Among those hiring this week are the Aurora Sentinel, Brocade, Chipotle, Tetra Tech, The Arthritis Foundation, FoodServiceWarehouse.com, Maricopa County (Arizona) and Target (Minneapolis).
Don Kirchoffner of Denver’s Don Kirchoffner & Associates has been diagnosed with cancer, and he is fighting it exactly like you would expect – head on. If you would like to send Don a message, you can do so through his Caring Bridge page: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/donkirchoffner.
Filed under: Public Relations
Tired of being left out of the BCS bowl games year after year, the Boise State football team has retained the PR firm of Scott Peyron & Associates to help make its argument off the field.
Filed under: Pitches
Ragan’s PR Daily interviews WGN medical reporter Dina Bair to find out how to best pitch her.
PRSA Colorado is taking its PR Boost program for nonprofits to Twitter. A panel of local PR experts, including Gina Seamans, Bill Green, Lisa Cutter, Jane Dvorak and Kristy Bassuener, will answer questions from non-profits tomorrow (Wednesday), Nov. 4, from 11-11:45 a.m. MST. Click here for information on how to participate in – or just follow – the Twitter conversation.
Congratulations to The Bawmann Group, SE2 and Weise Communications for picking up the hardware at Colorado Healthcare Communicators’ 2009 Gold Leaf Awards. And to Bawmann’s Tammy Stratton who was named the CHC 2009 ”Professional of the Year.”
Denver PR jobs guru Andrew Hudson’s annual JobsGobble job-seeker seminar and networking party is Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Comedy Works South in Greenwood Village. Click here for details/registration.
Among those hiring this week are ARCADIS, Clear Channel Communications, Keypoint Government Solutions, Leprino Foods, OtterBox, University of Denver, Vail Resorts and VMWare.
Filed under: Politics
You have to give the Governator credit: He knows how to veto a bill. Time to step up your game, Gov. Ritter.
Triangle eyes and noses are for amateurs. Check out these social media/tech-inspired Halloween pumpkins.
(Hat tip to 104 West Partners/Johanna Erickson)
After seeing the public relations bonanza that Denver Magazine garnered with its Fox31 news “skankors” cover photo, Colorado View magazine called in a couple of Photoshop experts for its inaugural cover. Michael Roberts at Westword has the background. In the meantime, don’t hold your breath waiting for that Ron-Zappolo-and-Mike-Landess-in-Speedos covershot.
The Denver Post is touting its strong circulation figures in the latest Audit Bureau of Circulation report, while Westword’s Michael Roberts digs beneath the surface to see whether the numbers are as strong as the Post claims.
Among those hiring this week are the Colorado Center on Law and Policy, Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, CH2MHill, Colorado Statesman, Denver Options, Department Of Agriculture (Forest Service), Douglas County Libraries, Gardner Edgerton School District, Interweave Press (Loveland), Jeppesen, Swisslog, The Kempe Foundation, Waste Management, American Cancer Society (Durango), City of Phoenix, Ariz., and AAA (Washington, D.C.).
Filed under: PRSA
PRSA has launched its new Web site (or website, if you are Ef Rodriguez). PRSA says the new site offers better search and customization tools, as well as a simpler interface.
Congratulations to JohnstonWells CEO GG Johnston, who was named a Denver Business Journal 2009-2010 Top Business Newsmaker in the Media & Communications category.
- The Bawmann Group was hired by MyTeleHealth Solutions and the national Flu Information & Care System to launch www.amafluhelp.org. The Web site is the nation’s first comprehensive online flu assessment program to coordinate care among patients and their families.
- Linhart PR has been retained by mix1 Beverage Company. Boulder-based mix1 is an emerging leader in the functional beverage and performance nutrition category.
Filed under: Pushkin PR
Pushkin Public Relations is relocating from Greenwood Village to Larimer Square downtown at the end of this month.
Filed under: Balloon Boy
Apparently the Heenes aren’t the only crazies on their street. Maybe someone should check the neighborhood’s water supply.
