wallydownundy

I love tabloids. These short-style newspapers are made for the masses and can condense a story into poignant headlines. A decade ago honeymooners north of Sydney were attacked by a Great White. He didn’t survive. “The Daily Telegraph” got an exclusive interview. “Shark Bride Tells” was the tear sheet for that edition. (Tear sheets are the small posters outside the news agent.)

What more do you need to know? Oh - “Photos Inside” was below. That helped.

Thanks to “The Economist” for pointing out another great tabloid headline. In their article bemoaning the high profile role Bill Clinton is taking in his wife’s campaign, they note Bill fell asleep in a Harlem church service commemorating the late, great Martin Luther King Jr. “Bill Has a Dream” was the headline - next to a photo of the sleeping ex-president.

Ain’t sparsity grand?

Clients complain about headlines. The messages were well considered - and the media training set the client up for a great interview. Yet while the article is good the headline is contentious. Why didn’t that get fixed?

Journalists generally don’t write their own headlines. They offer their stories with suggested titles but headline writing is the purview of the sub-editor. And for the cover of a tabloid it’s the editor’s job.

Wanna see what it’s like? Take this fictional scenario:

Campaigning in Orlando, Florida presidential hopeful John McCain slips and falls while visiting Disney World - breaking his nose.

Quick! The presses are waiting! What’s the headline for the cover of a salacious, muck-raking tabloid?

Please send along your favourites.

Australia is a sports-loving nation. It’s a part of everyday life. Channel Nine News (the former market leader now writhing near the bottom - a blog entry unto itself) has about 12 minutes on national and world events before it crosses to sports. Cricket gets more coverage than Kenya. Go figure.

So it’s no surprise that sports stars have numerous, high profile opportunities after hanging up their cleats or Speedos. Next you know they’re endorsing batteries or commenting on national television or swimming in endless spas to show us flabbies how to stay fit. 

We love them all - up to a point.

Wayne Carey was a football star who went onto media semi-stardom. He commented on Melbourne radio and had a spot on national television.

But then he got a little too wild.

I’m not talking about “all night in a bar verbally abusive to the 7-11 cashier” kind of wild. I’m talking “abusing women attacking police capsicum spray and handcuffs” kind of wild. And of course those ever-present security cameras caught it all. Thankfully an enterprising guard on duty had the foresight to auction the tape to news crews. Channel Seven won’t say how much they paid (or IF they paid) but they did say they’re glad they got it.

So there’s our former role model -in handcuffs, getting bullfrog marched to the back of a police cruiser.  Seems a spot he’s been in before, as media reveal today he’d been arrested in Miami last month for breaking a wine glass into his girlfriend’s face. And he headbutted the partition in that police cruiser after attacking officers. (See this clip.)

Today radio station 3AW and Channel Nine are distancing themselves from Carey - quickly. Carey will have to find another income stream to fund his legal defence. Too bad he’s not back in Newark. Tony Soprano’s always looking for a few good men.

Would “How Ya’ Doin’?” sound funny in an Aussie accent?

The death of Heath Ledger is a boon to newspaper circulation. People who normally don’t buy a daily paper are picking up dailies to catch up on the latest details. August publications like The Melbourne Age dedicated three full pages yesterday. Today The Sydney Morning Herald still has a page. The weekend tomes will be filled to capacity.

It’s all our fault. We’re ghoulish. Bad news intrigues us. But add an Australian celebrity, drugs, nudity and an Olsen twin and you’ve got a newspaper editor’s nirvana.

Please don’t presume I am mocking the untimely death of Heath Ledger. It is a shock and disappointment. He was a talented actor and his death is unfortunate.

It’s just this stuff sells papers.

My friend Paul Griffin in Brisbane and I are re-working media training to make it more effective. Yes - it is a commodity product. And yes - every PR person and their dog offers a similar course. But we’re trying to make ours super effective for harried professionals. How quickly can we take media fledgelings and have them bravely flying from the nest?

As part of this we’ve been collecting good and bad examples of media interviews. I’d love your contributions if you have any. Paul just sent this one. It must be the worst avoidance technique. But then again, insanity has been a defence plea for decades…

Click here!

My love-hate relationship with the media continues unabated. Remember long, long ago - in yesterday’s papers? Hillary Clinton was portrayed as having a meltdown when asked how she was holding up on the campaign trail. (Now remember - the presidential candidates are working 16 hour days on average.)  Hillary’s voice broke. She fought back tears. She said it was taking its toll.

POUNCE! The media descended on her like flies on a cow pat. “Hillary’s Meltdown!” cried one. “Candidate in Crisis” said another newspaper. She was seen as a loser flailing in the wake of Barrack Obama and her race to the White House was all but over.

They say a week is a long time in politics. But in today’s news environment a day is a decade. 

