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Cliches and Synonyms

By Deb Trivitt, Trivitt Public Relations Recent lists of clichés we can do without and words that are over-used got me to reminiscing about my first semester of high school journalism. Our teacher, Gunnar Horn, was considered the “dean” of high school journalism teachers and newspaper advisors.  He, yes, literally, wrote the book.  One of our requirements was to make a notebook of examples of the things we learned in class. Along with the clippings of parodies, straight leads and inverted pyramids, we were to come up with 500 synonyms for “said” and 500 clichés.  Was it pure busywork?  Maybe, but it still... ⇢ read more

E-Mail Spoofing is Downright Spooky

By Nancy Tamosaitis-Thompson, Vorticom, Inc. As Published in BrandWeek Has your email or Twitter account been hijacked?  Today I received an email on my business email account from my long term AOL address that invited me to “solve my erectile dysfunction problem now!”  A second email advised me to click on a... ⇢ read more

Get inspired: 2011 is your chance to shine.

By Julie Dennehy, APR, Dennehy Public Relations Pardon me, but I have a prediction: in five years, we'll be saying 2010 was the darkest before the dawn. As the dark days of winter close in and winter solstice is upon us, it's good to remember that dark days have passed us by.... ⇢ read more

Top Ten New Year’s Resolutions for the PR Professional

By John Deveney, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA Deveney Communication New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to... ⇢ read more

All I Want for Christmas is a PR Budget

By Stephanie Niblack, Account Director, McKeeman PR “I really think we deserve it,” I said to Santa. “We’ve been very good this year.” Santa’s eyes twinkled as he asked about the increase over last year. “After all,” he said, “you don’t have a crisis or a customer complaint threatening legal action,... ⇢ read more

Scary Confessions about Life as a PR Pro

        Saw this "top 11" list and had to pass it along - with full credit to the author, Tom Nixon.  Enjoy, and Happy Halloween!  Stacia Kirby 11 scary confessions about life as a PR pro In honor of Halloween, here’s what frightens me about my public relations and marketing career 1. I... ⇢ read more

You Oughta Be in (Better) Pictures

By Gary Young, Gary Young Ink Hollywood film star Tony Curtis passed away recently after a long and illustrious career. With a filmography that included such great movies as Some Like It Hot and The Defiant Ones, his work in Sweet Smell of Success has always been top of mind for... ⇢ read more

Reality TV vs. Real PR Professionals

By Nancy Tamosaitis-Thompson, President, Vorticom Inc. Does your public relations agency’s management pester their female staff to get collagen injections to thicken their lips?  Do they show up on employees’ dates with romantic prospects to weigh in on their suitability?  Do they purchase sex toys they think will resonate with individual... ⇢ read more

Can One Person Make a Difference?

Photo of Michel Helsel By Sharon Kreher, TeamworksPR Can one person really make a difference?  Absolutely – and Michele Helsel is proof positive. A St. Louis metropolitan area resident, Michele works for Kimball Office, a company that helped sponsor an online campaign to raise greater awareness for childhood hunger in America. One in... ⇢ read more