(hat tip to Andrew Hudson)
Perpetually underappreciated former 9News anchor/reporter Bob Kendrick’s career death spiral continues. In July, Kendrick took a reporter and occasional weekend anchor position with CHEK News in Vancouver. However, CHEK News was sold to a new owner in September, and Kendrick has now accepted a position as an anchor on the combined ABC/FOX newscast in Columbus, Ohio. Kendrick told the Columbus Dispatch, “I’m thrilled to call central Ohio home. And, yes, I’ve already started practicing my ‘Go Bucks.’ “
Denver management consulting, strategic communications and public affairs firm GBSM is seeking an Executive Assistant. For more information, check out Andrew Hudson’s Jobs List, the single best resource for Denver marketing and PR jobs.
Filed under: Balloon Boy
Nutjob “Balloon Boy” hoax artist Richard Heene (left) and even nutjobbier Hollywood actor Crispin Glover.
SE2, through its blog, offers some no-nonsense PR advice to Balloon Boy’s family.
Among those hiring this week are the National Stroke Association, Metropolitan State College, CaridianBCT, Department of Veteran Affairs, National Enrichment Facility/LES (Eunice, NM), Kansas State University (Manhattan, Kans.) and Cargill (Wichita, Kans.).
Today is the deadline to purchase tickets to the Denver Press Club’s 2009 “Gridiron Show.” Among those who will be on stage are Bruce Goldberg, John Hickenlooper, Bill Owens, Andrew Hudson, Mike Landess, Cynthia Hessin, Reggie Rivers, Neil Westergaard, TaRhonda Thomas, Gregg Moss and Steve Saunders.
The details are:
Denver Press Club’s 2009 Gridiron Show
Friday, Oct. 23 (silent auction at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6 pm and entertainment at 7 pm)
Marriott Center City
1701 California Street, Denver, CO 80202
Click here to purchase tickets
Filed under: Denver Business Journal
If you don’t subscribe to the Denver Business Journal, you should. It covers Denver business at a depth that you simply won’t find anywhere else in town. And for the month of October, the DBJ is offering $20 off its one-year subscription. Call or email Jan to subscribe (303.803.9280 or jwambolt@bizjournals.com).
UPDATE: No, this is not an ad. I did not receive anything tangible or intangible from the DBJ for posting it. I’m just a fan, and think you should be, too.
Andrew Hudson is on fire this week, and he has posted a slew of new jobs since Monday in his “Jobs that Just Can’t Wait” section. So if you are job hunting, check them out.
Filed under: 104 West, Digital Idea Media, Metzger, Social Media, Story + Welch, Turner PR, blogs
If you are devotee of social media and its implications for public relations, check out a new social-media specific blog that features posts by 104 West’s Elaine Schoch, Metzger’s Elaine Ellis, Digital Idea Media’s (and MediaOnTwitter’s) Melissa Hourigan, Turner PR’s Ef Rodriguez and me. The blog is called Social Byte – http://socialbyte.net.
Congratulations to Tracy Boyle and her team at GBSM, which was named as a finalist in the annual PR News’ Nonprofit PR Awards for their work with client Delta Dental Foundation.
Filed under: Journalism Moves, New York Times, Rocky Mountain News, journalism
The New York Times profiles former Rocky reporter and current Guadalupe County Communicator publisher Michael “M.E.” Sprengelmeyer. Interestingly, Michael only went by “M.E.” professionally because the byline “Michael Sprengelmeyer” was too long to fit in one column width.
The Wall Street Journal has passed USA Today as the most-subscribed newspaper in the U.S. Unfortunately, the WSJ nabbed the honor only after USA Today raised its newstand price 33 percent saw a resulting 17 percent decline in circulation.
Among those hiring this week are Kaiser Permanente, Qdoba, Dumb Friends League, Volume Public Relations, BusinessWire, Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep Foundation, The Hach Company, Arrow Electronics, Elbert County Early Childhood Council, the Colorado Chapter of the National MS Society, Waste Management and Winter Park Resort.
Scatterbox’s (and GBSM’s) Steve Silvers offers a business primer on the new FTC blogging rules that require bloggers to disclose any “material connections” they have to companies they write about.