Today Hillary is “back on track” and she’s “the comeback kid.” (For those living in the deepest caves of Cooper Pedy she won the New Hampshire primary - now get back to opal mining, you louts.) 

And that “meltdown?” That’s the “real moment” when voters could see her as a person. The connection was “profound and emotional.” Women voters flocked back. 

So now the carnage begins - advisers are being changed and we can expect to see a lot more of the personal side of Hillary. I’m not quite sure what that means. After healthcare reforms failed in the early 1990s we didn’t get cookie recipes from her. Do we get to go shopping together? Can we talk about raising kids? Will she go on the couch with Dr Phil and talk about adultery?

Here’s the question of the day: When Hillary Clinton’s campaign says we can see a lot more of her as a person, what do they mean? 

Canberra author Bob Burton takes a dive into the public relations industry in his book, “Inside Spin.”  This morning Bob Burton was interviewed on “The Book Show” on ABC Radio National.  He said there’s been little written in Australia on the industry.  I look forward to reading his book.

 On the upside Burton calls for greater transparency and suggests more could be done to reveal client links to media relations activities.  Journalists should write about which public relations agencies are providing materials for their stories.  They should also dig to find which advocacy groups are funded by corporations - and which get support from that company’s PR firm.

On the downside the interview paints the industry in the worst light.  Publicists are out to deceive and hide.  Companies use “spin” to manage their images.  In repeating these myths Burton undermines his research and demonstrates he didn’t look deeper into the custard than the skin. 

I’ll reserve full judgement until I’ve read the book.  However I’d suggest Burton get an agency to help him refine his key messages!

Beyond the hype it was great to finally meet Tina Brown – she’s stunningly presented in smart streamlined beige linen dress with fawn leather jacket.  I introduced myself and was met with graciousness.  Her remarks followed a delicious dinner in the open air courtyard at San Juan Capistrano Mission.   

Even the sharpest at media needs to follow professional advice.  Diana’s explosive interview with the BBC was done against the advice of her press relations professionals.  It cut off all relations with the Palace, including policeprotection.

 Always cautious with the chimera of the transformative interview – someone out there is waiting to hear the story from your perspective.  The seduction usually starts with a well targeted letter – I know because I’ve written dozens of them.  Bob Woodward is master and has written many to reach the weak point.   

The BBC interview was to focus on the Princess’ love of children.  The more you trust someone the more likely you are to say something off your guard. “I think of the media as a great beast that never sleeps,” said Brown.  “As night follows day emails will surface years later.”  See www.TheSmokingGun.com. 

A lot of this dialogue is pretty mean spirited.  “It’s like being in a Korean prison camp and you never know when they’re going to wake you up and beat your feet,” said an CBS executive when describing the Don Imus imbroglio.  Their biggest mistake was waiting to long to respond.  “In the era of the great beast that never sleeps the response needs to be instant,” said Brown. 

“I’ve always believed in the power of exciting events,” said Brown.  I convinced the ‘Powers That Be’ to hold a series of philanthropic events – and the first success was the Phoenix House event in Hollywood.  Key: Invite writers along with marketing to showcase the talent of the magazine.  And today every Conde Naste publication undertakes these events – and the Vanity Fair Oscar Party is now an institution.   

With all the successes, how to remake the magazine? Annie Liebowitz’ photograph of Demi Moore was the best way to show the rejection of the glitz and jewelry of the decadent 1980s.   In 1992 my challenge was to open up The New Yorker – the offices had all closed doors.  There was a lot of fear – the hardcore saw me as the anti-Christ.  Here’s an editor who put a naked Demi Moore on the cover!   

I let go 75 and hired another 45.  Few in the industry knew the numbers – we dealt with the hard core in a sensitive way on an individual level.  I spoke with each person three times so they could move on with dignity.   Tina hired a number of key writers and started a Los Angeles bureau – not just to sell advertising but to build a profile and develop a network.  Lillian Ross, John Updike…and many other writers continue to flourish. 

At Talk I walked right into a trap – the promotion of myself as a name to help make the magazine succeed.  “Never give an opening party that’s better than the movie,” said Brown. The hostility to the media is astounding.  Look at Profile magazine or the hard times given to Katie Couric at CBS News.   A communications strategy needs to be diversified and sophisticated – use the blogosphere, and other micro-sources to fight the traditional media.   

In Washington, DC a firm employs their Media Accountability Strategy – turn bad press into an issue about the accountability of media, discussed in the public forum of the web.  You get a Greek Chorus of complaints from consumers and their competitors.  Thin-skinned journalists hate the complaints about their own styles, guidelines. 

Internal PR is as important as external.  At The New Yorker we had kids – or grandkids – to the offices for a Christmas event.  Sour old writers came out to drink eggnog to watch Santa hand out presents.  You can run but you can’t hide.  “You can’t go into ostrich mode.” 

