, and responded with: Oh, here we go again! Discussing the difference between propaganda and PR is like discussing the difference between a doctor and a stethoscope. Propaganda, publicity, media relations, speechwriting, public relations strategy …
Apr 27
PR People are Unethical, Manipulative Liars
PR people are unethical, manipulative liars – or so a couple of LinkedIn discussion threads I’ve been following the past few weeks would have you believe. The first thread, in the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA National) group, featured a professor who was asked by a student “Do you think PR people are ‘supposed’ …
Apr 24
Power of the Pen…or the Blogger – Sunday Coffee Contemplations
To blog or not to blog? A friend of mine posted a question on Facebook about whether she should start a blog as a complement to her solo professional consulting business. Most of her friends chimed in that of course she should, although one added the caveat that she should avoid calling herself a journalist …
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