Brad Marley's Blog - Latest Comments

Re: Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

Brad Marley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:03:13 -0000

This is a first: An interviewee's Mom stops by to leave a comment. I love it!

Thanks for the comment.

Re: Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

Brad Marley — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:02:11 -0000

No problem. I'm just glad you agreed to participate. Thanks again!

Re: Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

Erica Moss — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:31:30 -0000

Awwwwww, thanks, Mom! Love you.

Re: Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

Sjshoemak — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 14:20:13 -0000

Just a moms point of view and that is I couldn't be more happy that my daughter has expanded her horizons as she has. I am so very proud of everything she has accomplished.

Re: Five and One with Erica Moss, Interviewer Extraordinaire & Community Manager

Erica Moss — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 12:50:10 -0000

Awww, I heart you, too, Brad! I'm so geeked about being on your blog.

Re: We Only Have Ourselves to Blame for Those Who Give PR a Bad Name

Brad Marley — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 14:28:52 -0000

Hey Peter - Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.

The point of my post was that maybe the blog posts and the panels and the TV interviews that urge publicists to get their act together isn't working because that's not where the lazy publicists congregate, you know?

I'm aware of the work you have done to get PR people to get better at their jobs. And it's admirable. Not many have the patience to offer their time free of charge to turn around perceptions in an industry that has a bad rap to begin with. I just wonder aloud if you're preaching to the choir when you write blog posts like the one you wrote for PRWeek.

I mean, your idea for a "PR Person's Credo" is a great idea. But unless your invested in bettering yourself, you probably won't take the time to put it on your cube wall. Those who are interested are not the ones we want to reach, yet, they are the ones reading the posts.

I just think we have to take a different approach. That's all.

Again, I appreciate the comment. I wasn't writing it to call you out. I would have written this post regardless of who wrote the blog post.

p.s. And I also agree that there are some publicists who will continue to do the same stupid shit, no matter what.

Re: We Only Have Ourselves to Blame for Those Who Give PR a Bad Name

Peter Shankman — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:39:48 -0000

Oh, Brad, Brad, Brad... "Can... Open. Worms... Everywhere." -Chandler Bing, Friends.

When I launched HARO in November of 2007 as a way to help publicists by giving them a smarter way to pitch on topic to journalists, I promised myself that I'd do everything in my power to make that help as free and widely available as possible.

Between 2007 and today, I've...

Written over a dozen blog posts at shankman.com on better ways to pitch. (Example: http://shankman.com/spectacula... )

Produced tons of videos showing how to better pitch reporters, and explaining what works for reporters and what doesn't (Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... )

Held six conference calls with reporters ranging from the Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, etc., with their best tips for making sure people pitch them the right way

Spoken on over 150 panels, for free, offering advice on how to pitch, how to write a better pitch, and how to land the perfect placement without pissing off the reporter

Personally answered over 2,500 emails (at minimum) from publicists all over the world, critiquing their pitches, offering better ways to pitch, helping them when reporters don't reply, and the like

Even banned entire agencies from using HARO when they continue to break the simple rules of HARO, by pitching off topic and pissing off journalists.

So you know what, Brad? When I write a post like the one you reference that has your knickers in a twist, I think I have every right to do it. Why? Because there's a big difference between not offering help, and being willing to offer help but banging your head against a wall when people CONTINUE TO DO THE SAME STUPID SHIT.

Still think I haven't gotten in front of my intended audience? Or perhaps, just perhaps, a good portion of publicists out there just don't give a damn.

-Peter Shankman

Re: We Only Have Ourselves to Blame for Those Who Give PR a Bad Name

Brad Marley — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 13:15:33 -0000

Andrew - You bring up two great points. It will take time to get lower level staff to a point where they are open to criticism. And we need to ensure managers know how to manage. So...how do we do that?

Re: We Only Have Ourselves to Blame for Those Who Give PR a Bad Name

Andrew Schreck — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:08:57 -0000

I agree that the managers need to step in and help direct and guide people, but so often people who are "managers" are only that in title. They don't know how to manage people, mentor new talent or offer constructive criticism. And people don't know how to take the criticism either.

Re: El Guapo Grill in Detroit Does Twitter and Tacos Right

Brad Marley — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:18:57 -0000

Thanks for your comment. I hope you get in!

