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December 19, 2005
What To Do When The Only Media Attention You Get Is Bad
There have been 116 homicides in Milwaukee, Wisconsin so far this year. I bet you didn't know that.
But I bet you would know it if every day's newscast brought not only the story about the latest murder, but a reinforcement of the number. And it wouldn't be long until you came to the opinion that hanging out in Milwaukee could be hazardous to your health.
And, what's more important, you could eventually deduce that nothing good ever happens in Milwaukee because people are so busy killing other people. Which, of course, is absolutely incorrect, as there are some incredibly good things happening in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin.
While we're betting - I bet you didn't know that there's a country where:
- Virtually every child in the country now has a whole set of textbooks supplied by the U.S. government (even more significant because textbooks were almost nonexistent in this country 2 years ago)
- The U.S. has trained more than 36,000 teachers, and more than 1000 schools are running today because of U.S. assistance
- U.S. aid projects currently supply more than half the people in the country with electricity and more than 2.3 million people in that country get their water from U.S.-supplied projects
- Not a single case of measles has been reported in the last year (formerly one of the leading causes of childhood death in that country)
But I bet you DO know that over 2000 Americans have died in the war in that country, Iraq. (2152 at last count.)
How do you know this? Because other than the current elections, that's almost all you ever see reported about Iraq in the news, complete with websites detailing the numbers and individuals killed, graphics on the nightly news showing the latest count, and regular editorial comments.
We are becoming increasingly convinced that all our people are doing is driving around acting as targets for insurgent attacks.
But the truth is that there is much good that is being done by Americans, coalition countries, and others in rebuilding Iraq, not just from the damage of war, but from the decades of problems prior to both wars.
I'm not trying to get political here, I want our troops home as soon as possible, tomorrow would be great, just like we all do. I'm using this as a current example to introduce a point...
What do you do when the media refuses to say anything good about you, focusing instead, only on the bad?
That's clearly what's going on in Iraq. All we seem to hear about is the latest attacks.
I can't say that I have the definitive solution, as this is a problem which PR seekers have faced for years. If you, however, are facing this situation, here are a few suggestions that will help:
Posted at 11:34 PM
December 15, 2005
Two Holiday Gifts For You
The holidays are a time of giving, so here's two special gifts for you.
1. As you know, we run a gift basket site that sells high-quality, distinctive gift baskets like none you've ever seen before.
I'm sure that you still have a couple of people (or, if you're like me) lots of people on your list that you still need a gift for.
Therefore, I'm giving you a special last-minute discount as an incentive to try out our service.
Simply enter greatpr1219 as the customer code at checkout, to cut the price of your order by 10%
This is only good until December 19th.
Just take one look at them and I'm sure you'll see what I mean.
2. One of the most powerful gifts I could give you is the gift of knowledge.
Posted at 07:33 PM
What's That Again? Clueless Judges
Isn't it odd how some judges just don't seem to think about the sentences they give?
Here's one example:
A judge sentenced a man, who had committed the crime of setting his parent's house on fire twice in less than three months, to...
House arrest
In his parent's home.
Oh, I bet his parents were thrilled to hear that! "Look honey, little Billy's moving home again, how sweet!"
And one more that I can't resist, from the "only in Wisconsin" file. Our governor is proposing to help some families pay for their high energy bills this winter. The headline read...
"Governor will help people with gas"
Posted at 06:51 PM
