Heading into the holiday weekend, here’s a few random thoughts I had while running this morning. Linda Douglass, a retired news staffer with ABC and CBS, is joining Barack Obama’s campaign as a senior advisor and spokesperson. And I guess those of us looking for an honest, open discussion of issues should be encouraged.
“Like a broken Maytag washer, retired ABC correspondent Linda Douglass will skip the spin cycle.
“As new senior advisor for Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, ‘”My intention is that I won’t spin,'” she says. ‘”I absolutely vow that I will tell the truth.'”
Well, here’s hoping. I guess there is a first time for everything. And wouldn’t it be, hmm, the right thing to do? We’ll see.
And then there is a story about character and principle to share from the campaign trail. Mark McKinnon, the senior advertising strategist for the McCain campaign, followed through on a vow he made previously to leave the campaign rather than working against the election of Barack Obama. That’s not a critique of either McCain or Obama on my part. It’s just that when someone in a senior position anywhere actually does what he says he is going to do it is cause for celebration. Maybe this presidential campaign will be about issues, discussed openly and candidly.
Then there is PR Strategist, the flagship of PRSA’s communication fleet. In March we held at Kent State a professional development conference around social media and Packaging the Presidency — Online. Exciting, innovative conference. The story in PR Strategist: ho-hum.
With all the new approaches to communicating out there, isn’t there a way for a professional organization to do something beyond the typical question-and-answer format?
Mr X: Blah, blah, blah.
Mr Y: Blah, blah, blah.
Oh, well. In a world of change, PRSA remains a constant.
I thought about this when I saw a presentation posted on SlideShare by Sacha Chua.
Sacha describes herself as a social intranet consultant and geek. And as best I can tell, her day job is with IBM. That in itself is encouraging.
Yet something tells me that Sacha and others like her won’t be spending much time with publications like PR Strategist in the years ahead. That, in my view, is a good thing.
And they are sure going to change the workplace and political campaigns. Good.
I really didn’t want to lift those words from the Reuters headline. But, hey, it’s Friday afternoon and I’ve been reading and grading final projects and papers for about 30 hours this week. OMG
Anyway that’s how I came across this story, first mentioned in the Buzzword column in the online edition of The Wall Street Journal. Yeah, even the Wall Street Journal can provide a mindless diversion at this point in the week and semester.
Here are the lead paragraphs from the Reuters story:
Pope Benedict will text message thousands of young Catholics on their mobile phones during World Youth Day in Sydney in July, hoping going digital will help him better connect with a younger audience.
The Pope will text daily messages of inspiration and hope during the six-day Sydney event while digital prayer walls will be erected at event sites and the church will set up a Catholic social networking Web site akin to a Catholic Facebook.
The idea makes sense given the audience. Give the Catholic Church and Pope Benedict credit for trying this. And he certainly worked hard to boost the image of the Catholic Church in the United States during his recent visit here.
So if the Pope is embracing social media, can the CEOs of Fortune 500 corporations be far behind? LOL
And I wonder what a digital prayer wall is? Sounds like something Bear Stearns should have checked out a few months ago.
And I know I’ll get into trouble for writing this — but here goes.
The article says, “Australia’s Catholic nuns are already praying for good weather for the Pope’s visit.”
I’ll admit it. I don’t know anything about flash mobs. But I guess I’ll find out Wednesday at Kent State. Here’s the story.
One of the great things about teaching is to see students take an idea in the classroom and then make it come alive. And that’s what’s happening with an independent study class of public relations majors who are participating in the Do It Now College Challenge, a campaign sponsored by Donate Life Ohio. The goal of the campaign is to recruit 400,000 new organ donors in Ohio.
The college challenge is a statewide competition involving 14 colleges and universities. And the Kent State Do It Now team is organizing a flash mob Wednesday afternoon at 2:15 on the Kent campus in the Risman Plaza between the Student Center and Library. The idea is to present information about organ donations — and give students and others the opportunity to register to become organ donors. And while I’m certain Kent’s public relations students will win this competition — it won’t hurt to give them a little support and help. Right?
If you’re on campus. Stop by. Here’s an example of what you’ll see.
And at Kent State we work hard to give students the opportunity to gain professional experience while still in the classroom. Here’s a story about the Do It Now College Challenge written by Jillana Gall, an English major working this semester with Flash Communications, our student-run public relations agency. So if you’re not on campus, this gives you more background and ways to support Kent’s public relations team.
The “Do It Now” College Challenge
Save a Life. Be a Donor.
