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Real estate and training co The Learning Annex has supposedly offered Paris $1million to host an hour-long ‘Masterclass’ seminar entitled ‘How To Build Your Brand’. If she accepts she will join the Annex speaking roster, which already boasts Donald Trump, Anthony Robbins and Geo ‘Grill’ Foreman and the dudes from ‘The Secret’. The Annex specialises in Real Estate and Wealth Creation education for money-mad millionaires in the making, and are showing themselves to be no slouches on the PR front…In putting up this bounty, they get a great big bite of the media cherry for their own brand. If she declines it was nothing ventured, a whole lot gained situation. If she accepts, the media exposure for her reincarnation as a brand educator will far outweigh the million dollar fee cost. Drawbacks? What does this tell you about the real educational content of Annex events? How cross-transferable would the Paris Principles be into corporate or non-celeb fields? What if it’s deemed a farce by marketing and PR pontificators? Shoot; what do they know…after all, she’s the brand with the dollars to prove it!

It’s another rather routine, Guardian-inspired, Chai-sipping day here at PR Disaster central; Iggy Pop’s PC shortcomings seem to have taken some people by surprise after he referred to a ‘Paki(stani) shop’ in an interview on British radio. Mind your P’s and C’s Mr Osterberg, please.
A trade magazine journalist has had his contacts book (and possibly future livelihood) impounded Read more

Tom Murphy recently posted on Sunderland Uni’s Philip Young revealing some toplines from the Euroblog research project.
As well as doubtless being cock-a-hoop at Sunderland’s rebirth under Roy Keane’s guidance, at the Delivering the New PR 2.0 conference in London, Philip said that:
* Respondents who read blogs - 79% (up from 37% in 2005)
* Respondents who comment on blogs - 51% (up from 10%)
* Respondents who run blogs - 38% (up from 21%)
* #1 inhibitor to blogging: Lack of personnel - 69% (#2 lack of ROI - 42%)
* #1 opportunity of blogging: Receiving feedback from the audience (34%)

“Another reason >why practicing lawyers never make good PR practitioners. The advice, by the way, is worth reading and not damaging to Dell.” Thanks to Jim Horton.
And Peter Himler wonders if journos always make for good PR people. I gave him a few cautionary tales from ‘PR Disasters’ to help him decide:
Gordon Beattie; ex-journo & Scots PR guru whose firm was enmired in the Lobbygate scandal.
Tim Blackstone; ex-financial journo-turned PR man (and porn star) who only realised insider trading was wrong after being convicted in London court.
Doug Dowie; ex hard news hack doing prison time for FH overbilling scandal.
Colin Gibson; ex-sports editor who dropped English FA in deep doo with the ‘Svengate’ scandal.
Karen Ryan; VNR stoush in USA

Professor Brendan Gray of the University of Otago recalls his time in comms practice in New Zealand. Brendan told me the only questions the old school Kiwi journos used to ask when you were pitching a story to them were:
“What’s the guts?” (the essence of the pitch)
“Y’aren’t bullshittin’ me, are ya?”
“What’s the benefit to ?”
This followed on from my presentation assertion - via an Aussie journo mate - who said there’s only 3 stories from a journalist’s view:
Tut tut!
That’s weird
Poor bastard
Provides a handy frame for setting up your story pitches doesn’t it?

PS: Belated thanks to Auckland Ports PR team and CFO for their great and generous company during my NZ stay; ta guys.

With the death of the commonly offensive - and occasionally very funny - racist British comedian Bernard Manning (above), an unlikely successor has stepped forward. Times (London) indicates that it’s Trevor Philips, Chair of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Speaking at an Imperial College old fellows black tie dinner, Trev showed you can ruin your reputation when speaking in public, using inappropriate and insensitive remarks. He related the anecdote about attending a royal function and was counselled by security staff about putting his hands on the Queen Mum’s royal person; not out of etiquette, but becos of her colostomy bag…geddit? Boom, boom!! As with this internet age, the speech was filmed and is expected to air on YouTube soon. So what’s the worst public speaking gaffe you’ve ever witnessed? Read more

Straight shootin’ from Telstra’s Greg Winn.

Given the gun slaying in Melbourne yesterday am, the airing of ABCs Four Corners alleged expose of undue pressure on staff at Telstra unfortunately featured audio clips by Telstra’s Greg Winn urging the metaphorical ’shooting’ (sacking) of staff who won’t ‘get with the program’.
Compared to the media villification of Ch9’s Eddie Maguire for his suggested ‘boning’ of Jessica Rowe, Winn’s had a surprisingly easy media ride of it (particularly in the face of several staff suicides allegedly due to bullying work pressures and employee productivity monitoring).
Facing the Four Corners cameras another Telstra exec John Rolland delivered a defiantly glazed-eye, rather robotic media performance that was somewhat short on authenticity and empathy (even when he said “we’re all sad” it struck me as having a pretty hollow ring. I now you’re just doing your job, John, but the EI quotient wasn’t really there). Telstra staff have been gagged from speaking to the media
Read more

The Head Honcho and the Hoochie Mamas
Via the usually entertaining Media Orchard, a gossipy story of how your personal predilictions can impact on your corporate career. This PR disaster cost the Chief Financial Officer in question his job, and the embarrassment is set to continue with a docu-movie about the affair(s) in the making.

Shock horror; journo complains about PR freebies
Go to Jim Horton’s blog and scroll to “past Time To Stop’ for another article where a journo gripes about PR intrusion, insensitivity and hucksterism. And with journalistic ethics being so high, we all know that no PR has ever progressed any initiative by sending ‘incentives’ or freebies to journos.

‘Taming the feral beast’; the Reuters editorial view on Blair’s scathing speech
http://blogs.reuters.com/2007/06/13/taming-the-feral-beast/#comments

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