Canuckflack

1. Breaking News: another leaked federal communications plan

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   October 30, 2004 by Colin

   The WPost had some fun this week with a communications plan drafted by a Bush appointee to the Customs and Border Protection Bureau.

   In the plan, Kristi Clemens, assistant commissioner in the Bureaus’s public affairs division, exhorted public affairs staff to:

   “Reassure the citizens of the United States … Repeat the message. . . . Repeat until we are completely exhausted by it.”

   But Ms. Clemens was backpedalling at about 60 mph once higher-ups in the Homeland Security organization found out about her work:

   “I developed a draft communications plan intended to spur debate on how we could effectively communicate some of our recent border security improvements and more efficiently structure CBP public affairs’ activities which are spread out across the country,” Clemens said in a statement. “The draft plan was an internal CBP product that was never shared outside of my staff nor executed.”

   Public affairs staffers in governments around the world can feel the warmth in the pleasant, but backhanded, compliment for Clemens’ work from her Deputy Secretary, James Loy, who described the plan as a:

   “piece likely produced by well-meaning, enterprising public affairs folks.”

   Ouch. Am I the only one visualizing Gomer Pyle or Corporal Klinger?

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2. CanLit BitchSlap

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   October 29, 2004 by Colin

   Take one upstart but successful Canadian literary magazine – the Walrus. Add a disgruntled former editor from another Canadian literary magazine – Robert Fulford of Saturday Night, now of Toronto Life. Throw in the accomplished son of a Canadian literary icon as commentator – Noah Richler.

   What do you get?

   “The Walrus,” [Fulford] writes, “has a serious problem and its name is Ken Alexander,” who � wait for it � “holds his job only because he brings with him his old family money.”

   As a result of [Walrus founder] Alexander’s efforts, the Walrus offers far more interesting, far more necessary stuff than the perpetually tired pages of Saturday Night.

   But what do you really think, Noah?

   Alexander … committed a major Canadian faux pas when he behaved like someone who believed he could do better than the small pool of apparently proven trade staff from which Canadian custom says he should hire � “proven,” in this instance, merely meaning that the departed worked on various incarnations of magazines that have consistently, um, failed.

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3. Blogging for Pharma

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   October 29, 2004 by Colin

   Should pharmaceutical companies blog? Pharmaceutical Executive magazine took a quick look at the idea this month.

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4. Sorry about that …

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   October 29, 2004 by Colin

   We were down for about 36 hours. Lesson learned? Never let your webguy go on vacation.

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5. Liquoring up those Dangerous Housewives

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   October 26, 2004 by Colin

   Kahlua, by taking a risk buying ad time during ABC’s unproven Dangerous Housewives, seems to have gotten in on the ground floor of a growing marketing phenomenon.

   Apparently, marketers are now questioning their demographic stereotypes about suburban moms, fevered in the realization that the suburbs may in fact be seeded with heavy drinking, fast living and loosely clothed mamas.

   “It’s the natural evolution of Generation X,” says marketing expert Ann Fishman, president of Generational Targeted Marketing. “They are able to go from Sex and the City to married in the suburbs very easily. . . . The biggest mistake (marketers) could make is to think that today’s suburban housewife is a younger version of yesterday’s suburban housewife.” (USA Today)

   The apparent difference? Today’s suburban housewife is far more willing to throw the mad money down for an expensive fleece vest, store label wood-fired goat cheese pizza, a pair of Manolo Blahniks, or socially ambitious liqueurs. It’s not all about the easy convenience of the Swiffer, Oreck 2000 or the UPS guy.

   To me, it was obvious that Generation X was slowing down and moving to the ‘burbs when the Bob and Jack radio formats became popular. When David Byrne, the English Beat and Joe Jackson start showing up during drive time, you know Generation X is spending more time in the van.

   Actually, I think you’d find that yesteryear’s suburban mom was equally conniving, duplicitous and lusty: key parties are just one uncomfortable reminder of how your parents used to spend their Saturday night.

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6. RIP John Peel

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   October 26, 2004 by Colin

   A tremendous broadcaster and champion of fringe andalternative music, John Peel passed away of a heart attack while on a “working vacation” in Peru.

   His BBC1 shows and “Peel Sessions” featured bands as diverse as U2, Nirvana, The Velvet Underground, Roxy Music, Rod Stewart, Pink Floyd, The Sex Pistols and T-Rex.

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7. Google’s New-Style Investor Relations

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   October 22, 2004 by Colin

   Paul Kedrosky has an amusing (and revealing) exchange from last night’s Google earnings call.

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8. Community, Alternative and Ethnic Radio: an unused channel

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   October 22, 2004 by Colin

   This week, PRWeek UK discusses the opportunities lurking in the tightly focused audiences served by community radio.