Come see some of Denver’s biggest names in politics and media, onstage in the Denver Press Club’s annual Gridiron Show – a hilarious night of political and cultural satire and songs. The details are:
Denver Press Club’s 2009 Gridiron Dinner
Friday, Oct. 23 (silent auction at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6 pm and entertainment at 7 pm)
Marriott Center City
1701 California Street, Denver, CO 80202
Click here to purchase tickets
Dig out your copy of Mr. Boston’s Bar Guide to find the most difficult drink around: Philosophy Communication principals Jennifer Lester and Jennifer Miller will be guest bartenders at the Denver Press Club, 1330 Glenarm, on Wednesday, Oct. 14 from 6 – 8 p.m. All tips will benefit HomeAid Colorado, a nonprofit that builds homes for Colorado’s temporarily homeless, and Teaching Humane Existence (T.H.E.), sponsor of The Watch House project, a residential campus facility for repeat sex offenders.
Congratulations to Metzger Associates, whose client The Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure raised more than $2 million this past weekend at its annual Race for the Cure event.
Filed under: Wins
Guttau Public Relations has been hired by BellaLu Home & Design to handle the company’s public relations.
Filed under: Events
Fresh off his capitol dome-licking demonstration, Denver sports author Rick Reilly will be the keynote speaker at the Asian Pacific Development Center’s Gala Dinner on Friday, October 9 at 6:30 p.m. Reilly will be joined by his 20-year old daughter, Rae, who was adopted from Korea as an infant. Details about the event are here.
Among those hiring this week are CSG|PR, The Farm Credit System, Karsh\Hagan, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, Sandy Puc’ Portrait Design, CH2MHill, Hunter Douglas, Child Health Corp of America (Shawnee Mission, Kans.), Midstream Energy (Salt Lake City), Valley of the Sun United Way (Phoenix) and Cargill Meat Solutions (Wichita, Neb.).
Filed under: Politics
Lawyers never ask questions they don’t already know the answer to, and PR people never send CEOs to fancy award events if they don’t already know the CEO is the winner. Why? Because unless you are a kid, surprises almost always suck. Why risk your political capital or credibility when the upside is so small compared to what the downside could be?
I note this because of President Barack Obama’s trip this week to lobby for Chicago to host the 2016 Olympics. After sticking his political capital on the line to lobby in person for Chicago, he was stiffed in the first round of voting by the IOC today. Seriously, did Air Force One even land back in Washington before they rejected Chicago? Tokyo – where the 50M swim events would probably require 60 laps in a pool the size of a hot tub – made it farther than Chicago in the balloting process. Ouch.
Remember Iraqi Information Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf (a.k.a Baghdad Bob)? He achieved new heights in propoganda during and after the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, proclaiming on TV that no American troops were in Baghdad and that American soldiers instead were “committing suicide by the hundreds at the city’s gates.” For about a week, he had more face time on CNN than Wolf Blitzer.
Anyway, AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel apparently went to the same school as Baghdad Bob. Here’s is Mark’s statement to C/NET on the vast and increasing number of complaints about AT&T’s pathetic service quality:
“We have a strong, high-quality mobile broadband network. It is the nation’s fastest 3G network, now in 350 major metropolitan areas.”
Here’s a free PR tip to all of you starting out in the business: Don’t – repeat, DO NOT – grab the nearest brochure and start reading from it when an unexpected question from a reporter causes you to panic. Instead, do what GBSM’s Steve Silvers does: pretend your building’s fire alarm is going off and tell the reporter you’ll have to call them back in a few minutes.
Filed under: Advertising
T-Mobile wins the “Ad of the Week” award for its commercial featuring both Yusuf Islam (a.k.a. Cat Stevens), who called for author Salman Rushdie’s death for writing The Satanic Verses, and Whoopi Goldberg, who argued that director Roman Polanski’s guilty plea to statutory rape charges shouldn’t be pursued because the then-44-year-old Polanksi’s sexual encounter with a 13-year-old girl wasn’t really “rape-rape.”