Jillana Gall
Kent State public relations students are hard at work promoting an important issue and competing with students at other Ohio universities as part of the “Do It Now” College Challenge.
In Ohio today there are nearly 2,500 people waiting for an organ transplant, and one Ohioan will die every other day because not enough organs are available. And Donate Life Ohio, a statewide division of Donate Life America, is helping to meet a national goal of increasing registered organ donors from 60 million to 100 million by teaming up with college campuses across Ohio for the “Do It Now” College Challenge.
Kent State’s campaign to increase organ donors was developed in the fall 2007 Public Relations Campaigns class and is now being implemented by seven junior public relations students who are participating in an independent study created by Assistant Professor of Public Relations Michele Ewing. The students on the campaign team are Julie McKinney, Deborah Pritchard, Lyndsay Elliott, Brittany Thoma, Jackie Lloyd, Katelyn Luysterborg and Brandi Neloms. There are 14 Ohio universities participating in the campaign and it is financed by The Second Chance Trust Fund and Ohio’s organ procurement agencies.
The challenge to the student teams competing at 14 Ohio universities is to register as many new donors as possible by May. Each university has its own predetermined registration goal, based on its surrounding population. The goal for Kent State is set at 14,571, and there have been 7,429 donors registered as of late March.
Kent’s PR students are using a variety of tactics to increase donor registration, but one of the innovative ways they are increasing awareness for this campaign is through the social networking site Facebook. Students have created a Facebook page to inform other students and peers about the campaign.
The page provides general information about the campaign, as well as links to the Donate Life Ohio and Do It Now Web sites. There is also a discussion board where members are invited to talk about what influenced their decisions to become organ donors. This is an open group, so any Facebook member is eligible to join. If you are interested in viewing this page, visit http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8182077415.
The Kent State Donate Life Ohio team look forward to a busy month in April, which is National Donate Life Month. They will be holding registration drives on campus, attending Kent State events to increase awareness for the campaign and implementing other online tactics to drive people to the registration site.
The Kent team will present its plan and results May 14 to the DLO Advisory Council. An overall winner will be selected among the 14 universities and awarded a donation of $5,000 to a campus student organization. If the Kent State DLO team wins, the money will go to the Public Relations Student Society of America. Other awards include a $250 donation to the best plan and most creative tactic implementation. Individual students on the winning teams will get the opportunity to have an interview for an internship at select Ohio marketing and public relations firms or with regional organ procurement organizations. Team members also receive reference letters from Donate Life Ohio.
If you are interested in becoming an organ donor, you can register by completing a paper enrollment at one of the Kent State DLO events or visiting http://www.doitnowohio.org/kent/. You can access additional information about “Do It Now” College Challenge at this site. The DLO Kent team needs volunteers to assist at events. If interested, visit the Kent DLO Facebook page.
Poor Eliot Spitzer. I thought he was spending his time screwing the Wall Street rogues who got their jollies by destroying shareholder value. So it goes.
And if the photo on the front page of The New York Times this morning is an actual reflection of reality, Spitzer’s wife, Silda, doesn’t look like a happy camper. Wonder if she is thinking about whether it is too late to get the deposit back on the summer vacation rental property? (You’ll most likely have to pay the $1.25 and get the deadwood version if you want to see Silda standing by her man.)
But as I was thinking about this during my run this morning, it occurred to me that the standard public relations crisis management tactics are so very, well, Web 1.0. You know. It’s the equivalent of a public confessional:
First: I’m sorry. I apologize. I beg for forgiveness.
Then: Pick one or all three. I failed my (fill in the blank). I know I’ve violated the (fill in the blank). It will never happen (fill in the blank).
Here’s my modest proposal to improve this with the use of social media.
Create a video for YouTube. And require that this be done for every elected official immediately upon assuming office. Then you are ready to go when the inevitable happens. No need for the obligatory news conference. And no need to include the spouse/boyfriend/girlfriend in the video unless he or she has aspirations for elected office at some point.
And I’m not an advocate for prostitution, legal or otherwise. But from what I’ve read, the women involved in this situation were charging between $1,000 and $5,000 an hour for their professional services. That’s about what Spitzer will most likely now have to pay to crisis management experts if he wants to salvage his reputation and career. As someone who had to hire a New York-based crisis management company a few years ago, I can assure the Governor he is about to get the screwing of a lifetime.
My advice. Resign — and hire a book agent.
