I have to be brutally honest here: I am so sick of dirty politicians that I could almost scream. It seems that for the last two years all we have seen or heard about is the seedy side of politics. We have run the gamut from soliciting bathroom sex to selling Senate seats to accepting money from questionable sources.
The most noteworthy of these dirty politicians has been Rod Blagojevich, the impeached governor of Illinois. He came under fire in December 2008 for trying to put a price on the U.S. Senate seat vacated by President-elect Barack Obama. He was also charged with conspiring to sell his own office several different times.
In January 2009 Blagojevich was impeached by a 114-1 vote, making this the first time such action has been taken against the governor of Illinois. His impeachment trial will begin on January 26, and is already slated to be aired on several major stations.
Over the last two months, even though no one can pronounce it, the name Blagojevich is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. How could it not be when it is everywhere you look? Blagojevich is on a self-proclaimed media blitz that includes interviews on The View, The Today Show, Larry King Live, and Good Morning America.
Through it all, Blagojevich has proclaimed his innocence. He has stated several times that “private conversations” he had were taken out of context. “You figure your home is a sanctified place and you’re allowed to have private conversations,” he is quoted as saying recently.
If you Live Search the phrase “Blagojevich media blitz” you will come up with 79,700 results. Surprisingly the first few pages that I looked through were all relevant to my topic and were all from fairly credible sources.
I bring this up because it is a testament to Blagojevich’s PR team. Even though things are looking pretty bad for their employer, they are still kicking butt and getting their side of the story out there. They are keeping his name in the forefront of everyone’s mind, and as a result, having to deal with the occasional accusation about their motives.
The Blagojevich case is a great eye opener for everyone in the PR field as well as for those that are thinking of or working toward a career in this field. Always research the company or person you will be working for and learn what you can about the reputation the company or the individual has before accepting a job offer. Declining a good paying job because the employer has morals that do not match your own is much better than neglecting your morals to keep that good paying job.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Public Relations Meets the President
On no other day is public relations so closely linked to the presidential circle than on Inauguration Day. The Inauguration of President Barack Obama on January 20, 2009, was no exception. Come to think of it, the five days prior to January 20 were not an exception either.
I find it somewhat amusing that this country is going through a recessional period, but we still have millions of dollars to welcome our new President into office. I ask you, what would have been wrong with just swearing Obama in on the National Mall and throwing one inaugural ball in his honor? Was it really necessary to hold 20 press conferences and 11 balls for the guy?
If you are a public relations specialist for the presidential team, you bet it is necessary! Inauguration Day is your bread and butter; it is what you’ve lived for since hitting the campaign trail with Obama almost a year ago.
All the speculation about what Michelle Obama would be wearing; all the insider information on what moving day in the White House looks like; the well planted “leaks” about the note that incumbent George W. Bush left for Obama in his desk; they are all carefully orchestrated to catch readers’ attention.
If you were to Live Search “Inauguration Day 2009,” thousands of links come up. The majority of those have to do with events that were coordinated throughout the day. There was the church service this morning, the actual swearing in at the National Mall, coffee with the Bush family, the limo ride, and appearances at several inaugural balls; all of which was hyped to the fullest.
The number of articles already written about this day, the hundreds that are still to come, and all the links popping up left and right are the proof that Obama’s PR team is a keeper. Without their organization, flair, know-how, and downright doggedness, this day would not be so well publicized.
Good journalism comes from good internal PR, no matter what topic is being discussed. It is our job as PR specialists to make the right things important. By that, I mean that if we place more importance on the attire of the President and First Lady than on what his inaugural address addressed, we have not done our job properly. Once the public’s attentions shift, it is difficult to get them back on track.
The PR team for Inauguration 2009 gets two thumbs up in my book. They helped to orchestrate one of the biggest days in the history of this country, and besides Senator Kennedy suffering a seizure at lunch, it went off without a hitch.
I find it somewhat amusing that this country is going through a recessional period, but we still have millions of dollars to welcome our new President into office. I ask you, what would have been wrong with just swearing Obama in on the National Mall and throwing one inaugural ball in his honor? Was it really necessary to hold 20 press conferences and 11 balls for the guy?
If you are a public relations specialist for the presidential team, you bet it is necessary! Inauguration Day is your bread and butter; it is what you’ve lived for since hitting the campaign trail with Obama almost a year ago.
All the speculation about what Michelle Obama would be wearing; all the insider information on what moving day in the White House looks like; the well planted “leaks” about the note that incumbent George W. Bush left for Obama in his desk; they are all carefully orchestrated to catch readers’ attention.
