The day after Mitt Romney’s convention speech discussing how he can help families regain a fistful of dollars, I read more about Clint Eastwood and his chair than the Republican candidate.
Not afraid to throw down the gauntlet, President Obama’s people showed us the chief executive’s chair. A piece in The New York Times discussed the concept of how people, walking a tightrope in their lives, speak to empty chairs. Some Republicans insisted the media was making a mockery out of nothing and Dirty Harry and his criticism of the President connected with real people who may actually live by the bridges of Madison County. Others posted about “Eastwooding” by showing the good, the bad and the ugly pictures of themselves with empty chairs.
Any which way you can look at this, Clint Eastwood’s performance will not determine the outcome of this election. For now, the media is simply fascinated by the sudden impact of the actor. But in a perfect world, I wouldn’t advise an organization risk overshadowing its star speaker, especially one trying to capture the hearts and minds in every which way but loose. Someone must play the enforcer and prevent this from happening. Avoid distractions and don’t leave your star in the dust. Otherwise, you will be unforgiven.
People often discuss with me what they do not like about local TV news. I listed below some of the most common requests I hear from viewers. Some journalists might argue managers and producers tie their hands. But most reporters can probably take at least small steps on their own to improve these issues. I also realize some in the media will read this, once again roll their eyes and dismiss this list. At least I tried.
When people pitched me stories, I sometimes needed to hear simply a few words to know I had a winner. So when I learned three sisters are all rabbis, I needed no further details. However, not everyone immediately sees the light. How often did I sit in editorial meetings, pitch ideas I considered small treasures and listened as producers and managers responded in silence, later assigning me to something less worthy? Several reporters passed on this story idea I like to call “Sister Act.” Several producers did not respond to my emails. Light feature stories struggle to find their place among controversy and breaking news. I get it. But persistence pays off. In this business, you must have a lot of chutzpah. A CBS5 executive producer believed in the story and sent a reporter to cover two of the sisters who live in the Phoenix area. The station will interview via Skype the third rabbi, who lives out of town. Here are some pictures I took of the interview. Click on them.
Solid but subtle colors enrich your look much more than the standard white shirt
Last month, we wrote a series of blogs about crisis communications after a network newscast led people to make angry phone calls to one of our clients. The news report does not mention our client. However, the story discusses another business with a contract with our client. And some of the visuals in the news story reveal that business relationship to viewers.
I was born and raised in Miami and was a Dolphins season ticket holder. I’ve rooted for them since sitting in my Grandpa’s house in the early 1980s and watching their classic overtime, playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers.