Update: After I hit the publish button, I saw this article in The Washington Post, Ritual of Repentance.
Well, Kent State is closed again this morning. I’ve been stuck inside on the treadmill for the past week or so. And I’m thinking about what bloggers have in common with dysfunctional CEOs.
OK. I probably wouldn’t be thinking about that except for an interesting article in The New York Times on Saturday: “Avoiding a Problem C.E.O.”
Terry Leap is a management professor at Clemson University. He writes in Sloan Management Review that unsuccessful CEOs “had serious character flaws that were either hidden or ignored for years.” Here’s the list:
“An obsession with acquiring prestige, power and wealth.”
“A reputation for shameless self-promotion and other self-aggrandizing behaviors.”
A tendency to create “grandiose strategies” without including a detailed plan for how they will be carried out.
The ability to compartmentalize and rationalize to an amazing degree.
Sounds like a pretty good description for most of the A-list bloggers out there. Next time you read some of their posts, refer to this list.
And, I guess, it even provides a template for a Z-list blogger like me. Let’s face it. I could be watching the Today show. Or I could be standing in the queue at Starbucks waiting 30 minutes or so for those in front of me to order their triple honey lattes with low fat milk. Now that’s dysfunctional — but also the subject of a future blog posting. Instead I’m sitting here essentially in solitary confinement typing away with the hope that someone out there is actually going to read this. I guess technology changes. But isn’t this somewhat like sticking a note in a bottle and tossing it into the ocean? But I digress.
My point. During my 35-year career in business and education I’ve had the misfortune to meet and work with some dysfunctional CEOs, senior managers and college administrators. (Fortunately John Ong, the longtime BFGoodrich CEO was not among them.) Wonder if they are blogging now?
Well, this didn’t take as long as I thought it would. Might as well head to Starbucks.
I don’t have any luck. Hillary Clinton called me the other night. And the call went to my answering machine.
Boohoo.
Here’s the story. I was watching Wolf Blitzer and Jack Cafferty, reading The New York Times and enjoying a glass of wine. (OK, maybe two.) And the phone rings.
This is why Bell Labs invented Caller ID: Private. Or Out of Area. Shame on me if I answer and become embroiled in a long conversation about the benefits of long-term health-care insurance. Or some equally uncompelling sales pitch. So three quick rings later and I’m back in the comfort zone.
Then later I check the answering machine.
“Hello. This is Hillary Clinton.” What? Good grief. I missed the chance to talk to potentially the next president of the United States. Talk about bad luck. She was reaching out to me. And I didn’t answer the phone. But even worse, the answering machine cut off her message. Any chance Hillary and Bill are going to stop over my place this weekend? If so, I hope it’s early evening. I don’t generally do well with guests after 9 p.m.
But this morning when I was running I thought about the call from Hillary. In this day of social media, here we have the use of a really traditional communication vehicle. Is a telephone call still the most effective way to reach people? Maybe. It’s direct. And while Hillary seemed to be a little rushed, it’s one-on-one communication. Although it didn’t appear that she was giving me much of a chance to join in the conversation. Probably like an executive-level blog at a large corporation.
But on campus, students have cell phones tethered to their ears. They would probably welcome the calls. At home, at least for me, I avoid calls particularly around dinnertime. I’ve reached the point where I can’t risk having to wear a blood pressure cuff to make it through the evening meal. So maybe it’s generational. If Hillary calls back I’ll ask her how effective these calls have been. To me the calls are similar to the ads you have to sit through at movie theaters these days: intrusive and irritating. Possibly good marketing. Bad public relations. I won’t tell her that. From the look of it she has other problems.
All I know is that until March 4 I’ll go ahead and take a chance and answer at least some of the calls. Don’t want to miss Mike Huckabee. He might enjoy running the 10-mile course on South Main Street in Akron. I’ll ask him. That is always fun in late February. Blowing wind. Ice and snow on the street. Cars and trucks coming at you from all directions. Right, Walter?
And then I came home from Kent today. Barack Obama called. He left a message on my answering machine.
Granted, not the most compelling headline. But it should keep me on message – as the PR pros say.
Here’s the info about social media. Kent State and Akron PRSA are hosting a conference Friday, March 7 – You, Too! Social Media Bootcamp & Leadership Summit. Bill Sledzik on his ToughSledding blog has all the information as well as specifics about registration. The only addition to Bill’s post is the confirmation that we received last night that Jenny Camper, president of Lesic-Camper Communications, will be among the panelists for the afternoon leadership summit on “packaging the presidency online.” She is an expert in political communications.
