Didn’t you just love the editorial cartoon in today’s Globe and Mail?
I’d never have predicted that a changing of the guard at the National Gallery of Canada would make the national news. I might have been right, if it weren’t for the voyeur-tainment value of the internal emails that circulated during the saga.
For many years, [...]

Every day, I’m puzzled by the number of people I see checking mobile email in the darndest of places – during meetings, mid-conversation on a pub patio, etc.    
Even worse is where you see people’s thumbs hard at work sending a message. As they enter an elevator (presumably minutes, if not seconds, from plunking themselves [...]

Several months ago I had the pleasure of hearing a presentation by Dave Power. You may know him better as JD Power, the founder of the customer satisfaction, service and product rating company. Dave is passing the leadership torch in his firm now, but he has an amazing depth of experience in the business of [...]

Yesterday, I went with some of my colleagues to see the Newseum – a museum located in Washington D.C. dedicated to everything news-related.  I must admit that I was impressed with how they handled the exhibits, keeping everyone’s attention and leaving us wanting more. 
 
It was truly amazing to see pieces of the Berlin Wall [...]

With gas prices going up, it’s hard to miss all of the articles explaining how gas prices are affecting people in all walks of life - from the change in commuting habits to people selling their homes to pay for gas and other expenses. At a recent Public Relations Society of America event, reporters from [...]

A few weeks ago I noticed a half-page ad in a print newspaper placed by a public relations agency. The ad touted the PR industry awards that the agency recently won.
I swooned.
The irony of advertising agencies going after awards has been discussed many times before. The marketing value of winning industry awards is mainly in [...]

Here in Canada, as in many other countries, the iPhone 3G went on sale July 11th. There were the predictable media stories about long lines and people camping overnight to get their hands on the precious gizmo. As usual, relatively few journalists had anything negative to say about the product; Apple can apparently do no [...]

The controversy about the current cover cartoon of The New Yorker raises the always difficult question of how to execute satire.
 
The New Yorker editor defends the cartoon – entitle “The Politics of Fear” – by arguing that it is a satire of the extreme, incorrect perceptions existing of Barack Obama and his politics and background. “The [...]

When I go online for a video snack, the last thing I want to see is an ad. It’s the same mentality that drives me to shell out extra cash to Rogers each month for a PVR – it makes TV watching and skipping through ads that much more enjoyable.  
I don’t care if it’s [...]

We PR people put a lot of stock in headlines. A headline is weighted heavily in terms of the overall “value” that an article might have. Readers read the headline first, and it’s generally the headline that will make them decide whether or not to read the text.
I know that I’m like just about everyone [...]