Public Relations Princess

Help a Reporter Out.com

There's this cool new service for reporters called "Help a Reporter Out." It's a simple concept. Reporters who are looking for source material for a story, or experts to comment on trends, can go to this Web site and type in their query. Several times a day, the Web site's owner, Peter Shankman, sends out queries to a database of thousands of PR professionals who can find the source material requested and contact the reporters.

I would love to see a reverse system start, kind of a story ideas repository that reporters could subscribe to and have queries that match their needs emailed to them.

Anyhow, I've answered a few of Shankman's queries and have had no luck so far, but he reports that many of my colleagues have, so that's encouraging.

Subscribe to the service, it's actually pretty cool.

NYT's David Pogue Singing the I-Phone Song

This morning at Ragan's Social Media conference, the New York Times technology editor was trying to give a presentation on his experiences doing his tech blog...I say "trying" because it took him and the Wynn hotel tech people 20 minutes to get his presentation up and running! It was laughable. Once he got going though, he really went!

He sang us this wonderful song about the Apple I-Phone, set to the tune of "My Way." Here it is!

Ragan did a marvelous job with this conference and I learned a ton, plus met some really cool peeps from all of over the country. I'll post more on that later.

Should CEO Blogs Be Ghostwritten?

The PR Princess was asked that very question by my friend Chris Kent at Ragan's Media Relations Report.

There is definite consensus among PR professionals that it is not ethical to literally sit down at a computer, pretending to be a CEO or CFO of an organization and talk about the inner workings of the cmpany as if you are that person.

However, there is much less agreement on the extent that a PR professional or agency should or could be involved. In a previous post I outlined some good general guidelines for non-CEO type blogs. A CEO blog is an entirely different story. I think the CEO should definitely be writing and responding to comments, but a good PR professional can help with the editorial calendar and research. What do you think?

CashTomato.com Mayhem in Manhattan

The video-sharing Web site Cashtomato.com staged a cash giveaway in Manhattan yesterday and was greeted with a nasty surprise! There are some really rude and greedy people in Manhattan!

This just goes to show you that security is an essential element of staging events. It may seem like a real waste of time and money, especially small awards dinners and the like. But you just never know when people will act crazy.

I wonder what my friend Peter Himler over at The Flack will have to say about this. Is Union Square Park a decent place to hold this type of giveaway?

Is It Just Me Or Is Big Brother Getting Really Sickening?

I have just happened to be unfortunate enough to catch the tail-end (pun intended) of a few episodes of Big Brother this season. It has officially fallen into a category which I jokingly call "Whore TV." Other shows that earn this dubious distinction are: anything with the words "Real World" in the title and The "Flavor of Love" and "I Love New York" series. These shows are basically set up the same as porn movies.

Here's the plot:

1. See beautiful people.
2. See beautiful people run around in skimpy clothes.
3. See beautiful people's tatts and body piercings.
4. See said beautiful people find one lame thing in common with each other. ("Oh, my dad's named John, too!)
5. See beautiful people get paired off and there just happens to be one bed for both of them to sleep in...
6. See beautiful people writhe under the covers.

Is CBS really so desperate to catch this demographic that it resorts to pairing up couples on Big Brother and forcing them to sleep in the same bed? Am I the only fuddy-duddy that finds this scenario disturbing? I'm not religious or even "spiritual" so it has nothing to do with that. It has to do with it pandering and simply being stupid. Sheesh.

Target Can't Afford a Blogger Relations Specialist? Gimme a Break.

This Target ad, offensive to women as it is on its own, has now sparked a blogger backlash because of Target's obtuse response to the blogosphere. Here is my friend's Peter Himler's take on the whole thing.

In a nutshell, a blogger from the site ShapingYouth inquired about the ad to the media relations team at Target and received this incomprehensible response:

"Unfortunately we are unable to respond to your inquiry because Target does not participate with nontraditional media outlets,” a public relations person wrote to ShapingYouth. “This practice,” the public relations person added, “is in place to allow us to focus on publications that reach our core guest,” as Target refers to its shoppers.

Actually, just the fact that they responded to the query at all clearly demonstrates that they have the wherewithall to deal with the inquiry. So, Target is trying to tell us that they don't have the manpower to deal with bloggers? Hiring a few blogger relations reps to deal with this disaster would be a good start.

Target CERTAINLY plays in the social media sphere. It has a group on Facebook. But Target has a much bigger problem than tragically misplaced bullseyes on its ads.

Target's problem? It has blown all the good PR its built up in the last 10 years in one fell swoop. Ouch!

The Huckabee PR Miracle: Eric Woolson

Back in 2005, when Mike Huckabee was hardly a household name, there was one true believer who focused on his task. I talked to Eric Woolson on the phone one day soon after he had decided to work with Huckabee's fledgling campaign.

"Mike WHO?" I remember asking, thinking that my phone had cut out a bit while Woolson uttered the unfamiliar name. "Mike Huckabee," he said again. Knowing that Eric and I couldn't be further apart in our views on politics, and knowing his past preference for religious, conservative candidates, I smiled to myself and half-heartedly wished him well. That'll never work...is what I was really thinking. His previous foray into Iowa politics with "Sponge Bob" Vanderplaats, a gubernatorial candidate in Iowa a few years back, was a miserable flop.

What I didn't expect, and what really happened this time, was that the combination of Eric Woolson, a top notch public relations professional and Mike Huckabee, a straight-talking guy with a great stump speech, would finish first in the republican Iowa Caucuses.