The daylong program will be held at Franklin Hall on the Kent campus. So this also gives us an opportunity to show off the new home for our School of Journalism and Mass Communication. Seating is limited for the program. Register soon. And I’m going to be part of the morning session. Please don’t let that stop you from attending.
Then there is Roger Clemens. I’m not sure what to make of his testimony yesterday at the congressional hearing looking at the illegal use of steroids in baseball. Clearly, either Clemens or his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, is lying. And doing that under oath before members of Congress doesn’t seem like a winning bet. So I guess the jury is still out as to whether or not Clemens’ aggressive public relations strategy will pay off. It’s not surprising that these matters – like most – come down to truth. Ethics anyone?
But what was surprising was the article I read in The New York Times that said any members of the House committee who asked Clemens for an autograph may have violated federal law. Clemens visited with many members of the committee last week, much as representatives of a corporation would do in a similar situation. Wonder what’s happening in Iraq these days?
And now to Facebook. I wrote earlier this week that Facebook, according to The New York Times, was making it difficult if not impossible for people to delete their personal information from the social networking site. A spokesperson for Facebook was quoted in the original article. Then yesterday, The Times printed another article saying Facebook was taking steps to resolve complaints on this issue. Can’t ferret out what exactly happened here. But it appears Facebook management is at least listening and going to take some action. If so, good.
Still, I know that somehow that comment about Willie Nelson will come back to bite me.
It’s warm in Northeast Ohio this morning, around 6o degrees. Still, I ran my five miles at 5 a.m. on the treadmill. One reason: I wanted to watch the local news. I’ll admit it. I fell asleep at halftime of the Ohio State game. Apparently I didn’t miss much.
But when I run on the treadmill I tend to have more random thoughts than I do when running outside and can focus generally on one subject. This morning I was thinking about Roger Clemens, Ohio State football, politics and PRSA. All, I hope, have a connection to public relations.
First, local television news. My first job connected to journalism and public relations (beyond delivering The Pittsburgh Press door-to-door during high school) was at a television station in Pittsburgh, then called WIIC-TV (now WPXI-TV). I worked there part time from 1965 to 1967, mostly hanging around the newsroom, running errands, helping the TV directors time programs and commercial breaks and doing some advertising and promotion work.
At that time, most stations were still broadcasting in black and white – no color, no cable, no satellite feeds, etc. But the format and content of local TV news programs is pretty much the same today as it was 40 years ago: an opening section of news and chatter by news anchors, weather, sports and promotions for other programming, with commercials interwoven throughout. The technology has changed but not the format or content. I wonder if we will look back in a few years and say the same thing about Web 2.0? Just a thought.
Then there is Roger Clemens. He presented his case to the nation about his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs on 60 Minutes Sunday night and again yesterday in interviews with reporters. I thought Clemens did a credible job; others disagree, like George Vecsey writing yesterday in The New York Times, “Unconvincing Portrait of an Angry Victim.” And today in the Times Katie Thomas wrote an interesting story “Nonverbal Actions Add to Clemens’s Story.” I talked about this in one of my postings last week. But from a public relations perspective, Clemens took the offensive, made his case and did what he could to protect his reputation. I’m sure there is more to come on this story, including a Congressional hearing. But if Clemens is telling the truth – he did the right thing. But if there is a skeleton hiding in his locker, well, good luck. Interesting that in public relations it comes down to truth – then tactics and execution.
Then there is the Ohio State game. Final score: LSU 38 – OSU 24. Ugh. But for any of you Buckeye fans reading this who are also part of the Kent State Nation, don’t be too discouraged. The Golden Flashes haven’t won any football titles since 1972 and before Don James moved on to the University of Washington. I know. I was at Dix Stadium that day. So at least the Buckeyes gave it a shot. But actually, for an OSU fan, the game last night was enough to make even Hillary Clinton cry. Oops. Meant to get to that in the next paragraph.
Actually, if you watched any of the news programs yesterday or this morning you almost couldn’t miss the story about how Hillary became teary eyed when talking to supporters in New Hampshire about why see wanted to be president. Good for her. Many are already criticizing her for displaying some emotion. I know the view now will be that she is not tough enough to be commander-in-chief, etc. Ironically, one of the charges against Hillary Clinton is that she is too distant, doesn’t relate well to voters, isn’t personal enough. Well, maybe she does really care – as I believe the other candidates do as well. But does this one moment on TV now define her as it did Senator Ed Muskie in 1972, also in New Hampshire? We’ll see.
