Wherever Canada’s current minority government Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, makes a public address, no matter how small or seemingly casual, he uses a script and a teleprompter. I’ve seen him in the middle of a wheat field, sleeves rolled up, trying to look as farmer-like as possible, yet with two glass teleprompter screens to each [...]

There was an advertorial in the financial pages of a national newspaper yesterday. I didn’t realize at first that it was paid space. The headline, font, photo and cut-line appeared consistent with the newspaper’s editorial pages. But by the end of the second paragraph, my spidey-senses were tingling. The writing didn’t seem quite right. Then [...]

This past Sunday, 60 Minutes interviewed both John McCain and Barack Obama in an effort to set the stage for the debate taking place this Friday at the University of Mississippi. The episode captured the attention of more than 14.6 million viewers, further exemplifying the manner in which election fever has consumed us all (even [...]

I’m a big fan of the TV show Mad Men. There are many things I love about it, not the least of which is the view/commentary of the 1960s version our sibling industry, advertising. Interestingly enough, one scene from this week’s episode showcased something we public relations people often run in to - the need [...]

There is a new boss of the family, and I am not talking about a Sopranos reunion. I am referring to the Chief Household Officer (CHO). As if there were not enough abbreviations and buzz words in our vocabulary! I picked this one up at a Yahoo! Summit Series called, “Clicking with Jane.”
So who is [...]

It’s an interesting time to sit back and watch the circus come to town. With election season in full tilt on both sides of the border, it’s always fun to see what lengths politicians – and their campaign supporters – will go to in an effort to shape public opinion. From SNL skits to the much [...]

A few days ago, the story broke on Bloomberg that United Airlines had filed for bankruptcy protection based on an old story written by the Sun Sentinel in 2002.  Although the story was old news, United’s stock plunged and the New York Stock Exchange had to suspend trading of the stock once the price went down [...]

While on the subway this morning, I noticed an interesting print advertisement on my train. The ad features a photograph of a magazine, opened to a page bearing the title “hot trends” (or something of the like). The page is intended to look like an editorial piece that coincidentally features two of the “hottest” items [...]

An interesting topic for the public relations profession is whether we will one day need affirmative action programs to recruit males. I say this mostly in jest, but it is interesting to look at the statistics on gender and employment in our industry.
According to official employment figures from Statistics Canada from 1991 to 2006, the [...]

It’s evident that Facebook has taken over computer screens everywhere. Words like “poke” and “wall” have entered my everyday vocabulary. Don’t get me wrong, I love FB but as my friend list lingers around the 250 mark, do I really know or talk to any of these people?
A friend recently mentioned her mother had joined [...]