Filed under: Johnston Wells
Congratulations to GG Johnston and the crew at JohnstonWells, who are celebrating the agency’s 38th birthday today.
Turner PR is seeking “recent graduates or current students majoring in journalism, communications or public relations” for its unpaid fall internship program. Duties include media relations assistance, drafting press materials, creating and updating media lists and editorial calendars, media monitoring, research, measurement assistance, and social and emerging media outreach. To be considered, email Charlotte Smith a cover letter and resume (no phone calls).
Filed under: Public Relations
Media Orchard compiles the list.
Come see some of Denver’s biggest names in politics and media, onstage in the Denver Press Club’s annual Gridiron Show – a hilarious night of political and cultural satire and songs. The details are:
Denver Press Club’s 2009 Gridiron Dinner
Friday, Oct. 23 (silent auction at 5:30 pm, dinner at 6 pm and entertainment at 7 pm)
Marriott Center City
1701 California Street, Denver, CO 80202
Click here to purchase tickets
Congratulations to Denver-based Cohn Marketing, which was among the winners in PR Week’s first annual “Top Places to Work in PR.”
Metzger Associates has been selected by Denver-based start-up company NextWave Performance to launch its web-based SaaS platform.
Voca PR has unveiled its new Web site and landed two new clients: Boca Raton, Fla.-based Revelex and Boulder-based Boulder Creek Life and Home.
Filed under: Events
B2B technology marketing strategy and design firm Market Creation Group is showcasing its expanded office by hosting a bra art exhibit to benefit the Denver Metropolitan Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. The networking event and exhibit will be held in the Art District on Santa Fe from 6-9 p.m. this Friday (Oct. 2) at the MCG studios, 910 Santa Fe Drive, Studios 11 and 12, as part of the district’s First Friday Art Walk.
The Second Annual PRSA chapter retreat is Friday, Oct. 16, at the Curtis Hotel. Events include morning sessions for young professionals, a luncheon with keynote speaker Dana Perino, former White House Press Secretary, afternoon workshops covering topics for all types of professionals, an all-day resource fair, and a cocktail and networking reception. The early registration deadline ends Oct. 2. Click here for details.
Filed under: 5280
5280 magazine editor and publisher Daniel Brogan has been elected president of the City and Regional Magazine Association’s (CRMA) board of directors. The national organization represents more than 80 local and regional lifestyle magazines throughout the United States and Canada.
Filed under: Marketing
The Wisconsin Tourism Federation held out as long as it could, but the rebrand to the Tourism Federation of Wisconsin was inevitable.
Among those hiring this week are Amelie Company, Remax, Department of Energy, Entercom Denver, Longmont Times-Call, Adrenaline Garage (Winter Park), American Public Health Association (Washington, D.C.), Monster.com (Maynard, Mass.) and the United States Agency for International Development (Afghanistan).
Filed under: Denver
A Denver parking enforcement vehicle, courtesy of the Rocky Mountain Independent.
Denver’s loss is Toronto’s gain. David Milstead, the talented business and financial columnist for the Rocky Mountain News, has accepted a reporter position with Toronto-based Globe and Mail. Milstead would have been a strong addition to the Denver Post, but his candid coverage of the events surrounding the Rocky’s closing – and the Post’s own less-than-solid financial footing – seemingly cost him that chance.
Here is Milstead’s email announcing the news to friends and colleagues:
From: David Milstead
Date: September 22, 2009 3:44:43 PM MDT
To: undisclosed recipients
Subject: Milstead updateI will be joining the Globe and Mail, Canada’s Toronto-based national newspaper, as a reporter in its Report On Business section. I’ll be doing something similar to what I did at the Rocky Mountain News – specialty finance coverage. (No column, however.)
The Globe and Mail competes directly with The National Post, which describes itself as a national newspaper, but fails to distribute in some provinces and has suspended publication of its Monday paper. The Toronto Star and The Sun provide local news in the market.
