Mike Maney

Tag: Uncategorized

  • A Boy Scout is Always Prepared

    My cousin Larry and my uncle Bill are both Eagle Scouts. I made it to the level of Life Scout (one level shy of the Eagle honor). My cousin’s son, Micah, is also in the Boy Scouts. He was picnicking in Utah’s Big Cottonwood Canyon yesterday when he was called up on to put the Boy Scout motto (Be Prepared) into action to help an injured hiker (on a trail where another hiker was killed earlier in the week).

    Despite the very public problems the Boy Scouts face, Micah is an example of the kind of quality young men the organization produces.

  • The Power of Many

    It was really nice to see former OSDL CEO Stuart Cohen in TIME magazine this week. Stuart and the troop at Collaborative Software Initiative are doing a lot of interesting work. Even if you aren’t involved in open source, it’s worth taking a look at how CSI is approaching software development.

  • El Toro

    El Toro is a roller coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure. It is fast. Really, really fast. It is the second-fastest wooden roller coaster in the U.S. (from whispers I heard while standing in line). And, while scary, it is nowhere near as scary as riding a seesaw in the middle of a Mexican bullring with a real el toro.

  • There are no coincidences in politics

    Update: Like I said, there are no coincidences: McCain VP Meeting a Distraction from Medical Records?

    Political views aside, the “Hey, we didn’t plan for it to happen on a Friday” rationale is wearing a bit thin:

    The records dump comes as Americans head in to a three-day weekend,
    and just days after Sen. Edward M. Kennedy was diagnosed with a grave
    form of brain cancer. But Mr. Black said the campaign’s communications
    director and others have been working on the release “for weeks,” and
    is not timed to reduce the impact of whatever the records contain.

    The above statement is from senior McCain adviser Charlie Black. For anyone in PR or politics, this is clearly a case of trying to bury news over a holiday weekend when nobody is watching television or reading the paper. Let’s hope the mainstream reporters who get to glance at the 400 pages of records choose to report more in-depth findings once everyone is paying attention again next week.

  • Prepping tomorrow’s PR pros

    Twice a year I do a guest lecture at Rutgers University for a 400-level PR class led by AT&T’s former crisis communications pro, Burke “Bad News” Stinson. It’s a great class, led by one of the best pros in the business. I spend two hours providing a frank, no-BS overview of the profession: what it’s like, what they can expect, what I expect, and what they need to know.

    Each semester I’m amazed at the number of students who aren’t yet prepared for the real world of PR — students with no journalism, no PR, no new media backgrounds. Thank the Flying Spaghetti Monster they get time with Burke before being turned loose on the industry.

    So, I’m not entirely shocked to read Bill Sledzick’s piece on Media Bullseye about similar findings at Kent State. While the bulk of his post is focused on the gender gap in PR (for anyone who’s been in the profession for awhile, the existence of this gap isn’t a shocker), the bottom section highlights the challenges the industry faces in preparing tomorrow’s students to be better equipped to succeed as PR pros.

  • The secret to writing a good press release

    Years ago, as part of the vaunted AT&T Media Relations team, Jim Byrnes — one of the best media relations pros I’ve ever met — told me the secret to good press release writing: “Write for the wires. Get the news into the first two sentences and assume everything else gets cut. Write in language your grandmother can understand.”

    I’ve tried to carry Jim’s wisdom throughout my career. Jon Greer gives it another shot in the arm in a post on BNET’s Catching Flack blog:

    …there are only really two elements that define a good press release: it needs to be brief, and it needs to contain real news.

    It doesn’t matter whether it’s an old-style press release or one of the emerging social media versions. Good press releases have news and are to the point. Period.

  • I Promise to…

    In the wake of another blacklisting of PR agencies by reputable tech reporters, SHIFT PR’s Todd Defren mapped out a list of 7 laws PR pros should follow. While the rules included in Todd’s list are common practice for many in the profession, there are still too many others who need the reminder.
    1. The PR pro promises to read several weeks’ worth of previous blog
      posts and/or articles to ascertain whether their story would be a good
      fit for the blog/publication.
    2. If the PR pro ascertains that there is NOT a good fit, they will
      not pitch the blogger/reporter, and promise to push back on
      unreasonable client or management demands to do so.
    3. Before pitching the blogger/reporter, the PR pro promises to
      double-check their method of outreach. They will not only check
      externally-developed media resources like Cision but will also review
      any guidelines made publicly available by the blogger or publication.
    4. The PR pro promises to never send a press release without being
      able to demonstrate its concrete relevance to the blogger/reporter …
      and will never, ever send an attachment unless it’s been requested.
    5. As much as is possible, the PR pro will participate actively and
      transparently within the communities of-interest to their clients. The
      PR pro acknowledges that a “cold call” (in any form) – while sometimes
      unavoidable – is considerably less effective than reaching out as a
      known community member.
    6. The PR pro promises that any correspondence – whether the initial
      contact or follow-up – should contain a message customized to the
      blogger/reporter’s needs and should offer value. For example, “just
      checking to see if you got the press release” is not welcome or
      appropriate.
    7. The PR pro acknowledges that being ignored by the blogger/reporter
      is not to be considered license for harassment. It’s more likely the
      pitch was not of-interest, so any further outreach should be mindful
      that the story idea has likely been quietly rejected. If the PR pro
      must try again, they promise to do so by offering a different, more
      creative and valuable approach to their original pitch.

  • Can’t Wait to Read: Schlesinger on White House Speechwriters

    I’ve written my share of speeches over my career. Granted, they were for corporate executives, not for Presidents of the United States. That’s why I’m excited to get my hands on a new book by Robert Schlesinger called White House Ghosts: Presidents and Their Speechwriters. According to reviewer Robert Landers, Schlesinger interviewed 90 speechwriters and White House aides, devoting a chapter to each presidency — from FDR to GWB. Should be an interesting read.

  • Linkbait

    I’m finally getting back into the swing of posting again (Twitter has dominated my social media interaction lately). A few items that recently caught my eye:

    • The New York Times’ Steve Heller dissects the logo created by the Martin Agency to promote a new campaign for Al Gore’s Alliance for Climate Protection.
    • In the same Sunday edition of The Times, Dave Itzkoff profiles one of the funniest actors on network television today: Jack McBrayer (Kenneth the page from 30 Rock).
    • While we’re at it, Charles McGrath gets down, dirty and cold with what’s on tap for this season’s Deadliest Catch.
    • Tammy La Gorce highlights New Jersey’s brew pubs. The annual New Jersey Brewers’ Festival used to be a tradition for me. Maybe time for a chauffered road trip to sample the state’s barley and hops wares.

  • The House That Ruth Built


    My mother is a diehard, lifelong New York Yankees fan. For Mother’s Day this year, we reserved tickets for an inside-the-park tour of Yankee Stadium. Good thing, too, as this is the last year the Bronx Bombers will play in the current stadium (a new stadium is being built alongside it). I captured some images of the day that you can view here.