David Broder wrote about Muskie in the Washington Monthly in an article printed in 1987. The message is relevant today. Muskie in effect broke down and cried during a news conference where he was reacting to stories printed about him and his wife in the Manchester Union Leader. Muskie, at that time the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, was essentially through. This later turned out to be one of Tricky Dick’s dirty campaign tricks. And coming in the same year as KSU’s last football title. Hmm.
And I mention all this about Hillary Clinton and the other candidates, Republican and Democrat, without personally supporting anyone at this point. As I mentioned in a previous posting, I think it is silly to get attached to a candidate when the reality is that voters in Ohio will likely have no voice in the nomination process. If you believe the pundits on TV, the Democratic nomination may be over tonight, if Barack Obama finishes way ahead of Clinton and John Edwards. Ohio holds its primary March 4. By that time most of the Republican candidates will be gone as well. Wake me in October, as the Cleveland Indians prepare for the World Series.
But I am interested in the campaign from a public relations and social media point of view. I wonder how much influence Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and other sites have had on the campaign, particularly the strong showing by Obama with young people. I hope younger voters stay involved, and if the social networking sites make that happen, good. It is time for a change.
And one final random thought for today. I wrote previously about PRSA and a news release it distributed Jan. 4 about Jeffrey Julin. Bill Sledzik started the discussion on his ToughSledding blog and has received a number of comments. Yesterday I sent an e-mail to Joseph DeRupo, PRSA’s associate director of public relations and the media contact for the Julin announcement. I asked him to give me some information about the announcement: how and where it was distributed, number of stories that resulted from the announcement, that kind of stuff. Not an unreasonable request coming from a 20-year member of PRSA and someone who would like to use this as a teaching lesson on this blog and in class. So far no response from Mr. DeRupo. And in fairness to him, he might be out of the office, he may be getting the information I requested, he might have been preoccupied yesterday looking at ESPN in advance of the Ohio State game. So we’ll see.
But could this be day two in the PRSA “no-response” crisis?
Well, it’s New Year’s Day. And I’ve already completed my first run of 2008 – five miles in a 30 mph wind. Hope that running into the wind is not a sign of things to come for those of us in public relations and public relations education this year. But stick with me for a minute or so. I have another point I want to make about public relations as we start the new year.
I know it may seem strange that I run at 5:30 a.m. on a holiday. But I’ve been doing it now for 20 years or more. And fortunately, my wife, Mary, is understanding and forgiving of this minor (major?) flaw in my behavior.
We’ve been married for almost 34 years. I’ve been running mostly in the very early mornings for 25 years. I guess she figures it’s too late for me for any meaningful therapy.
She has also been a good sport about all of this. Since I get up most days, weekends included, at 4 a.m., we rarely go anywhere that keeps me up past 10 p.m. And the worst thing that can happen is that you invite people to dinner, knowing they may want to linger until, uh, 10:30 or later. Mary on the other hand has some really well-adjusted friends who like to go to events, parties, plays like normal people. Thankfully I finally learned how to work the remote control for our TV. And our dog appears to enjoy my company.
I’m not anti-social, far from it. Consider almost any New Year’s Day from years past. My friends who I met through running – Walter, Jerry, Matt, Joe, Ziggy, Carol and a host of others – would meet very early at Walter’s place in Barberton. We’d run four or five miles – even in the days before global warming. Then we would toast the new year with orange juice and Champagne. None of us were ever awake at midnight for this ritual.
We don’t do that any more. Many have moved from the area. Some prefer to run now – or more likely bike — when the sun is actually shining. Some have reached the age – as I guess we all will – when running just isn’t all that much fun any more, or it’s too hard physically to get out there most days. Men’s senior tennis anyone? As you get older, the road gets both longer and shorter. (I included that last line primarily for the poets who read this blog. I’m trying in my writing to be more lyrical.)
So, guys, thanks for so many great runs, conversations and memories. I thought about all of you a lot as I was out there this morning. And I’m going to talk in this blog throughout the year about some of our runs – and share with others some of my memories about the friendships I’ve been fortunate enough to make on the run.
And maybe there is a public relations lesson here as well. PR is about relationships – in the long run. As a group of runners, we really didn’t have a lot in common, particularly in the early days. We were of different ages and backgrounds. We had vastly different jobs, views on politics and social issues, sports and just about anything else you could name. But we talked as we ran – and we had great conversations. We didn’t always agree. But over the years we developed solid relationships based on trust, honesty, fairness and empathy – and civility.
