In my latest installment of “As the Jussie Smollett Debacle Turns,” I closed with this thought: If there is sufficient evidence to convict Smollett of these charges, then his sentence should be stiff enough to deter others from trying anything similar. That was one humongous “IF,” as it turns out. Hot on the heels of […]
A little over three weeks ago, I had never heard of Jussie Smollett. Same goes for most people, since he was a secondary character in Empire, the Fox series that is filmed in Chicago. That relative obscurity changed in late January, after he alleged that he was the victim of a heinous hate crime in […]
Do you have the gift of gab? It’s actually a trick question–because it’s not a gift at all, but a series of choices. The biggest one is to choose to put your focus on others rather than yourself. Professional, ethical, effective journalists cannot write with long gazes into their navels. They must seek input from other […]
The list of Chicago mayoral candidates is only slightly longer than the list of those same hopefuls who are so quick to distract and deflect when faced with evidence of their dubious decisions or dealings. (Looking at you, especially, Bill Daley and Toni Preckwinkle.) The latest twist is another candidate, Amara Enyia, who overstated her […]
This summer, I had the pleasure of collaborating with friend and next-door neighbor Joe Crosetto to write a story about the work that his firm, Interactive Building Solutions (IBS), is involved in: the make-over of the Realtor Building in downtown Chicago. It is located at 430 N. Michigan Avenue, where the National Association of Realtors (NAR) […]
“I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.”–Wayne Gretzky That philosophy surfaced on the PR front last week with a news release providing insights and counsel on snow and ice management. The release had been in the works for over a week for McAdam Landscaping, a longtime Inside Edge […]
Testimonials are a great way to build your brand and build trust with your target market. Anyone can toot their own–it’s much more convincing when someone else does it for (and about) you. Along with other pointers last month, the above message was part of what I conveyed to about 20 local business owners and […]
Communication matters…and that’s never more evident as when it breaks down. A recent case in point: Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts’ decision to pull Dodgers starter Rich Hill in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday night. Or was it even his decision? Therein lies the heart of this communication snafu. This ESPN.com […]
In a world of ever-escalating automation, it takes effort to retain personalization. The effort, I would argue, is well worth it. Take LinkedIn’s relatively new feature of offering prompts like “Thank you” and “You’re welcome” and “Congrats on your work anniversary!” Flowing from our own initiative, all are lovely sentiments, and our moms would be […]