I still don't buy into any of Huckabee's positions on the issues, he is far too conservative and religious for my liking. His positions on abolishing the IRS and on immigration are not palatable. The fact that he used to catch and kill squirrels and cook them in a popcorn popper in his trailer frankly just grosses me out.

But if Huckabee chooses slick Washington D.C. political consultants over Eric Woolson, he will prove himself to be the yokel that he really is. Woolson is the most focused and talented PR pro I've ever seen. There's a great story in the Des Moines Register today about Woolson's rise to manage the biggest upset in Iowa Caucus history. It's worth a read. Also, check out Woolson's company Web site, The Concept Works.

Chris Anderson's PR Rant

Chris Anderson, the author of the critically acclaimed book, "The Long Tail," had a bit of a hissy fit on his blog last week. PR Princess has been very busy getting fitted for a new tiara, so mea culpa, I just noticed Chris' rant.

It seems that he is sick of getting spam from PR professionals. He's right on that account. Anyone who still sends news releases to hundreds of reporters at a time with no attempt to target the messages should be flogged with a wet noodle. Or, I could swat them a few times with my wand. Ouch, that could leave a mark.

However, as the editor of Wired, where he receives the offending messages, he also has a responsibility to provide a system by which legitimate PR pros can get a message to the magazine. If Wired wants to be "invite only" then take the generic email address down.

Here's a solution: Provide the email addresses and beat description for all of Wired's reporters. Let them block the spam themselves. If someone sends them an email that is not targeted, send them one polite warning. Next time, stick 'em on the spam block list.

This is not brain surgery. Wired obviously is sick of the spam, but it's not doing anything proactive to help its readers direct their queries and story ideas. Anderson's solution of posting the offending email addresses online is an unacceptable breach of privacy and something that they would rant about if someone else had done it. Shame on Wired.

I sent Chris Anderson a quick email today to introduce myself, and gave him a virtual hug. He seems like he needs a good stiff drink and a massage. I'll let you know if he gets back to me.

The Blogging Time Dilemna: Long and Juicy or Quick and Dirty

If you ask a group of bloggers: "What is better: A long and juicy blog post, full of orignal thought and links to other resources, or a quick and dirty post that only comments on another blog or news article?" You will get as many answers as there are bloggers.

I am a "long and juicy" blogger. I include a lot of original thought and commentary in my posts. But in the long run, my blog traffic numbers tend to suffer because I am not here posting every day.

My mentor and blog coach, Mike Sansone, author of the critically acclaimed and very popular blog Converstations, has his own formula for blogging success, one that I envy, sometimes follow, but mostly just admire. Just reading his archive on blogging strategy is akin to reading the bible on blogging.

The simple key to your personal blogging style depends on your goal for the blog. Do you want to be a super-star with 5,000 daily readers? Do you want a place to promote your business or give your current Web site a rise in Google searches? The answers will give you guidance on how many posts will get you to your readership goal.

I'll give you a glimpse of the types of posts that I recommend to my clients. Ideally, posts should vary from long and juicy, to quick and dirty, with several types in between. Problogger has an excellent post here that details 20 different types of posts and how to effectively mix 'em around in your blog.

Effective time management is essential to the success of a blog and the person writing it. While writing an actual post may take you no more than 20 minutes, you have to block out time for research, commenting on other blogs, linking, identifying your sources, and tagging posts.

My best advice is to be realistic and generous with your time estimate. Then block it out on your calendar like any other obligation. But don't forget to stay relevant to your audience, and for goodness sake, have a little fun now and then.

Media Training Series : The Training Process and How it Works

This is the fourth post in a series on Media Training. In the last post, we explored how to write a master narrative and three solid key messages.

You must have key messages already identified and finalized before the day of your actual media training. It helps to distribute the messages to your media training attendees before they arrive. Media training is no time to disagree with or rewrite the messages.

Ideally, media training should be done over the course of an entire day. With two seasoned trainers, the maximum number of trainees in the room is three. Any more than that, and the training loses effectiveness and goes off track easily.

After an overview of the agenda for the day, each attendee should record a baseline mock TV interview. The recording will be used by the trainer to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each participant, so the media training can be customized to help each individual focus on improvement. One trainer will operate the equipment and ask the interview questions, while the other trainer will take make observations on possible areas of improvement.

Ideally, the interviews each last about five minutes and occur in a private room. During the down time in the main room, participants should review their key messages with each other. Those who have already been interviewed should be instructed not to share interview questions when they return to the main training room.

After baseline interviews are completed, the trainers will work with the group on improving on-camera performance, taking into account the weaknesses they observed during the baseline interviews.

This same process takes place three times, using radio and print interviews as mediums. Then, each participant is allowed to tape a post-test interview. Dramatic improvements can usually be seen, and each person should be given a CD with pre-and-post training interviews.

The advantages of hiring a professional training team are:

• The trainer is an expert and draws on past experience to draw out the best possible performance of each participant.
• The trainer is a neutral observer of the strengths and weaknesses of each participant. When working with executives, this is a crucial aspect. Professional trainers can address the weaknesses of CEO types as an equal.
• The training itself is very focused on quick improvement. Practice with key messages should be done in a safe setting, not in real interviews.

Please be looking for the last post in the media training series. I'll discuss techniques and practice strategies which can help focus a media interaction to the advantage of the expert. That expert is YOU! I'll also discuss how much to expect to spend on a media training session.