I consider myself fortunate to find a full-time job with benefits with an excellent newspaper that has a serious commitment to business journalism. The Report On Business has about three dozen reporters; the day I interviewed, it was 20 broadsheet pages. All told, the Globe and Mail has more than 300 newsroom employees and circulates about 330,000 copies a day.
My first day will be Nov. 2.
I believed from the beginning that I would face the choice of leaving journalism or leaving Denver, and thought it more likely I’d leave journalism. I had prepared myself for that possibility, and am somewhat shocked to be heading right back into the newspaper business.
It was not our goal or preference to leave Denver, and we will miss all the wonderful people we’ve met in the last eight years. We will keep in touch.
The Bawmann Group has been retained by the Colorado Egg Producers for PR, social media, advertising and interactive services.
- GBSM has added Becky Karlin as an associate. Karlin formerly served as a senior policy advisor to Gov. Bill Owens on health care, insurance and higher education issues. She also worked in the corporate communications department of Frontier Airlines.
- The Humane Society of Boulder Valley named Kim Sporrer as director of communications. Sporrer most recently was with Linhart PR.
Among those hiring this week are Livewell Colorado (two positions), The Children’s Hospital, Clear Channel, Covidien, Local Matters, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Waste Management, Work Options for Women and H&R Block (Kansas City).
Arthur Folsom, the lawyer representing Colorado terrorist suspect Najibullah Zazi, hasn’t exactly been knocking the ball out of the park lately (who lets their client voluntarily talk to the FBI only to have them arrested for lying to the FBI a couple of days later?). But brighter days assuredly are on the horizon. Folsom has retained Wendy Aiello of Aiello Public Relations to represent him.
Unfortunately, things so far are not going well for Aiello, who is married to CBS4 GM Walt DeHaven. Since adding Folsom as a client four days ago, Bruce Goldberg at the Denver Business Journal reports she has received a number of threatening and abusive phone calls and emails.
Filed under: PRSA
PRSA Colorado has added nearly 20 new members through new corporate group members Qwest and Jeppesen. Contact PRSA Colorado president Gina Seamans if you want more information about the group memberships.
Filed under: PR Moves
- Dovetail Solutions named Scott Gossett and Ryan Peacock as managers of client services. Gossett formerly was with Stryker Weiner and Yokota in Hawaii and Peacock formerly was with Metro Mountain Media (a division of MediaNews Group).
- The Loveland Chamber of Commerce & Visitor’s Center named Nicole Hegg as communications and events manager. Hegg formerly was with VisiTech PR.
- GroundFloor Media has introduced its new Web site that includes live Twitter and blog post feeds.
- Dovetail Solutions has unveiled a agency new blog.
Filed under: PRSA
When I worked at the data and Internet division of US West, I was always annoyed that they let the engineers name everything. Inevitably, products had names like Integrated Services Digital Network, Digital Subscriber Line and Asynchronous Transfer Mode. The only thing marketing could do at that point was to start using the acronyms: ISDN, DSL and ATM.
Anyway, the tide is turning. PRSA is on a quest to develop a unit of measurement for what it is we do in public relations, so presumably we will get to name it. In fact, in the spirit of true public relations, I think we should just name the unit of measurement and not bother figuring out what it quantifies. After all, we’ll probably just change that on a client-by-client basis to reflect best on our campaigns.
So if you have a suggestion, preferably something catchy like ”buzzles” (as in, “Our last campaign generated 246,500 buzzles”), call Colorado PRSA President Gina Seamans at home post a comment on the PRSA blog.
Filed under: TV News
If you are at work, you’ll want to turn your speakers down for this one. And check out the female co-anchor’s eyes after he utters the magic phrase.
What do Mayor Hickenlooper, Reggie Rivers, Cynthia Hessin, Fred Brown, Gregg Moss, Steve Saunders, former Gov. Owens, Bruce Goldberg, Andrew Hudson, Neil Westergaard, Tom Clark and I have in common? If you guessed something to do with the federal investigation into the Denver Players prostitute ring, well, I can neither confirm nor deny that. But I can confirm that we will all be at the Denver Press Club’s annual Gridiron Show on Friday, Oct. 23.
