WSJ Tips from a Flack

WSJ Tips from a Flack

By Beth Fichtel, Vice President Global Central Media Team, N.Y.

The recent Wall Street Journal article, “When Celebrities Get Flak They Call in This Flack,” has some interesting PR tips that I want to share. Yes, yes I know this is about celebrity PR and not technology PR but I got a kick out of a few points. Such as:

Client crises — “I prefer to call them ‘incidents'”

“Mariah had a nervous breakdown. “It was an emotional and physical breakdown,” corrected Ms. Berger. “Actually, I prefer to call it a rough patch.”

“You do publicity for a reason; you do publicity for a purpose”

“To do well at this, you’ve got to have the decisiveness to steer clients in the right direction,”

Do your homework, because “you need to anticipate the questions your client is going to be asked.” And — uh-oh — remember, no journalist is your friend. “No journalist is your friend.”

And my personal favorite, the role of PR equals…“part friend, part therapist, part strategist”