Category Archives: Public Relations

`Sampling’ Wins Confidence, Then Clients

Whenever I am asked for tips about breaking into journalism or public relations, one piece of advice that I emphasize can be applied to just about any endeavor: the importance of showing your value, not merely talking about it. And over the course of more than a decade of self-employment, I have learned that winning […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

`People Are More Interesting Than Things’

“People are more important than things.” My wife and I issue that truth to our children all the time–especially when they argue over who should be able to play with this block or read that book. In the PR world, there is this variation: “People are more interesting than things.” In short, individuals are far […]

Showing, Not Just Telling, At Business Expo

Last week, I was an exhibitor at “A Passport to Success,” the business-to-business Expo sponsored by the Elmhurst Chamber of Commerce & Industry and three other chamber organizations (Bensenville, Villa Park and Addison.) At the same time, as the event’s publicist, I took close to 100 photographs and about 20 videos. You can see some […]