Too bad as public relations pros we can’t replicate that with employees, customers, shareholders, students, reporters, etc. I’ll bet if we could, our employers and clients would benefit and public relations as a profession would be held in much higher regard.
I agree that social media, Web 2.0 and all the new technologies are great tactical advances. But I’m not sure that the new technology will help us create the relationships that we need with people inside and outside our organizations. It may, in fact, do just the opposite. Does anyone actually pick up the phone and talk to a reporter these days? Do CEOs and college presidents still meet and talk face-to-face with employees, faculty and students? I hope so. But it’s hard to tell. I don’t see many in the blogosphere talking about those kind of things these days. Maybe over time I’ll be able here in some very small way to help spark an ongoing conversation about the role of what I’ll call traditional face-to-face tactics in public relations versus the new tactics related to social media and Web 2.0. We’ll see.
Oh, and Mary. You know I don’t make resolutions. I have enough trouble remembering what you have asked me to get at the store. But I’m determined to be more flexible with my schedule this year.
Would 10:15 p.m. as a curfew be OK?
Also, Mary seems to be warming up to this new activity of mine, blogging. Just yesterday I was in my office at home searching for some obscure Web site. She yelled enthusiastically: “C’mon. We have to go. What the hell are you doing up there.”
So it goes.
Photo of me completing the Columbus Marathon in October 1985.
Sorry about that headline. I read an article recently about search engine optimization. It said to attract readers to your blog you needed to include the main topic (public relations) in the headline. Based on results so far, the wizard behind the search engine optimization curtain must have gotten an early start on the holiday. I’ll keep trying.
Anyway, yesterday I talked about the qualities (values?) that I believe are important for individuals in public relations positions and for the profession in general: character, ethics and professionalism. These qualities to me are still more important than spending all our time and energy worrying about the techniques for search engine optimization or for integrating Facebook and MySpace into public relations plans. Yeah, I know. I’m a dinosaur with a laptop. But that’s what I believe. And yet I want to learn about social media, particularly how social media can be used by organizations to help them become more successful. I hope that those of you reading this blog who are interested in social media will talk to me about your experiences, successes and failures. I really do want to learn.
In the meantime, expect me to talk about character, at least occasionally.
When I first started running, I was an avid reader of Runner’s World. Then over time I stopped reading. Once you’ve read 10 or so articles about the “10 Tips for Running a Successful 10-K” – you’ve pretty much read them all. (I’m experiencing the same problem with many of the issues of PRTactics these days, after being a member of PRSA for about 20 years. That’s another issue.) But my daughter is a runner and a reader of Runner’s World, and I read an interesting article in the January 2008 issue by Kenny Moore.
It’s a profile of Joan Benoit Samuelson. Talk about a person who demonstrates character. Joan Benoit Samuelson helped define marathon running for a generation of women – and men. In the 1980s, she set a world record in winning the Boston Marathon and then the gold medal in the first-ever women’s Olympic Marathon held in Los Angeles. But Joan Benoit Samuelson never tried to capitalize on her fame. She returned to her home in Maine, raised a family and gave her time, name and energy to a limited number of charities. In the article, Moore says she turned 50 several months ago and plans to run the Boston Marathon this April. The Boston Marathon will be the venue for the U.S. women’s Olympic trials. Moore says Benoit has no expectation of making the Olympic team – but hopes to finish under 2:50.
Joan Benoit Samuelson has character; she didn’t cash in on her celebrity. Consequently, she has maintained her reputation and creditability for years. Gee, it sounds a lot like what we are trying to achieve for our organizations by advocating public relations based on character, ethics and professionalism. Wonder what Brittany Spears will be doing at 50?
When I turned 40 – in 1987 – I completed the Pittsburgh Marathon, running with my friends Walter Herbruck and Matt Para. That was also the site for the women’s Olympic trials that year. And it was a thrill as a middle-of-the-pack (at best) runner to be associated with a world-class sporting event. I’m almost certain that my marathon running days are over. But if Joan Benoit Samuelson can complete the Boston Marathon at age 50 in less than 2:50, well…Maybe there is one long run left for me before being sent off to where the dinosaurs go to retire.
I'm Rob Jewell. And I've been a public relations practitioner and educator for more than 35 years. I've been a runner for more than 25 years. On this blog I'm going to share my thoughts on public relations -- and other things that I think about on the run.
PR on the run 