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Media Training: No Such Thing as a Private Conversation

As I watched Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s news conference this afternoon, I was reminded of a story that I often use as an anecdote in media training sessions. Since Mr. Bernanke is winding down his time with the Fed, I wanted to revisit the subject that I originally discussed in the article, "Media Training Fundamental: Reporters Are Always Working." The key point of the upcoming story is that journalists never turn off their nose for news. There is no 'drink in hand' rule that states a journalist who is relaxing isn't also subtly gathering information. A journalist is never idle. They are always curious. Sniffing out interesting information is what they do and who they are. They don’t punch a clock and turn it off. Ever. So when an executive encounters a journalist, that executive should similarly always be in …


F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Earns Kudos from British Test Pilots

DPK Public Relations is proud to work closely with Lockheed Martin in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program in recent years and we enjoy spreading the word about the jaw dropping capabilities of the plane, which is being built in Fort Worth, Texas. We have helped people throughout the organization -- including test pilots, business development executives and manufacturing leaders -- prepare for all types of interactions. While the program has faced some scrutiny, the feedback from the most important community -- the pilots -- has been universally enthusiastic. This terrific first-person account from British Squadron Leader Frankie Buckler is a great example of why it benefits organizations to have people who can communicate complex information in ways that are easy to understand ready at all times to speak.   Con Coughlin, The Telegraph's defense editor, accompanied a …


Holidays Offer Great PR Opportunities

Holidays offer great opportunities for your organization to work with the media to get your messages out. First, the news business doesn't rest on a holiday. It might be a sleepy, peaceful day, but that news hole still needs to be filled. That's why there are certain holiday stories that were being done the day I was born and I suspect will be done until the day I die, such as the New Year's resolution story, the Memorial Day boating safety story, the July 4th fireworks safety story and (as illustrated in the video below) the Labor Day story about the American workplace. If you can find a good angle related to the holiday, you have a good shot of attracting attention. Second, nobody else is pitching stories. Your competitors are all enjoying the holiday! Every major holiday we have …


War of words: Social media’s role in inciting revolutionary change

Note: This article was published in the April 2011 issue of Public Relations Tactics. It is posted here with permission. Assessing the impact of social technologies on the winter uprisings is complicated. In the midst of the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain and other Middle Eastern autocracies, pundits attributed the spreading demands for democracy to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. This seriously over-simplified the highly complex web of economic, cultural and political factors that contributed to the demands for change. Revolutionaries are using text messages, blogs and social networks to communicate and collaborate with each other and the rest of the world. However, social technologies weren’t necessary for the U.S. Civil Rights movement, the People Power Revolution in the Philippines or the fall of the Iron Curtain. It is tempting to suggest that social technologies are causing revolutionary change, but that …