Re: El Guapo Grill in Detroit Does Twitter and Tacos Right

Concrete Cuisine — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:30:18 -0000

Great article and Great Vibe we get from you regarding the City of Detroit ! We are Concrete Cuisine - a gourmet food truck that has only been allowed in Detroit a few times. Now we are working doing lunches mainly in the Western suburbs because the City of Detroit still does not allow us! We are not giving up! Proud to be a part of a movement that hopefully will get the City of Detroit to take notice! The city is lagging behind other areas across the country - FOOD TRUCKS ARE HERE TO STAY !

Re: Five and One with Gini Dietrich, Arment Dietrich & Spin Sucks

Gini Dietrich — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 09:14:29 -0000

You know, you could have left the Bears allegiance for the end so people would actually read the post.

Re: Four Ways 9/11 Changed How We Get Our News

Diana — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:35:41 -0000

Maybe, cell phones? That is the little tool that brings it together, before some relied on it, now all do.

Re: Don’t Let Your Parents Grow Up To Be Technophobes

Brad Marley — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:46:40 -0000

I totally agree with his viewpoint. I was just frustrated that he wasn't giving it a chance, I guess. As always, thanks for the comment.

Re: Don’t Let Your Parents Grow Up To Be Technophobes

Dianemar — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 11:16:32 -0000

Ahhh, described him to a T. You think he would see the correlation between this and his mom? Probably not.
But to see his view point, there is a point we use these tools to enhance our lives and there is a point where they overwhelm our lives, and take away our ability to live without them.:)

Re: All Media Should De-Wiki-Fy

Brad Marley — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 13:50:43 -0000

Tom, thanks for the comment.

Everybody sort of jokes about citing Wikipedia when asked where they got their information from, but that jokes carries some truth to it, which is why it gets the undeserved stigma. The idea that a reporter would use an encyclopedia update by the lady across the street is one that doesn't sit well with me, which is why I argue outlets should publicize that they don't do this.

But for looking up some quick info on Civil War battles? There's no better place.

Re: All Media Should De-Wiki-Fy

Tom Gunnells — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 09:16:37 -0000

I wouldn't ever use Wikipedia for research, and it has issues to deal with (vandalism) before it becomes a more reputable site. But it carries an undeserved stigma, that is really unfortunate. It might be the web's single greatest source of reference material. I might visit Wikipedia 2-3 times a day, before I consult a dictionary, or encyclopedia.

I won't be citing it in my papers any time soon, but when I need a refresher on the battle of Antietam, there might not be a better place to look.

Re: If Twitter Is High School, Is Google+ Community College?

Brad Marley — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 12:25:26 -0000

Christopher - thanks for the comment. Your post really drove home how I was thinking about the advent of Google+. Most of us didn't get a chance to jump on Facebook and Twitter early, so we were kind of forced to go along with the crowd. This is a good opportunity to shape it.

Re: If Twitter Is High School, Is Google+ Community College?

Christopher Barger — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:39:21 -0000

Hey Brad - thanks for the shout out! I think you're right - this is a good opportunity to hit the reset button and make some new connections. Not that the old ones are bad... just that maybe a new network helps open new possibilities. At the risk of doing the social media lemming thing, "good post." ;-)

Re: The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Nancy Grace Itself

Brad Marley — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:04:01 -0000

You're right. I should've made that clear, but it doesn't take away from the point of this post.

Thanks for commenting, whoever you are.

Re: The Only Thing We Have to Fear is Nancy Grace Itself

SS — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 11:33:41 -0000

A jury did NOT find Casey Anthony innocent, they found her not guilty, and there is a very big difference.

Re: Guest Post: How a Millennial Learned bin Laden was Dead

Kaileen — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:02:16 -0000

Thanks Kevin! I'm sure a lot of us in the media space experience big events like this similarly. Glad you liked the post.

Louise - Agreed.

Re: Guest Post: How a Millennial Learned bin Laden was Dead

Kevin Conlon — Fri, 06 May 2011 11:00:34 -0000

Nice post Kaileen. I definitely had a similar experience, without all of the high profile in-sight witnesses. Thank you for sharing!

Re: Guest Post: How a Millennial Learned bin Laden was Dead

Louise — Fri, 06 May 2011 10:21:33 -0000

gosh, this @kaileen girl is so cool.

Re: Reporters Can Smell Doubt (And They Feast On It)

Bradmarley — Mon, 02 May 2011 21:34:45 -0000

Yeah, it really does. Plus, if you stutter or stumble -- really, do anything that wastes the reporter's time -- they will dismiss you in mid-pitch. It's not a crazy idea to practice your pitches with a colleague. You'll learn from it.

Thanks for the comment!