Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News. Here’s to all the great journalists who worked for the newspaper over the past century, and especially to those who were with it at the end. You deserved better.
Better not let your company Tweet something congratulating an Olympics athlete for doing well – the USOC or IOC may come after you.
If you have a pitch sitting with an ABC News producer, better follow up quickly. ABC announced today it will cut 300-400 news division staffers as part of a “transformation” to make the division leaner. The layoffs represent up to 25 percent of ABC News’ total staff.
UPDATE: PRNewswer spoke with ABC News President David Westin about the PR implications of the layoff.
PRSA Colorado and the Denver Press Club host “Bad Press Release Theater” tomorrow (Tuesday) night from 6-10 p.m. Improv performers include Steve Koenigsberg, Lisa Cutter and Elisabeth Monaghan of PRSA, and Cynthia Hessin, Adam Goldstein and Bruce Goldberg of the DPC. The PR folks will play the part of media pros, and vice versa. Details are here.
The rumors have been circulating for a little while that CBS4 lead anchor Karen Leigh is pregnant, so I’ve been curious if there would be any backlash to the fact that she is not married. Most people wouldn’t care, of course, but TV news viewership tends to skew a little old and cranky.
But so far, there hasn’t been much noise. And credit Leigh for getting ahead of the story with this blog post. She smartly humanized her situation in a way that should take the air out of those who might criticize her.
Among those hiring this week are Turner PR, Volume PR, The Berry Company, Dumb Friends League, National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, MDC Holdings, Coclear, Telluride Daily Planet, Kansas City Chiefs (Kansas City, Mo.) and Argonne National Labs (Argonne, Ill.).
The Denver Business Journal profiled Linhart Public Relations as part of its “Beating the Recession” series, and Linhart is sounding an optimistic note for 2010. The firm, which now employs 18, expects 2010 revenue to increase 16 percent to $3.5 million. Enough growth for Sharon Linhart to talk a little veiled trash:
“In comparison to other firms, I’d have to say we’re doing very, very well,” said Sharon Linhart, the company’s founder and managing partner.
Just like Elvis 35 years ago, Metzger is expanding in Las Vegas. The Boulder-based agency has opened an office in Las Vegas and named Victoria Soares as managing director.
I’m all for ginning up some controversy, but the Denver Post copyeditor responsible for that headline may be trying a little too hard. How did Qwest CEO Ed Mueller actually respond when asked about whether he had sold his house in Denver:
“I think (the question is) irrelevant and … I think it’s offensive.”
Maybe the Post should send a reporter to New York to cover Alec Baldwin for a couple of weeks to get a little perspective.
Among those hiring this week are Vladimir Jones, Allstate, Quiznos, The Winsor Group, American Heart Association, City of Centennial, ClearChoice Dental Implants Center, Metro Denver Dental Society, Lockton Group, Colorado Workers for Innovative and New Solutions (Colorado WINS), The Spa Buzz, Colorado State University (Fort Collins), Georgia Pacific (Muskogee, Okla.) and Terraso (Mesa, Ariz.).
Paula Berg leaves Southwest Airlines to join Linhart, and then all (social media) hell breaks loose. Coincidence? I think not.
Turner PR is hopping. The travel, hospitality and real estate public relations firm recently named Michelle McLeod senior account executive in its Denver office. McLeod’s resume includes previous positions with Cohn & Wolfe and Porter Novelli.
And the firm also is seeking an emerging media coordinator to work with the mercurial Ef Rodriguez. And, as a special bonus, I’ll give $1 to applicants who phone Ef to ask him if he received the resume they emailed him.
If you don’t love the Associated Press, you aren’t paying attention. With newspaper reporter numbers down, and those reporters who are still around covering more and more beats, AP content is filling an increasing number of pages. Not to mention that a single AP hit has the potential to put you in dozens of newspapers across the country. So what’s the best way to pitch a story to an AP reporter or editor? AP editors Jon Resnick and Donna Cassata explain what they look for:
(Hat tip: PRNewser)
AOL’s MapQuest has selected 104 West Partners as its agency of record.
After 18 months of slashing and burning the Fox31 and KWGN/Channel 2 news departments to the tune of 30-40 layoffs, Fox31 GM/VP Dennis Leonard is “ready to re-evaluate (his) priorities” and will be leaving the station.
It’s hard to pick my favorite Dennis Leonard moment, but here are a few finalists:
JohnstonWells has promoted Breanna Deidel to counselor and Lee Bley to senior associate. Deidel is on the board of directors for Denver Urban Gardens, co-chairs the marketing committee for the Women’s Vision Foundation 2010 Walk, is a “Big Sister” and volunteers for the Little Sisters of the Poor at Mullen Home, while Bley is the 2010 co-chair of LoDo District’s Events Committee, the 2010 co-chair of the Denver Debutante Junior Patrons Committee and is an active member of LoDo Young Professionals.
