Humor: the new taboo

It’s not worth it to try to be funny any more. It seems that whenever someone tries to tell a joke in a speech, a news conference or even a corporate blog, there’s always at least one person who gets so offended that they fuss enough to force a retraction or apology.
Seriously, it’s just not [...]

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Golden opportunity

The June 7th installment of 60 Minutes included an exclusive two-part interview with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. To my surprise, it was the first formal interview with the media that Bernanke had conducted since taking over from Alan Greenspan in 2006.
Understandably, the Chair of the Fed walks on fragile ground. These days especially he [...]

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What day is it, anyway?

Yesterday was Earth Day, but I’m sure you know that if you live on, well, Earth.
If you work in public relations, there’s a reasonable chance you or a colleague was promoting a “green” product, service or initiative of some kind on Earth Day. And if you’re a journalist, there’s a reasonable chance you were adding [...]

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Look . . .

Tonight’s second Presidential Debate is sure to be exciting, and the economy is certain to be a focal point once again.
I have noticed, though, the sudden preponderance of the “look” command in political discourse and pundit commentary. Barack Obama has always used the interjection, but now everyone is saying it.
“Look . . . the American [...]

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