   Community radio stations, in the UK context, “have to meet extremely strict criteria, the core of which is that they exist for social gain, to serve a specific community, whether defined by geography, ethnicity, gender or age.” In North America, you might approach universities, low power alternative stations, ethnic stations or pirate radio outfits.

   But remember – you can’t make a blind pitch to these outlets. They are run by dedicated local staff who know their audiences intimately. They may not be pr-saavy, but they do know how to reach your target audience. Some thoughts:

   • a story is important, because their work is”about communities making radio, not radio broadcasting to communities”
   • while the radio station may not reach millions, it may speak to the thousands in your target audience
   • you have to listen – to be familiar with the station’s tone and style – to tailor your pitch appropriately
   • most of these stations aren’t commercial, so you’re more likely to place public information, health, safety and event-related stories

   The kicker? As nation-wide chains move to standard music-only formats, there will be less outlets to pitch and fewer opportunities to place stories. Community, not-for-profit and alternative radio stations actually still schedule public affairs programming – and not at 5am in the morning.

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9. Scientists are sentitive people!

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   October 21, 2004 by Colin

   While some scientists may be lacking people skills, a stained labcoat and corrective lenses should not prompt PR folk to discount their work and strongly-held positions when developing a pitch and communications materials.

   Some scientists working for one US government agency have begun to speak out about what they see as unwarranted revisions and spin by senior officials and public affairs staffers:

   “Political appointees have regularly revised news releases on climate from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, altering headlines and opening paragraphs to play down the continuing global warming trend.

   The changes are often subtle, but they consistently shift the meaning of statements away from a sense that things are growing warmer in unusual ways.

   The pattern has appeared in reports from other agencies as well.

   Several sets of drafts and final press releases from NOAA on temperature trends were provided to The Times by government employees who said they were dismayed by the practice.

   On Aug. 14, 2003, a news release summarizing July temperature patterns began as a draft with this headline: “NOAA reports record and near-record July heat in the West, cooler than average in the East, global temperature much warmer than average.”

   When it emerged from NOAA headquarters, it read: “NOAA reports cooler, wetter than average in the East, hot in the West.” (NYT)

   Now, in this case dedicated scientists believe their findings are being undersold and misidentified. Usually, they find the media is too eager to zoom in on the sensational aspects of otherwise serious public interest science – like the study If You Drop It, Should You Eat It? Scientists Weigh In on the 5-Second Rule or An Analysis of the Forces Required to Drag Sheep over Various Surfaces.

   Some scientists, however, see popular reknown as key to communicating their findings and their personal agendas. Think David Suzuki or Stephen Hawking – people who developed a personal brand while pursuing scientific goals. For others, popularity is a product of their academic strengths – their professional research and publication output is directly reflected in their Googlerank.

   As for those communicators and scientists who need help translating esoteric concepts into popular analogies? Earlier this year, the Pfizer Journal (sure, a bit of self-interest for the firm there, but still interesting) ran an entire issue examining The Story of Science: Health Care and the Media

   Up here in Canada, the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council has prepared a very useful primer: Communicating Science to the Public: A Handbook for Researchers

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10. Times, WWD and photographers

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    October 19, 2004 by Colin

    A little bit of to-and-fro’ing this morning between WWD and the Times. The Grey Lady seizes a chance to take a swipe at comments made last week by a WWD correspondent about the latest YSL collection.

    Why point this out to you, the reader?

    • The original WWD quote nails a visual in 16 words.
    • In typically NY style, the Times has taken pains to point out that WWD had their geography wrong – by 20 street numbers.
    • There’s actually a reference to the photographer – a normally unacknowledged partner in these reports.
    • It’s a beautiful gotcha.

    Last week, Women’s Wear Daily, reviewing the Yves Saint Laurent collection, said that the designer Stefano Pilati became “woefully lost at a crossroads between the Saint Laurent archive and mid-80′s 530 Seventh Avenue.” The newspaper was correct about Mr. Pilati’s debut show, but a little off with the address. Those ungainly looks surfaced in the late 60′s, left, at 550 Seventh Avenue, in the showroom of Norman Norell. Bill Cunningham, the photographer for The New York Times, said he had that d�j� vu feeling when he saw Mr. Pilati’s awkward proportions. He should know. He photographed them at Norell.

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11. Stewart: Talk Show Smackdown

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    October 18, 2004 by Colin

    Jon Stewart made an appearance on CNN’s Crossfire on Friday. Paul Begala and Tucker Carlson probably thought Stewart was there to pump his new book.

