Why DAN would RATHER the money from CBS Thursday, September 20, 2007

Filed under: CBS, Dan Rather, News, Television, celebrity, entertainment, gossip, media, public relations, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

                  

A $70 million lawsuit filed by Dan Rather alleges CBS and its former parent company intentionally botched the aftermath of a discredited story about President Bush’s military service to curry favor with the administration. 

The lawsuit claims Rather was made a “scapegoat” to placate the Bush administration after questions arose about the story, which concerned President Bush’s military service during the Vietnam War.

The 75-year-old Rather, whose final months at CBS were clouded by controversy over the story, said the defendants’ actions damaged his reputation and cost him significantly. He was removed from his “CBS Evening News” post in March 2005.

In his lawsuit, Rather maintains the story was true but says if any aspect of the broadcast was not accurate, he was not responsible for the errors. By forcing Rather to apologize publicly, “CBS intentionally caused the public and the media to attribute CBS’ alleged bungling of the episode to Mr. Rather,” the lawsuit claimed.

Prescription: This is called a “spank, switch & ditch”. It happens when two parties like Dan Rather and CBS have a long standing relationship and then some drama arises. CBS basically asked Dan Rather to take the “spanking” from the media by apologizing in regards to the careless newscast. Dan, believing in his own credibility and the power of CBS that this would eventually go away, agreed. But, when the kitchen got HOT, CBS wanted out, switched their position on the whole thing and ditched Rather. Now, when people think of the controversy they will think of Dan Rather more so than the brand of CBS. Smart on CBS’s part right? Only hope for Dan Rather at this point is handing out the free newspaper at the train station.Note: There is always a bottom up after a spanking and it sure can hurt!

Read the story here:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TV_RATHER_LAWSUIT?SITE=MTBIL&SECTION=ENTERTAINMENT&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

 

The NEW Britney Spears photo you want to see Sunday, August 26, 2007

Filed under: Music, News, celebrity, entertainment, gossip, media, public relations, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

 Britney is pulled over by L.A. Highway patrol for speeding- August 24  

If the headline to this blog and the photo above look and feel like a set up you are wrong, it’s called Buzzzzz.

Looks more like we are being set up for Britney’s big comeback song about her “baby boy” deserting her.

The track - which has been leaked on the internet - features the 25-year-old divorced mother-of-two singing a ballad over a slow beat to the sound of toy chimes.  A source said, “This is obviously just a demo and not a finished or official release in any way. It is a shame someone would leak unfinished, unmastered and incomplete work.”

We’ll just have to see if Britney can do it one more time.

http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/0824spears-CR.html

http://omg.yahoo.com/week-in-photos:-august-19-26/photos/531#comments

Photo Credit: HotShots World Wide/Splash News

 

Battle of the Black Blogs: Mediatakeout.com vs. Bossip.com Saturday, August 25, 2007

Filed under: News, african american, bossip.com, celebrity, entertainment, gossip, media, mediatakeout.com, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

        

According to Wikipedia, a PUBLICITY STUNT is a planned event designed to attract the public’s attention to the promoters or their causes. PR stunts are great ways to drive sales, increase viewers or… attract advertisers.

In today’s webisode of I Love My Publicist we look at what seems to be a fairly new online magazine called Expozure.com that posted an “exclusive in-depth interview” with Fred (no last name given in the story), founder and creator of Mediatakeout.com.

In the article, Fred gives up some big numbers about his site and really expo(z)es how he feels about his competitor Bossip.com.

“They aint got nothing on us. They cant mess with us! Man we have 80 million page views in a month. When you start talking 80 million page views, that’s not black blog numbers, that’s New York times, USA Today, that’s not black blogs numbers. Not even the white blogs can mess with us.”

The interview with Fred gives insight as to how MediaTakeOut.com gets it’s exclusive content and closes with some very interesting reader comments. The comments are angry and suggest that the person conducting the interview isn’t even a journalist and that the story is riddled with typehoes. I mean typos. It also suggests that MediaTakeOut.com lies about their juicy scoops setting up Bossip.com for an inevitable rebuttal.

Now USUALLY, when publicists allow their clients to be interviewed “exclusively” they pick the media outlet with the highest circulation and biggest demographic that suits their client. According to the comments, Expozure.com doesn’t seem to have been around too long.

