I ran in to Richard Strauss at Bulldog Reporter’s recent Media Relations Conference in New York. Strauss’s DC and NY firm, Strauss Radio Strategies, focuses exclusively on the terrestrial, satellite and digital audio opportunities available to members of the PR profession. He’s a good guy who really knows the space.

For the dedication of the National World War II Memorial, we had retained his firm to capture veterans’ impressions of the prominent new structure on the Mall for feeding back to their hometown radio stations. Over two days, dozens upon dozens of octogenarians generously shared their views with the millions of Americans unable to attend the historic ceremonies.

Mr. Strauss now finds himself in a proverbial political pickle. One of his clients, General Motors, seeking to build public support for its employee buyout plan, had Strauss approach former Labor Secretary Robert Reich for an audio sound bite backing the plan. Apparently, and it’s unclear from the article, a suggestion of an honorarium arose to which Mr. Reich bristled and blew the whistle on his “friend” and fellow Dem.

Here we go again — pay for play. Whether Mr. Strauss intended his “offer” as a quid pro quo is not as relevant to us as the stringent new rules for eliciting third-party support in the media for an issue, product or service. I certainly understand the ethical breach when a journalist crosses the line by accepting payment for delivering positive news coverage. And the same goes for working politicians who nonetheless accept payment in a less overt (though legal) manner.

I just wonder whether this ethical uproar occurred because this is a politically divisive issue, Mr. Reich believes his current role as an academic prohibits such behavior, or we simply find ourselves in an anti-paid spokesperson environment. It seems hypocritical for a national scandal to break out over a four-figure honorarium when politicians accept millions every day in PAC money.

Why no scandal when Charlton Heston is paid to flack for the gun lobby, Brooke Shields for the makers of a post-partum drug, and Catherine Zeta-Jones for T-Mobile, a company that has more than a few dealings with federal legislators and regulators?

Ironically, had Mr. Reich truly believed in GM’s position on the issue, he might very well have agreed to speak out simply for the media exposure a PR firm would have engendered on his behalf. Furthermore, I have learned that GM continues to have Strauss Radio on board to help the company get its point of view across.

Smart, since Strauss is a firm with great integrity, and I don’t believe this story(for which Mr. Reich was never actually interviewed) merited the Times’s attention. What’s wrong with asking Mr. Reich what his fee might be? This is standard operating procedure for soliciting high-profile third-party support for an issue. After all, isn’t Mr. Reich already extremely handsomely compensated on the speaker’s circuit?

PR Robert Reich journalism public relations media Pay-for-play GM

First it loses the Miss America Pageant, and now Atlantic City may lose its nostalgic presence on the Monopoly board. That’s 250 million units sold since 1950. Where’s Donald Trump when you need him?

In a scheme vaguely reminiscent of New Coke, the marketing minds at Hasbro are considering replacing Park Place, Baltic, Ventnor, Atlantic, Boardwalk and the other iconic squares with a “here and now” version voted on by…you and me! Holy blue M&M! Here comes Cleveland and Seattle.

The new version would let consumers vote to fill the 22 spots on the board. Atlantic City’s blighted real estate apparently is not among the choices.

“Sure, put in the Statue of Liberty and Disney World and other places,” said Jeffrey Vassar, executive director of the Convention and Visitors Bureau, which has a “Help Keep Atlantic City on the Board” petition on the city’s Web site. “But it’s a slight to not have the Atlantic City Boardwalk as one of the stops,” he added. 

Will Atlantic City be able to propel the public to protect Park Place? Will The Donald get fired…up? Will the nostalgia police prevail in Pawtucket? Don’t bet on it.

PR Monopoly public relations Atlantic City Donald Trump

I was on vacation back in February when I started to pen an item on President Bush’s ill-fated decision to support the takeover of America’s largest ports by a company based in Dubai. The item never was posted because my blogging consigliere Jeremy Pepper advised me to relax and enjoy my week off. The item started like this:

Like it or not, many clients still measure a PR pro’s stature by the number of editors, producers and reporters in his or her Rolodex, Treo or Outlook address book. Too few recognize that the quality of the story, not the quality of the relationship, will almost always determine its prospects for pick-up. 

The most seasoned PR pros, however, have honed their instincts to know how a piece of news will play out — for better or worse. In looking at President Bush’s steadfast support for an Arab company taking over six U.S. ports, many in our profession immediately recognized its inherent folly:

“This is a private transaction,” said Bush, speaking to reporters gathered on the White House lawn. “This transaction does not jeopardize in any way the security of the country. People who are responsible in the government have reviewed this transaction. This transaction should go forward, in my judgment.” 

My PR instincts tell me this deal is doomed to failure. Even Sen. Frist has qualms with it. Ironically, the Administration’s consistent use of terrorist alerts to keep Americans on edge (and presumably politically supportive) actually work against it in this situation.

Ultimately, the public uproar over this deal caused it to fall through big time. It was then that I began to seriously question the fabled wisdom of those advising Mr. Bush. How could they not recognize how dopey this idea was?

Flash forward to today when we learn that Mr. Bush has approved a second Dubai company to take over some U.S. manufacturing facilities, including those that produce parts for U.S. fighter jets.

Am I dreaming here? What are they thinking (drinking?) at 1600 Pensylvania Avenue???

PR Dubai public relations media