Murphy's Law

In a good illustration of positive “Blog Relations” (BR – remember you saw if here first folks!) MediaMap has clarified some elements of it’s plans to include bloggers in its media directory.

Following some constructive criticism from Micheal O’Connor Clarke regarding the fact that not all influential bloggers are card carrying journalists (and therefore wouldn’t be included), Jeff Mooney of MediaMap was in touch with Michael to let him know that this is the first step, the next step will be to add bloggers in specific industry segements. (Read more here.) While bloggers aren’t journalists (period), they are a new constituent audience that we PR pros needs to understand and service, so more kudos to MediaMap!

Well it looks like Martha Stewart may well get her day in court.

The media have begun investigating the implications for “Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia” and its reliance on it’s only image – Martha.  Forbes looks at the struggle facing the brand.

Meanwhile, her advisors are turning up the heat with an advertisement in yesterday’s USA Today proclaiming her innocence and her new website “Martha Talks” which includes a statement from her attorney.

Now stop me when you think I’m stating the obvious, but given Martha Stewart’s profile and given the importance of that profile to her organization, don’t you think good PR counsel would be advisable? It seems she’s relying on her attorneys.

“I think Martha’s biggest mistake is that she’s taken all of her advice from her lawyers and not from public relations consultants,” said Tom Bradley, vice president and director of public relations for Mintz & Hoke, an Avon ad and public relations firm. “She hasn’t really said anything at all, and the public takes that as an admission of guilt. Sometimes the worst thing you can say in a situation like this is, `No comment.’ She really should’ve been more forthcoming immediately. I’m not sure what she could’ve said, but nothing at all is not usually a good choice.”

I hope the day never comes when my client or employer asks me to defend them in open court. “Your honor, I’d like to point you to the press release marked exhibit A”.

Now I admit I don’t know for definite that she has or has not retained PR advice, but she should. As you all know the first step in a crisis (after gathering all the facts your can) is to get the bad news out and don’t let the public think you’re hiding. Well guess what, Martha HAS been hiding.

Interestingly none of the two hundred papers carrying her syndicated column have cancelled it since news of the indictment broke – though two newspapers did pull out after the news first emerged.

Kevin Dugan is back blogging and has been tracking it for some time.

RELATED LINKS: |Slate|MSNBC|The Globe and Mail|New York Times|Daily Telegraph|

Jayson Blair’s legacy continues to haunt the New York Times with the news that the executive editor, Howell Raines and the managing editor Gerald Boyd have resigned from the paper. I’ve included some additional links below, though there don’t seem to be any profiles of Mr. Boyd.

• Philadelphia Inquirer: Scandal brings down Times editors
• Poynter.org: A tribute to Mr. Raines
• Fox News: Mr. Raines’ last staff address
• Slate: Defending Howell Raines
• Detroit Free Press: Journalism Stain

Following on from the earlier story on the FCC deregulating media ownership, Karlin Lillington has linked to a story in the New York Times that a Senate committee has indicated that it will overturn some of the media ownership rules adopted by the FCC.

 “While Monday’s decision promising further media deregulation may well be celebrated in a few New York and Hollywood boardrooms, it will be remembered as a dark day in thousands of American communities who look to the F.C.C. to ensure that the use of the public airwaves serves the interests of all Americans, not the economic self-interest of a chosen few,” said Senator Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina, the ranking Democrat on the committee

The latest issue of Press Access’ The Scoop newsletter has an article looking at the essential traits of an effective PR practitioner.

As with all these types of tests it is a mixture of the obvious with a some characteristics you won’t agree with.

Have a go with their quiz….

Deborah Branscum is taking an interesting look at the FCC’s moves to relax restrictions on media ownership.

In her post, Deborah references a new book by Ted Nace entitled “Gangs of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy” which examines how corporations rose to the top of the ladder at the expense of the individual. It’s out in September, but you can download it free from the website today.

• Marcie Sayiner of InContext* has an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail on the intersection of PR and marketing.
  
• The UK Observer has an article on how bloggers can play a role in the news process. 
  
• MediaPost looks at the online dynamic between targeting the individual versus targeting a segmented group. It’s primarily about online advertising but has some interesting thoughts that are relevant to PR.  
  
• From the archives… NUblog (R.I.P.) examines how PR and weblogs intersect. It’s a year old but worth the read.

*Unfortunately we had to add InContext to the Flash Hall of Fame

Last month I met Paddy Harverson, who was formerly the sport corresepondent with the Financial Times and is now the PR director at the UK soccer club Manchester United.  Talking with Paddy and hearing him give a lecture on his day-to-day role I was struck by how much he absolutely loves his job.  After all he’s a big fan of Manchester United!

Earlier today I came across a profile of another PR person who clearly adores their job. Lisa Ayala Hettler is the PR director at the Gladys Porter Zoo in Texas. She’s profiled in the Valley Morning Star.

“I�ve always loved the zoo. It�s a really unique and exciting job,” she said. “There is no other place like it in the Valley.”

What’s your ideal PR role? What aren’t you doing it? 

If you are running your own small agency, or contemplating going out on your own, it’s always useful to be able to bounce ideas off like-minded individuals and share war stories.

If that’s you, then there’s a brand new e-mail list just for you.  SmallShop2 is a mailing list of PR pros who share information and advice for anyone running or working in a small agency or one-person band.

It runs off Yahoo Groups.

In an interesting ruling, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan noted “that the attorney-client privilege usually extends to consultants” and in this case to a Public Relations consultant in front of a grand jury.