Joanne Ostrow at the Denver Post gives KMGH/Channel 7 anchor Anne Trujillo the kiss of death by writing a congratulatory 25th anniversary article. In this devolving media environment, 25 is about the average age of anchors, not the length of time they’ve been at your station.
Among those hiring this week are the Dumb Friends League, John A. Jenson LLC, DRCOG, Level 3 (intern position), Evercare Hospice, Work Options for Women, NREL, Teletech and Colorado State Forest Service (Fort Collins).
Filed under: Public Relations
Who says water doesn’t find its own level? Today’s PR marriage made in heaven: drunk SUV jockey Lizzie Grubman and prostitute-loving ShamWow pitchman Vince Shlomi.
The Colorado Fall Home Show has selected GroundFloor Media to lead its public relations programs for its 2009 event. GroundFloor will conduct media relations and social media campaigns to raise awareness of the organization and its 2009 event.
Filed under: Events
PRSA ‘Something to Tweet About’
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009
Click here for details
Ignite Boulder 6
6 – 10 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2009
Click here for details
Asian Pacific Development Center Gala featuring Denver author Rick Reilly
6:30 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, 2009
Click here for details
PRSA Colorado Chapter Retreat Featuring Dana Perino
8:45 a.m. – 6:30 p.m.; Friday, Oct. 16, 2009
Click here for details
Congratulations to 104 West’s Kathryn Marshall, who has been named to the advisory board of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The Board is an all-volunteer group dedicated to helping the school in its commitment to providing a quality education, creating and disseminating knowledge and supporting the economic drivers of the region, state and nation.
Among those hiring this week are 5280 Magazine, The Children’s Hospital, Texas de Brazil, Rocky Mountain PBS, Kiewit Building Group, MMG Mardiks, Grace Dickerson, One Earth Foundation/Colorado & Santa Fe Real Estate Company, Care and Share (Pueblo), Columbia College, Fire and Police Pension Association, Lexis Nexis, State Bar of Arizona and the UN Foundation (Washington D.C.).
Filed under: Awards
Congratulations to Traction Communications’ Kirtsen Hamling, who was named an “Outstanding Woman in Business” by the Denver Business Journal in its communications category.
Filed under: Awards
The Colorado chapter of “Ladies Who Launch” is accepting nominations for its First Annual Leading Lady Awards recognizing Colorado’s women entrepreneurs. Nominations will be accepted through October 16. Details are here.
Filed under: Dovetail
Dovetail Solutions is inviting its employees, vendors, clients and friends to join the firm at its annual service day on Saturday, Sept. 19, from 8:30 am to 1:00 pm. Email Emily Holleran for details and to RSVP.
Filed under: Public Relations
Dana Lauren Berry, formerly a Denver Post reporter and assistant press secretary to Colorado Gov. Bill Owens, has launched Dana Lauren PR, a boutique public relations firm focusing on the hospitality and lifestyle industries, including hotels, restaurants, spas, retailers and luxury developments.
Colorado-based public policy and issues firm SE2 has added the Colorado Regional Health Information Organization (CORHIO) as a client. CORHIO works to improve the health care of all Coloradans by facilitating the state’s efforts to harness technology that will allow health care providers across the state to securely share patient information.
Dovetail Solutions has added CBIZ, High Sierra Water Services and McDonald Automotive Group as clients.
Filed under: GroundFloor Media
Congratulations to Laura Love and the crew at GroundFloor Media, who are celebrating the agency’s 8th birthday today.
- Jim Licko has joined GroundFloor Media as a senior public relations manager. Licko formerly was with Pete Webb Public Relations.
- Former Rocky Mountain News business columnist Joanne Kelley has been named executive director of the Colorado Association of Funders.
- Former CBS4 reporter Karlyn Tilley has been named the City of Golden’s communications manager.
Filed under: Advertising
The World Wildlife Fund is learning the hard way what happens when you pick an advertising agency more interested in winning awards than serving your needs.
UPDATE: The Denver Egotist has a link to a minute-long television commercial based on the same concept.