If you were to Live Search “Inauguration Day 2009,” thousands of links come up. The majority of those have to do with events that were coordinated throughout the day. There was the church service this morning, the actual swearing in at the National Mall, coffee with the Bush family, the limo ride, and appearances at several inaugural balls; all of which was hyped to the fullest.
The number of articles already written about this day, the hundreds that are still to come, and all the links popping up left and right are the proof that Obama’s PR team is a keeper. Without their organization, flair, know-how, and downright doggedness, this day would not be so well publicized.
Good journalism comes from good internal PR, no matter what topic is being discussed. It is our job as PR specialists to make the right things important. By that, I mean that if we place more importance on the attire of the President and First Lady than on what his inaugural address addressed, we have not done our job properly. Once the public’s attentions shift, it is difficult to get them back on track.
The PR team for Inauguration 2009 gets two thumbs up in my book. They helped to orchestrate one of the biggest days in the history of this country, and besides Senator Kennedy suffering a seizure at lunch, it went off without a hitch.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Golden Opportunities for PR Specialists
If I asked for a show of hands on how many people watch the Golden Globes religiously every year, I would guess more hands would be up than down. Why? The Golden Globes, and other similar award shows, are the most publicized events of the year.
No matter where you live or what you do in your spare time, you have heard of the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and/or the Grammys. Entertainment News reported that last year, over 20 million viewers flipped their channels to watch at least part of the award show. Another 1/2 million viewers watched the announcement of the winning names on E! the following day.
This astonishing number begs the question "Why do so many people watch these events?" The answer is remarkably simple: the public relations that surround these gala award shows are huge. It takes a team of hundreds all year to plan, coordinate, book, publicize, and pull off these huge shows.
Working in the PR department of any of these events entails quite a bit of differentiated work, I’m sure. PR reps for these huge events must work day and night up until the big event, just to verify that everything goes off without a hitch.
There would be the planning side of things, where the PR rep must act as an event planner. A venue must be selected and all details ironed out with that venue. A menu is selected, seating charts written out, and security hired, to name a few of those details.
The press side of things is where the meat of the job always occurs. Every time a new category’s nominees are confirmed, press releases must go out. Each time a presenter is secured, a brief has to be written. Good working relations must be maintained with all the major television networks, radio stations, and newspapers that cover the event.
All of that hard, continuous work leads up to the success of some of the "biggest nights on television" each year. Although working for big gala events like the Grammys is every publicist's daydream, there are thousands of other opportunities for PR specialists in our world today. There are over 200,000 PR specialists working in the market right now.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18%, much faster than the average. The BLS website also states that the need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should spur demand in all types and sizes of organizations.
This is good news for people that are just getting started on their career. If they keep dreaming about doing the PR for a major event like the Emmys, the Grammys, or even the Golden Globes, they have a great shot at succeeding.
No matter where you live or what you do in your spare time, you have heard of the Golden Globes, the Emmys, and/or the Grammys. Entertainment News reported that last year, over 20 million viewers flipped their channels to watch at least part of the award show. Another 1/2 million viewers watched the announcement of the winning names on E! the following day.
This astonishing number begs the question "Why do so many people watch these events?" The answer is remarkably simple: the public relations that surround these gala award shows are huge. It takes a team of hundreds all year to plan, coordinate, book, publicize, and pull off these huge shows.
Working in the PR department of any of these events entails quite a bit of differentiated work, I’m sure. PR reps for these huge events must work day and night up until the big event, just to verify that everything goes off without a hitch.
There would be the planning side of things, where the PR rep must act as an event planner. A venue must be selected and all details ironed out with that venue. A menu is selected, seating charts written out, and security hired, to name a few of those details.
The press side of things is where the meat of the job always occurs. Every time a new category’s nominees are confirmed, press releases must go out. Each time a presenter is secured, a brief has to be written. Good working relations must be maintained with all the major television networks, radio stations, and newspapers that cover the event.
All of that hard, continuous work leads up to the success of some of the "biggest nights on television" each year. Although working for big gala events like the Grammys is every publicist's daydream, there are thousands of other opportunities for PR specialists in our world today. There are over 200,000 PR specialists working in the market right now.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the field of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18%, much faster than the average. The BLS website also states that the need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should spur demand in all types and sizes of organizations.
This is good news for people that are just getting started on their career. If they keep dreaming about doing the PR for a major event like the Emmys, the Grammys, or even the Golden Globes, they have a great shot at succeeding.
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