PRSA has extended its deadline for early entries for its Silver Anvil awards until Feb. 16 due to the snowstorms on the East Coast.
Colorado Horse Rescue, a 501(c)3 non-profit operating in Longmont, is in need of some pro bono public relations help. According to CHR’s Erica Churgin, “Outreach is a very important aspect of our organization in terms of educating people about the unwanted horse issue as well as reaching our current stakeholders/donors and trying to attract new ones.” If you would like to help, contact Erica at 303-684-9688 or ejchurgin@gmail.com.
GroundFloor Media VP and Managing Partner Ramonna Tooley will headline PRSA’s monthly luncheon with a presentation titled, “PR in a Digital World: What’s in your Toolbox?” Tooley will present some of the digital PR strategies her team recommends to clients to stay competitive in a digital world and share examples from a variety of industries including nonprofit, food and beverage, and sports and entertainment. Details are:
PR in a Digital World: What’s in your Toolbox?
Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2010, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. MST
The Curtis Hotel, 1405 Curtis St., Denver, CO 80202
PRSA Colorado Members: $35; Students: $28; Non-Members: $49
Congratulations to Doyle Albee and the team at Metzger, who are celebrating the fifth anniversary of the firm’s social media practice with a social media breakfast on Thursday, Feb. 18, from 8-11 a.m. The breakfast is free, but reservations are required and donations to the Colorado Haiti Project will be accepted. Among the presenters at the breakfast will be Albee, Filtrbox’s Ari Newman, AskDaveTaylor.com’s (and Metzger consultant) Dave Taylor, CenturyLink’s Linda O’Neill, and Metzger’s Dean Rizzuto.
Denver’s Fox31/The Deuce searches for the worst Valentine’s Day ever, and pretty much hits a bullseye.
Among those hiring this week are Vladimir Jones, Malenke | Barnhart, RTD, The Winsor Group, AANAC, American Income Life Insurance Company, Checkers Industrial Safety Products, Dalbey Education Institute, Grand Tetons National Bank, U.S. Olympic Committee (Colorado Springs), City of Scottsdale (Ariz.), and the MPAA (Washington, D.C.).
CBS4 is shuffling the chairs on its morning news show, and the odd woman out is weather forecaster Stacey Donaldson. Michael Roberts at Westword has the details.
If you are like me, you want a little ‘Roid Rage mixed in with your weather. Time to step your game up, Kathy Sabine.
(Hat tip to Jenn Kostka)
Joanne Ostrow at the Denver Post assembled her annual Denver advertising industry panel to evaluate the creativity, originality and effectiveness of the Super Bowl ads. Meanwhile, the Denver Egotist was not impressed with what he she they it saw.
Of course not. Which is why he is taking Foursquare (and other Web 2.0 companies) to task for failing to realize they “need to grow up if they want to play in the bigger marketplace of business and corporate America.” Here’s a free tip: Dave Taylor is the Walt Mossberg of Boulder. If you are a tech company and you can’t get him on board with what you are doing, I think you are in trouble.
The early entry deadline for the PRSA Colorado Chapter’s Gold Pick awards is Feb. 26. You’d be foolish not to enter, especially after a recent study by Sarah Rasmussen found that you can raise your billable rates 138.75 percent for each Gold Pick you’ve won.
Boulder’s Pivot Communication has added Brad Turner as an account executive. Turner is a former newspaper editor, reporter and blogger who has written for the Denver Post, Longmont Times-Call, Boulder Daily Camera and MTV Online.
PRSA and Linhart are sponsoring a Tweetup on Thursday to welcome new PRSA members. Door prizes include two roundtrip airline tickets from Southwest Airlines. Details are:
5:30 – 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 4
Cru Wine Bar, 1442 Larimer Street (in Larimer Square downtown)
“I was in the Virgin Islands once. I met a girl. We ate lobster and drank pina coladas. At sunset we made love like sea otters. That was a pretty good day. Why couldn’t I get that day over and over and over…”
– Phil (Bill Murray) in Groundhog Day
Congratulations to Linhart PR’s Dawn Doty, who has been made a partner at the pubic relations agency.
Among those hiring this week are Barnhart Communications, the 18th Judicial District DA’s Office, Goodwill Industries, Janus, North American Riding for the Handicapped, Vail Cascade Resort and Spa, Colorado State University (Pueblo), Natural Resources Conservation Service (Lincoln, Neb.), DBC PR+New Media (Washington, D.C.) and General Motors (Thousand Oaks, Calif.).
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