SECOND UPDATE: WWF and DDB Brasil now say the ad was approved by “inexperienced” executives on both sides, and that the ad ran once in a small Sao Paulo newspaper. We all know that mistakes hurt but that it is the cover-ups that kill you, so we’ll see how long this story lasts.
On the heels of Denver Magazine’s controversial cover shot of Fox31 anchors Libby Weaver and Natalie Tysdal, the Denver Post profiles the magazine’s CEO, publisher and editor Michael Ledwitz.
Among those hiring this week are 104 West, The Children’s Hospital, Correctional Healthcare Companies, City of Commerce City, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, American Print Media, Department of Veterans Affairs, City and County of Denver Clerk and Recorder’s Office, Jeffco, ProBuild, Teletech, Fort Collins Coloradoan, U.S. Department of the Interior, Vectra Bank and CNN.
U.S. Rep. Jared Polis danced on the grave of the Rocky Mountain News, and now U.S. Sen. Harry Reid has thrown a shovel full of dirt at the Las Vegas Review-Journal hoping it sparks something. Here’s a free PR tip: Quit publicly rooting for something that would be devastating to the hundreds of your constituents who are LVRJ employees and the hundreds of thousands who are subscribers.
Filed under: journalism
I don’t even know what to say about his one. Seriously, I’m speechless (mostly because I can’t stop laughing).
(Hat tip: Jim Dissett)
The Associated Press reports that “newspapers’ financial woes worsened in the second quarter as advertising sales shrank by 29 percent, leaving publishers with $2.8 billion less revenue than they had at the same time last year.” More troubling, industry analyst Ken Doctor says newspapers will be lucky to recover half of the losses they have sustained because much of the drop has been from a permanent advertising migration to the Internet rather than just recession-based losses.
Denver Magazine has scored this week’s PR Win of the Week. Magazine covers are all about capturing attention, and Denver Magazine’s cover shot of Fox31 anchors Libby Weaver and Natalie Tysdal has been the talk of the town this week. Westword offers Photoshopped versions of the cover featuring various Denver duos, and Joanne Ostrow at the Denver Post even weighed in on it this morning.
Filed under: Crisis Communications
Microsoft is playing a little public relations defense today after a photo appeared on its Polish-language Web site that Photoshopped a black man into a white man. There are, of course, a number of lessons to be learned here, not least of which is that a white guy with black hands may arouse suspicion.
Congratulations to University of Colorado at Boulder, which was named one of the Top 10 Douchiest Colleges in the U.S. by GQ Magazine. The Top 10 rankings are largely a mix of Ivy-ish schools and universities you’ve never heard of:
15. Notre Dame (not part of the Top 10 but included for Elaine Ellis and Dan Welch)
10. University of Colorado at Boulder
9. Charter College
8. Rollins College
7. Amherst College
6. Bob Jones University
5. Deep Springs
4. Harvard
3. Princeton
2. Duke
1. Brown
(Hat tip to 5280)
Boulder-based social media agency Room 214 landed skin-care product company Bioelements as a new client.
When 303 Magazine announced its recent “Gentleman’s Issue” featuring nude local marketing directors, I wrote it off as the desperate last gasp of a magazine being squeezed to death by 5280 and Denver Magazine. But now Denver Magazine has followed suit with its own “Men’s Issue,” and Michael Roberts at Westword has called out Fox31 GM Dennis Leonard for allowing anchors Libby Weaver and Natalie Tysdal to transform themselves from “anchors to skank-ers” for the cover photo shoot.
Filed under: Obit
A sad day for the dozens of GM fans around the world: They must bid farewell to the iconic GM logo. Created in the early 1960s, the logo once represented global brand strength. Now, it is just another brand anchor around the necks of Chevrolet and Cadillac, among others. GM announced it will gradually phase the logo out starting in 2010.
Filed under: Fees
The Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek are the latest to think so.
Filed under: Chipotle
Denver-based Chipotle, which has made a killing by being slightly ahead of trends, has introduced an iPhone app that allows customers to pre-order food.