    Admirably, Stewart took the occasion to take some lumps for his outspoken stance on the poor quality of political reporting in the United States today. I don’t think Begala and Carlson were expecting his left hooks, though. (Transcript)

    STEWART: I thought Al Sharpton was very impressive …

    STEWART: I enjoyed his way of speaking.

    I think, oftentimes, the person that knows they can’t win is allowed to speak the most freely, because, otherwise, shows with titles, such as CROSSFIRE.

    BEGALA: CROSSFIRE.

    STEWART: Or “HARDBALL” or “I’m Going to Kick Your Ass” or…

    (LAUGHTER)

    STEWART: Will jump on it. In many ways, it’s funny. And I made a special effort to come on the show today, because I have privately, amongst my friends and also in occasional newspapers and television shows, mentioned this show as being bad.

    (LAUGHTER)

    BEGALA: We have noticed.

    STEWART: And I wanted to — I felt that that wasn’t fair and I should come here and tell you that I don’t — it’s not so much that it’s bad, as it’s hurting America.

    Oh, there’s more, much more, in the transcript.

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12. What swing voters think of blogs

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    October 15, 2004 by Colin

    Michael Monroe may be the youngest congressional candidate in the U.S., and the Washington Monthly drops a good chunk of text speaking to him. What’s interesting, however, is the accompanying graphic (that doesn’t get reproduced online) on “The Zoology of Swing Voters.”

    The two page table breaks down the demos targeted by every politico this year and identifies them by characteristics. Here are two:

    Lies to Pollsters About:

    Sex & The City voters: their age.
    Office Park Dads: their income.
    Security Moms: whether they voted the last time.
    NASCAR Dads: “I’m really busy now.”
    The Stern Gang: not living with their parents.
    Freestyle Evangelicals: church attendance.

    Thinks Blogs Are:

    Sex & The City voters: pink.
    Office Park Dads: something in the supply closet.
    Security Moms: threatening.
    NASCAR Dads: French.
    The Stern Gang: gay.
    Freestyle Evangelicals: God’s children, too.

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13. A bobblehead primer

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    October 15, 2004 by Colin

    Rod Taylor writes in Promo about the recent history of the bobblehead doll. Apparently, they really help put bums in seats and move consumer goods.

    Here’s a little NBA feature on the dolls as well.

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14. David Akin, Reporter: Hey Lawyers! It’s all about trust and establishing relationships

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    October 14, 2004 by Colin

    David Akin, who reports for the CTV network and writes for the Globe and Mail, is speaking to a conference of IP lawyers in Banff today (an earlier version of this post said Calgary. Banff is much nicer). His notes, available online, naturally speak to the complications reporters face when covering legal issues and court cases.

    He also emphasizes – quite strongly – that lawyers should build longstanding and professional relationships with the select group of reporters covering their specialty areas or high profile clients.

    … just as with any relationship, trust is at the heart of a good
    source-reporter relationship. Those of you who deal with reporters regularly already know this. You need to trust that, if we put you into a story, we won�t, first of all, misrepresent your views or, worse, get them wrong. You need to trust us that we won�t make you look silly. This is particularly important, of course, in TV news, where we�re going to see what you look like in addition to
    hearing what you have to say. On our side of the ledger, we need to trust our sources to be credible, to know that they won�t make us look silly.

    Another interesting snippet, that should be printed on a card and handed to every boring VP of Engineering who insists on being the only spokesperson:

    …sources to us are particularly valuable if they are interesting. We don�t necessarily need our sources to be amongst the top of their game in their field. Particularly for television news but often just as much in print, we�d rather have sources who are also good at telling interesting stories than a dull, plodding pedant who may the top-ranked professional in the business.

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15. How to get a Letter to the Editor published

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    October 13, 2004 by Colin

    Almost every year, students in an international-relations class at Duke University�s summer program for gifted students are given an assignment by their instructor, Mark Duckenfield: writing letters to the editor of the New York Times.

    These students had no success, until this year. 29 students in the 2004 summer program succeeded in placing 17 letters in the esteemed paper in one month.

    As the students themselves told the New Yorker, the secret is in your written voice:

    Katie, a sixteen-year-old from Lexington, Kentucky, has advice for anyone hoping to get a letter published in the Times:�In such a small space, your letter has to convey a lot of passion. You really have to care about what you�re saying.� �They get a lot of letters that are really formal,� Riaz, sixteen, of Alpharetta, Georgia, says. �When they hear letters that are frank and in a common voice, they like that.�

    �But you have to sound intelligent,� Chris, sixteen, from Lansing, Kansas, notes. �You can�t write it on a third-grade level, because the New York Times isn�t a third-grade-level paper. It�s for a more sophisticated kind of person�at least, that�s what I believe.�

    Also mentioned in Romenesko.

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