Is this all just gossip or an attempt to take somebody out?

http://exposzure.com/e_interview_MediaTakeout.php

 

The Remake of Keyshia Cole Into Mary J. Blige Friday, August 24, 2007

Filed under: Keyshia Cole, Marketing, Mary J Blige, Music, News, R & B, african american, celebrity, entertainment, hip hop, media, mediatakeout.com, public relations, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

Keyshia Cole is just like you 

The seeds were planted early. When we first heard Keyshia Cole’s raspy yet distinguished voice it reminded everyone of only one person we had heard before- Mary J. Blige. Keyshia had that same swagger and toughness and that “thing” that made her a little rough around the edges but very likeable. Just like when we first met Mary back in the 90’s. Then we saw Keyshia team up with Diddy. Just like Mary. And sometime early last year the comparisons were just too many to overlook which brings us to the current marketing campaign for Keyshia Cole’s new album.

Both ladies are on the same record label so the hype can be controlled and managed internally. Nice set up right? Smart.

At first, the tag line doesn’t really make sense. Just like you? Is she trying to connect with her fans in a more personal way, trying to drive home the message, you and I are one?

Or, is there an underlying message to fuel new rumors, spark excitement for sales and set the stage for the entrance of a new diva into the world of R & B?

Do you think the record label is setting up a controversy to drive sales?

Read about the new cover and news here:

http://www.mediatakeout.com/

http://www.vibe.com/blog/vc/2007/08/keyshia_coles_new_cd_cover_sur.html

 

Was it media God or HUSBAND, Slapped Preacher Juanita Bynum? Thursday, August 23, 2007

Filed under: Juanta Bynum, Music, News, abuse, african american, celebrity, entertainment, legal, media, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

     

Photo Credit: Google Images/ Rich Addicks/AJC

 

Juanita Bynum, a preacher whose fiery and frank sermons about women’s empowerment have won her a national following, was attacked by her husband in the parking lot of an Atlanta hotel early Wednesday morning, police said.

Bynum and her estranged husband, Thomas W. Weeks III, had met up at Renaissance Concourse Hotel near Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport to try to reconcile, Atlanta police said. But while at the parking lot about 4 a.m., the two got into a physical fight until a bellman at the hotel pulled Bynum’s husband off her, Officer Ronald Campbell said.

“She was bruised up and battered,” Campbell said. “She had purple bruising around her neck and upper torso.”

The husband, who is also a preacher, left the scene. No charges have been filed against him, according to police.

Prescription: Every action has a reaction. Ms. Bynum is a public figure and there are really two options as to how she can handle this situation. She can either retreat and try not to comment because this story will eventually fade away Or, after the dust and emotions settle it might be a good time to chat with a publicist about how to use this public incident to leverage her divorce case, raise her public profile, elevate her platform for women’s empowerment and drive sales of her books and cd’s.

We’ll have to see how this prays out.

Like a rapper who goes to jail, does this incident give Ms. Bynum more credibility?Read the story here:http://www.ajc.com/metro/content/metro/atlanta/stories/2007/08/22/bynum_0823.html

 

Foxy Brown Joins Paris Hilton Jail Tour, Baby in her Bag Thursday, August 23, 2007

Filed under: Foxy Brown, Music, News, african american, celebrity, entertainment, hip hop, legal, media, public relations, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

    It’s the hottest ticket in town. A front row seat in the media pit to watch celebrities like Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell and Nicole Richie go to jail. Get your tickets now for the Foxy Brown show. Clubbing someone with a Blackberry, driving with a few drinks in ya, or even a few drugs in your system is hardly enough to get quality media attention anymore. 

An heiress in handcuffs, a supermodel sweeping trash. Even Nicole Richie tried to top them all by getting pregnant with a ”little Richie” after her “eating disorder”. But no celebrity can top going deaf and loosing your hearing…for a little while….I said, no celebrity can top LOSING YOUR HEARING, assault, getting married and getting pregnant as you go off to jail.  

Now Foxy did get some media attention when she lost her hearing but it was mostly from hip hop and music press.  The story didn’t really move the dial with mainstream media. Until now.

Foxy’s lawyer sums up today’s prescription for spin with a great quote that  breaks down all the elements one might need to get the media’s attention if you are trying to promote a new project. He said “… Brown is three months’ pregnant….(she) has turned her life around with her pregnancy, wedding plans and deals for a new album and reality television show.”   His quote sums up the recipe for a Ratings Pie and juicy content for the Foxy Brown reality show.  And, apparently it tastes really good.  Going to jail can be now be considered part of one’s PR strategy.  According to google news there are 827 new stories reporting on this including CNN. 

When you hear about a celebrity heading to jail does it make you more or less interested in them? 

