Category Archives: Public Relations

Presidency To Test Obama’s PR Realism

President Barack Obama’s inauguration today brings two other dates to mind: Twenty years ago today, I was an intern at the Telegraph & News of Macon, Georgia, helping edit the front page that included news of George H.W. Bush’s inauguration as president. And 20 years before that, I was in diapers as Richard M. Nixon […]

Doors Open, Narrow On Healthcare PR

Healthcare is integral to our lives, and over the past few years it’s developed into a significant portion of Inside Edge PR business, with more than a dozen health-and-wellness clients in my A to Z experience. This afternoon, I had the intriguing, immaculately timed experience of fielding a call from one healthcare provider (who had […]

Keeping Your PR Eye On The Calendar

Of all the similarities between being a journalist and being a publicist, one of the most prominent ones is the need to keep your eye on the calendar. Mine says that today is Jan. 16th, which means, among other things, that it’s well past time to start thinking about Valentine’s Day-related story ideas, whether you […]

Profile on Helen Karakoudas in Medill Magazine

Back in August, I shared an Inside Edge PR post about a piece I was working on for my alumni magazine, Medill. The story was about the remarkable career-comeback journey of Helen Karakoudas, managing editor of Wednesday Journal, Inc., the Oak Park-based company that publishes nine newspapers in Chicago and the near western suburbs. She […]

PR Resolution: Give Media Plenty of Lead Time

If it’s January 2, then that must mean it’s time to start seriously brainstorming some Valentine’s Day story suggestions. Though the romantic holiday may seem way off on the horizon–a full 43 days away–a recent story in Pioneer Press newspapers reaffirms that it’s never too soon to start planting story seeds with the media. In […]

Local Paper Covers Car Repair Shop

A few weeks ago, I shared a post about the re-emergence of Asian Domestic Authority, the Oak Park car repair shop gutted by fire in September 2007. Pictured here is Roy Rivera, co-owner of the business. The holiday season can be a tough time to secure media coverage, with short-handed staffs and year-end top-story roundups […]

Minasian Exhibit Gains Tribune Coverage

Minasian Rug Co.’s textile arts exhibit that I’ve been promoting the past few months received a nice mention in today’s Chicago Tribune, as an “Editor’s Pick” in the House & Homes section. You can check out its coverage of “Island Magic – Court and Tribal Textiles from Indonesia” online here. Previously, I posted more background […]

A Brave, New Archive-Friendly World

When I began writing for newspapers, in 1984, I needed to clip stories myself and make photocopies if I wanted to ensure keeping track of those pieces. Today, nearly a quarter-century later, the Internet has created an entirely new archive-friendly world. A few years ago, for example, I began using Google Web Alerts to tip […]

Understaffed Newsrooms Drive PR Approach

Over the years, Inside Edge PR clients have occasionally asked why my agency goes to such lengths to provide comprehensive news releases that can (and often do) gain word-for-word placement in respected publications. My response flows from more than 20 years on staff or as an active freelance writer for newspapers and other publications: newsrooms […]