The name of our blog is a reference that will be familiar to many public relations practitioners. A 1975 episode of The Bob Newhart Show is often used by media trainers as a humorous example of a disastrous media encounter. The well-meaning but often bumbling psychologist, Dr. Bob Hartley, played by Newhart, is interviewed by the seemingly docile Ruth Corley, played by Jennifer Warren.
Corley sets up the naïve Bob, lulling him into a sense of comfort and control, but when the cameras roll, she turns aggressive, cynical of Bob and psychology as a profession. Bob writhes in his seat, can barely speak, and is constantly on the defensive.
The segment features off-camera dialog, including the disembodied voice of “Augie,” the program’s engineer, whose lackadaisical tone implies that this sort of encounter is all in a day’s work on the set of “The Ruth Corley Show.”
So, “Thanks, Augie” at Environics Communications reflects our spirit of having fun and is also our approach as a calm voice of reason – a person in the background, watching out to ensure things run smoothly. We thought it would be a fun, meaningful name for our blog.
A transcription follows of the Ruth Corley encounter from The Bob Newhart Show episode entitled, “Who Is Mr. X?” Many communications professionals have seen this dozens, even hundreds, of times, and it’s a credit to the great writing and Newhart’s comic brilliance that the episode continues to make us laugh…and learn.