You have to give the Governator credit: He knows how to veto a bill. Time to step up your game, Gov. Ritter.
Month: October 2009
A Geek Halloween
Triangle eyes and noses are for amateurs. Check out these social media/tech-inspired Halloween pumpkins.
(Hat tip to 104 West Partners/Johanna Erickson)
Are There Any Male News Anchors in Denver?
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.
Denver Post Trumpets Circulation Figures
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.
Denver PR Jobs
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.).
PRSA Unveils New Web Site
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.
GG Johnson Named DBJ Top Business Newsmaker
Congratulations to JohnstonWells CEO GG Johnston, who was named a Denver Business Journal 2009-2010 Top Business Newsmaker in the Media & Communications category.
Denver Agency Wins
- 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.
Pushkin PR Moving to New LoDo Office
Pushkin Public Relations is relocating from Greenwood Village to Larimer Square downtown at the end of this month.
Great Moments in Journalism XXI
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)
Bob Kendrick Update, Sponsored by Ohio State
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.’ “
GBSM Seeks Executive Assistant
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.
Separated at Birth
Nutjob “Balloon Boy” hoax artist Richard Heene (left) and even nutjobbier Hollywood actor Crispin Glover.
Tip #6: ‘Know any vulnerability that might make you appear batshit crazy’
SE2, through its blog, offers some no-nonsense PR advice to Balloon Boy’s family.
Denver PR Jobs
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.).
Ticket Deadline for DPC’s ‘Gridiron Show’ Today
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
DBJ Offers October Subscription Deal
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.
Denver PR Jobs
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.
Shameless Self-promotion Alert
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.
GBSM Named Finalist for PR News’ Nonprofit Award
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.
Sprengelmeyer’s ‘Tom Sawyer Business Plan’
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.
WSJ Now Nation’s Largest Newspaper
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.
Denver PR Jobs
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.
A Business Primer on New FTC Transparency Rules
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.
Tickets Available for Denver Press Club’s ‘2009 Gridiron Dinner’
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
‘The Jens’ to Offer Drinks, PR Advice at the DPC
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.
Metzger Client Raises $2 Million for Cancer Research
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.
Guttau Lands New Client
Guttau Public Relations has been hired by BellaLu Home & Design to handle the company’s public relations.
Rick Reilly to Headline APDC Gala Dinner Tomorrow
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.
Denver PR Jobs
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.).
IOC Stiffs Obama, Chicago
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.
Why Don’t You Take Another Crack At It, AT&T?
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.
Ad of the Week
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.”
Happy Birthday, JohnstonWells
Congratulations to GG Johnston and the crew at JohnstonWells, who are celebrating the agency’s 38th birthday today.
How Much Are You Paying An Agency for Social Media Help?
Probably somewhere between $400 and $20,000 per month, according to the The Wall Street Journal.
Denver Public Relations Blog 