When a crisis hits it’s the person at the head of the company the public wants to see.  In America companies need to have a public face.  Most CEOs are not that gifted – so think brevity, brevity, brevity and close with a witty line.   

The Communications Director must have a seat at the top table.  Most PR disasters happen because executives don’t have a communications professional at the table – they need to be involved in the decision-making. Finally the upside of the difficult new media climate – it conveys a core value: Never do anything that you wouldn’t want to see made public.   

What’s next? “I’m thinking of what to do next.  Maybe a web idea, maybe another book – I’m cruising for a little bit now.”   

“You learn more from the things that don’t go well,” said Brown when asked about crisis management.  Getting the right team is agony and arduous.  “I’m very much a whirling dervish” and am supported by good managers.  “When you have success you assume the things that made you successful will always be there.” 

What is the USA’s image abroad? “America is in a very bad PR condition everywhere.  But people have this great sense that

If you’d advised Diana? “Diana’s problem was she was a good tactician but not a good strategist.  By the end of her life her public work was at her best – but her private life always drew her back.  The BBC interview was all emotion – feeling discarded, feeling angry and wanting to get back at Charles.  She wanted to retaliate and didn’t think beyond that.  She was in a  good position and could have maintained a civil relationship with the Queen.  Once she went on BBC she was cut off completely – wthin hours the Queen sent a letter saying, ‘You must be divorced.’ 

Difference between American or British media? American media the blogosphere is much more powerful.  England is still a newspaper culture.  The newspaper is much more destructive.  England is a much harder place to be a public figure.  American media is not as creative as the British media – far more lively, versatile, flair.  “I think American newspapers are dieing…they sit there like dead whales.”  

Juggling motherhood and career? It was difficult but you just muddle on.  At The New Yorker I appointed all women editors.  We all went home at 6:00 pm but then we all went on-line at 11:00 pm and the lines went hot until 2:00 or 3:00 in the morning.  A great sense of women helping each other.  I don’t demand staff working at the desk so long as the work is done.   

Thoughts about Mr, Murdoch and a new magazine for The WSJ? I think that’s a great idea.  “Mr. Murdoch has a lot of flair and if that was aligned to any morality that would be great,” said Brown.  It’s been a dull time for magazines – I think this is a great idea. 

Views on Katie Couric – will she prevail? Of course I identify with Katie and think she’s in her talk mode (re the interview in The New Yorker).  She felt because she’d done something else in a different structure.  Everything is against her in this situation.  “No one under 72 makes and appointment to watch the evening news.”  CBS is trying to hold on to the concept of “appointment news.”  What works for the evening news is the “voice of god” guy who you don’t register with as a personality.  She is in a battle that she cannot win.  “It’s just the wrong gig.” 

Views on women in politics, Hillary and the coverage of her.  “I think Hillary is doing superbly well,” said Brown.  “She just stands there in that purpose-built pants suit.  She’s like a truck – nothing can knock her down. It doesn’t matter what the media say because she’s Tungsten.  Short of soliciting someone in a public bathroom…’I’m a wide kind of woman’…she’s indefatigable.”  

To laughs and applause Tina left for a red eye flight to New York where she’ll give a luncheon address at The Phoenix House. 

The launch of Pixar’s “Toy Story” changed the market for animation overnight - people who never went to cartoons suddenly became fans of animation.  For DreamWorks it meant a switch from pure animation to a feature film company.  That’s a huge change in the business plan.  Shrek the Third, Jerry Seinfeld’s Bee, Madagascar are examples. 

We’re in for a treat with “behind the scenes” on upcoming animation!  Dreamers who envisage the impossible - and the geeks that make it happen. 

Kate provided a wonderful overview of the animation film industry and what has to happen to make a film like “Shrek the Third.”  Good fun - and popcorn was provided.

The details in a shot allow people to suspend their disbelief. 

Tina Brown was described in the original flyer as “the world’s most famous magazine editor.”  This kind of billing would get anyone on a bus to dinner - despite jet lag.  She’s taken the lead on major magazines starting with Tatler then moving onwards (and upwards) to Vanity Fair and The New Yorker.  She has a contentious reputation - The New York Times Magazine opened their article with the question, “Who’s afraid of Tina Brown?” It’s a great article and well worth the read!

More recently she’s penned a book, “The Diana Chronicles.” 

Read about her on Wikipedia…and look for my post on her speech tonight!  I hope it’s not just another book tour.

America’s most notorious murderer - or the least understood person - is back in the news.  The man who made CNN a daily habit for millions of Americans a decade ago is back in trouble with the law.

OJ Simpson was arrested yesterday for armed robbery.  He purportedly broke into a hotel room and stole back sport memorabilia. 

Today’s press includes an “exclusive” audio tape of the incident.  I say “exclusive” because it’s across the web and quoted on the cover on The New York Times’ web site. 

See for yourself…