Read the story here:

http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/Music/08/22/people.foxybrown.ap/index.html?iref=newssearch

 

R. Kelly Hires the “White” Johnnie Cochran? Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Filed under: Business, News, R & B, african american, entertainment, hip hop, legal, media, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

            

When big shots get in trouble in Chicago, often as not, they call Ed Genson.

Some call him a magician in the courtroom. Others say a better word might be barracuda.

Either way, the 61-year-old Genson has emerged as one of the top criminal defense lawyers in the city, and maybe the best known.

Whether it’s Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly or friends and aides to scandal-plagued former Gov. George Ryan, the high and mighty regularly seek out Genson when they’re trying to save their careers and avoid jail.

Attorneys say his face at the defense table makes prosecutors nervous. He doesn’t always beat them. But they always know they’re in for a fight.
A judge ruled Tuesday (August 21) that the videotape in the R. Kelly child pornography trial can be shown in full when the proceedings begin this September. Cook County Circuit Judge Vince Gaughan said the tape was key evidence in the prosecutors’ case, rebutting the argument by Kelly’s lawyers that the tape would unfairly bias the jury against him.

Additionally, the prosecution wants to bring in an expert to compare vein patterns in R. Kelly’s hands with the hands of the man in the tape, to prove he is indeed Kelly. The defense decried this motion as faulty science, not comparable to matching fingerprints. The judge has postponed a ruling on whether the veins argument will be allowed in court.

Prescription: Doesn’t this case bring back memories of Johnnie Cochran and OJ? Impossible odds and an attorney with unbreakable confidence.  Sometimes the  best PR strategy is to take the spotlight off the star and shine it on the back-up singers. Or, in this case Ed Genson.  Seems R. Kelly is not going to bump and grind his way out of a conviction. He’s lining up the best people for a great show we all plan to watch.

 If the veins don’t match, this case could be a wrap!

I think R. Kelly is going to get off. What do you think?

Read the full articles here:
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2003/05/26/news/local_illinois/af8a9824e22dde8086256d31007c813e.txt

http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/08/r_kelly_hands/

 

A CIGARETTE As Good As My Dildo?!hmmmmm Sunday, August 19, 2007

Filed under: Business, Corporate America, Golden Dragon Group, Marketing, News, Ruyan, cigarettes, health, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

A Chinese company is seeking FDA approval for a battery-powered cigarette that delivers nicotine without the toxins, reports Business 2.0 Magazine.

It feels like a cigarette, looks like a cigarette but it isn’t bad for your health.   A Chinese company marketing the world’s first “electronic” cigarette hopes to double sales this year as it expands overseas and as some of China’s legions of smokers try to quit.

Golden Dragon Group Ltd’s Ruyan cigarettes are battery-powered, cigarette-shaped devices that deliver nicotine to inhalers in a bid to emulate actual smoking.

“The nicotine is delivered to the lungs within 7 to 10 seconds,” said Scott Fraser, Vice President of SBT Co. Ltd., the Beijing-based firm that first developed the electronic cigarette technology in 2003 and which is now controlled by Golden Dragon.

“It feels like a cigarette, looks like a cigarette, it even emits vapor. In many ways, it is like an actual smoking experience, and that’s what makes us different,” he told Reuters.

Golden Dragon’s competitors include global giants Pfizer and Novartis AG, which sell more familiar nicotine replacement products such as chewing gum, patches, and inhalers.

Prescription: The next time you read a story in a newspaper or online, be sure to look at the source. You could be reading the The New York Times but the actual story may have originated or been picked up from a newswire like the Associated Press or Reuters.

Successful public relations campaigns are fundamentally based on how many times your  person, product or company are mentioned in the media and where.  That said, using newswires like Associated Press or Reuters can be an invalueable tool since particulary these two newswires are picked up all over the world and in most cases the stories are used word for word, unedited.

Such is the case for this new e-cigarette. The story was seen on Reuters and also in Business 2.0 magazine and was picked up by CNNmoney.com and a few other business sites.  It was probably smart not to blanket the media with this story at first but rather pick the media outlet to cover this that would be the most strategic for the company–a media outlet that would probably avoid negative trigger words like: addition, cancer, death and kids, among others.

Business 2.0 is a great magazine  for the E-Cigarette brand. Their focus is the business aspect first and foremost of any company so the risks to health whether minimal or great are really not a focus in its reporting on Golden Dragon Group. That is what makes this a great media placement for the E-cigarette.

I have to jump straight to the quote given by Scott Fraser, Vice President of SBT Co. Ltd. on what this product is and does.  If it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck it probably is a duck especially if really want vegetarian duck. His quote really sums up all the qualities that many say make smoking enjoyable.

