On Heels of Scandal: 5 Things I Know About Tiger Woods

Millions of words have been written about Tiger Woods over the past 18 days. And billions more will be expended in the time to come. Here I will share five things that I know about the man and the saga that is unfolding: 1. Tiger’s life, as it relates to the press and, more specifically, […]

Let’s Face It: A Key Part of An Interview’s `Art’

Someone recently asked me for some tips on the “Art of the Interview.” From a journalistic perspective, I have led all-day workshops on the topic and feel like I barely scratch the surface. So my ambition in this small space will be confined to one key principle that is as elementary as it is overlooked […]

Super Shopper Spotter: The Commercial

Usually, my PR work involves more time on the keyboard and less time dashing to and fro in public while wearing a cape and red boots. With that in mind, if you were in the Downtown Oak Park area a few days ago, you might have seen some especially bizarre behavior, even by Super Shopper […]

Pigs Get Fat, Hogs Get Slaughtered, PR-Style

“Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered.” In other words, don’t get too greedy. From the standpoint of creating something that is a legitimate, well-rounded piece of news, rather than a wholly self-serving PR piece that may turn off the media, the pigs/hogs axiom certainly applies. There simply are times when it’s best to share the […]

Shop the Village & Super Shopper Spotter

It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Super Shopper Spotter! A new superhero has descended on Oak Park and he’s on the lookout for people shopping locally. Bearing an uncanny resemblance to yours truly, S-3 (for short) is one of the new, fun wrinkles to the 2nd installment of the “Shop the Village” program whose implementation I […]

When One-Sided Claims Masquerade As News

During my most recent “PR Secrets From a Media Insider” workshop a few days ago, a local businessman asked what time of day deadlines typically happen for the media. Ten or 15 years ago, I could have easily laid out some specific windows of time, I replied. But these days, I added, the answer is […]

Writing On `State of the Chicago Hotel Market’

It’s been awhile since I wrote about hotels. I’ve written about events at hotels, provided feature reporting for Time magazine on boutique hotels–and even went into one hotel room, right after a police officer, to report on a young man who had fallen to his death from a ledge. But it wasn’t until 10 days […]

Sharing Client’s Tennis Success a Team Effort

Last week, on the heels of some significant success among girl’s tennis players who have been coached for years at Five Seasons Family Sports Club, I wrote a round-up and shared it with the local media. Along with the news release (“Five Seasons Sends Top Frosh Crop to IHSA Tennis Tournament”), which you can see […]