By no deliberate design it seems that one post a week here profiles a maniac’s or group of maniacs’ rhetorical craziness. Last week’s subject was KJ the Illest of North Korea. Today’s example comes from the Illest’s arch-nemesis, America, and the opposite end of the political spectrum. The Tea Party Republicans…
There’s a million and one blog posts from flaks and journos on how to pitch. Maybe they’re worth your time. The “how to” guides of pitching sound the same most of the time though. People tell you that you’re supposed to research the reporter, usually lead with an email, make…
Internships are wonderful things. For the intern, exposure to professionals and learning on the job are the main upsides. For the organization, internship programs, if done right, are a great HR tool. Two former interns in my department are now full-time Communications Coordinators. It has been incredibly easy for them…
North Korea uses the most over the top official rhetoric of any country on Earth. In fact the language is so routinely bizarre that sometimes you wonder if the place is actually on Mars. Every year at this time the North Korean government issues a collection of crazy statements related…
The “new tools” of marketing and PR are still “new” even though they’ve been in use for years now. Though best practices and rules of the game still appear far from certain, “new media” is now an established, entrenched industry, with all the hallmarks that come with this distinction. Books…
When you are crap you do crazy things. You have to…you’re crap. The New Jersey Nets’ recent promo efforts prove this point beyond a reasonable doubt. The Nets, who currently inhabit the NBA’s cellar with a 6-53 record, are giving away free tax returns to anyone over 18 who buys a…
I am frugal in most circumstances and definitely not a label whore. Last Thursday, however, I got bit by an alligator. Next thing I knew, a short sleeve polo shirt priced at over $125 was mine. The tags are now off, so the garment is here to stay. That a…
Mr. X writes five to six times a week on dead wood parchment. Over 320 000 people read his paper on weekdays and over 415 000 on weekends. He has been writing for over 30 years and has won numerous awards for his outstanding reporting and commentary. They read X’s…
Writing is really hard. It is one of those things that lots of people claim to be good at but aren’t. Mechanics, style, flow and the inability to express thoughts succinctly are the usual suspects when it comes to crappy prose. Even if you are OK at putting words together,…