The last part of this PR equation inlcludes Golden Dragon’s competitors which include any company that produces a pill, patch, gum AND even cigarettes themselves. Because, what if one could promote the E-cigarette so well it obliterated the “patch” solutions to the quitting of smoking and took over the cigarette industry as a whole! ( cue theme from Superman)…. perhaps, there is far more money in trully safer cigarette than trying to cure the addiction. Just a thought. 

Their online video commerical messaging addresses all the issues that smokers face, with the E-Cigarette being the healthy, socially acceptable option, perhaps making the viewer consider all the places smoking is banned and inconvienent for smokers and those who would be exposed to second hand smoke.

One might say, the companies who make cigarettes, the patches and the gum should come out swinging and rev up thier own PR machines. But, that would only promote the E-Cigarette further, no?

All they can do is sit, wait and watch and see who catches the vapors.

Do you think they should market this as  “THE SAFE” cigarette or a new way to smoke with a healthy twist?

See the video here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bz2CFa4I2DM

The links to these stories here:

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/09/magazines/business2/electronic_cigarette.biz2/index.htm?postversion=2007081306

http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSSP23039020070509 

 

Your Baby Is Dumber Than Mine Friday, August 10, 2007

Filed under: Business, Corporate America, Marketing, News, Publicist I Would NOT Want To Be This Week!, media, public relations, publicist, publicity — ilovemypublicist @

Go to fullsize image

Educational videos designed to stimulate young minds, like “Baby Einstein” and “Brainy Baby,” may actually impede language development, according to a new study published this week in the Journal of Pediatrics. The DVDs have become one of the most popular educational tools for parents, with promises to build the vocabulary and enhance the cognitive development of babies as young as 3 months old. The baby-brain industry now represents about $20 billion a year, according to Susan Gregory Thomas, author of “Buy Buy Baby” (Houghton Mifflin, 2007). But the claims of these manufacturers are largely unsubstantiated.  And the new study says they may do more harm than good.

Susan McClain, general manager of the Baby Einstein Co., told NEWSWEEK in an e-mail that the company’s collection “is specifically designed to promote discovery and inspire new ways for parents and babies to interact—such as clapping, pointing to objects and verbally interacting with their baby.” Representatives of Brainy Baby Co.—the other leading educational baby-video manufacturer—were not available for comment.

Prescription: Ok, if you remember I mentioned in previous posts that every so often in a publicists life, a major occurrence happens that can change history in a good way or instantly combust your client and its brand into flames.

So, we have here the Journal of Pediatrics who conducted a study of a $20 billion a year industry ( how much is that every two weeks?). It should be noted that studies such as these are excellent publicity tools as we see the increased exposure of the Journal of Pediatrics in just about every major news source this week. It has all the components of an excellent Public Relations campaign neatly wrapped up, tied with a bow and attached to the brand recognition of the Baby Einstein Co.

The Journal of Pediatrics has out all its guns to push its findings to the front of the news line including using lead author of the study, Frederick Zimmerman as a spokesperson. We even see authors of books and such jumping into the mix taking full advantage of the frenzy.

The root of this PR debacle for the Baby Einstein Co. is that the study was based on educational videos as a whole, not specifically the Baby Einstein Co.!!

Susan McClain’s comment is rather weak and passive and doesn’t defend a brand that is being labeled useless. And, maybe videos from the Baby Einstein Co. are indeed useless in making your baby smarter but, it feels like, seems like and reads like, the Baby Einstein Co. is taking the fall for the baby video industry as a whole. Brainy Baby Co.—the other leading educational baby-video manufacturer is smart. They have not entered the mix with a comment, steering whenever possible, attention away from them, letting Baby Einstein Co. defend the baby video industry and overall existence.

The other issue I have here is that the Baby Einstein Co. used their general manager as the spokesperson in the Newsweek story. In an attempt to salvage what might be left of brand confidence why wouldn’t they use a higher ranking spokesperson? Think about it. If you lost brain cells every time you drank a cup of coffee at Starbucks ( I know that’s extreme) would you want to hear from the stores’ general manager or the CEO?

Prescription: It’s too late to tell a patient whose had a heart attack that maybe they shouldn’t have eaten that rack of ribs last week or tell Baby Einstein Co. that maybe they could have ramped up their messaging of the interactive value of their brand before this study came out. Like a nasty cut, all you can do is wait for hit to heal and hope it doesn’t leave a big scar.

Read the Newsweek story here:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20167189/site/newsweek/page/0/