Potomac Flacks

Former Hard Copy Anchor Nolan Leaves Capitol Hill for Boston

You may not have known it, but former Hard Copy host Barry Nolan has been the Communications Director for the Democratic staff of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress since 2008.

The Boston Globe recently reported that Nolan is returning to Boston to serve as Communications Director for Treasurer-elect Steve Grossman (D-MA).  Nolan formerly worked as a television host on Comcast’s CN8, WBZ-TV Boston and for Extra!.  Nolan is a native of Alexandria, VA.  (PF tipster)

Hacks vs. Flacks

I just came across the Hacks vs. Flacks article that was published in the New York Times on Monday. According to the article, Chris Anderson, the executive editor of Wired was fed up with "lazy flacks," and permanently blocked 329 unsolicited e-mail senders. According to the story, the list includes people from leading PR firms like Edelman, 5W Public Relations, Felishman, Ogilvy, etc.

As PR professionals, there have been times where we have all been a little lazy and rely on e-mail, instead of calling, we did not do enough research to realize that our favorite beat reporter just changed beats and yes, we probably do deluge reporters way too often. But, reporters need to realize that without people like us - their jobs would be a lot harder - they wouldn't get exclusives, they would have to do a lot of research on their own and they would have to track down executives and elected officials for interviews without staff begging and pleading their principal to speak with a reporter that wrote a bad story about their organization last time.

Journalists need to realize that PR pros are necessary for them to do their job. And, not all of us are great and sometimes we make mistakes - but, hey so do journalists.

Hispanic Groups Break #1 Rule of Press

The U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Latino Coalition, which is headed by Hector Barreto, former SBA Administrator in the Bush Administration's first term, issued a joint press release supporting embattled Attorney General Alberto Gonzales last week.

However, according to Patricia Guadalupe, a contributor to the Washington Hispanic Newspaper, the coalition groups misspelled the Attorney General's name.  Guadalupe was interviewed this morning on WTOP News about the late and marginal support Hispanic groups have offered Gonzales in the U.S. Attorney firing scandal.

Neither group has the press release (original or corrected) on their website - so if you have it, please email it to me ([email protected]).

A cursory check on google for Alberto Gonzales (correct spelling) showed 2.9 million hits.  The most common way to misspell his name is "Gonzalez" and a google search came up with 883,000 hits.

RULE # 1 in Press - Always double-check for errors, especially important ones such as the correct spelling of a person's name that is central to a press release.

CORRECTION: This posting erroneously reported that the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce sent out the mistaken release, when it was in fact the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, a separate entity.  We regret the error.

UPDATE: The Latino Coalition says they never made such an error.

Ex-Reid Speechwriter Moonlights as Roots-Rock Crooner

Speechwriters are used to working in the shadows and writing behind the scenes. One local speechwriter gets a chance to step into the spotlight when he performs with his band, the Bourbon Dynasty.

Charles Walston (right) -- a former journalist who has written for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, flacked for Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and now pens speeches at the National Education Association -- is the frontman for the DC-based roots-rock combo. City Paper calls the standout track on their new CD "Girl in the Checkout Line, an uptempo lament of a supermarket shopper who 'ain’t got the nerve to ask' another customer for her phone number" (sample lyric: "She’s puttin’ the ‘wiggle’ in the Piggly Wiggly"). Catch 'em live at IOTA on December 12.

Top Five PR Books

Michael Kempner, CEO of MWW Group public relations, hit the weekend WSJ with his top five books on PR:

1. "Propaganda" by Edward Bernays: By the "father of PR" and the brains behind "bacon and eggs."
2. "American Hero" by Larry Beinhart: Inspired the movie "Wag the Dog"
3. "The Eloquent President" by Ronald C. White Jr.: All about Abe Lincoln's comm skills
4. "Thank You for Smoking" by Christopher Buckley: Our personal favorite.  The movie was good, but the book was better.
5. "All's Fair" by Mary Matalin and James Carville: Their tale of the 1992 campaign and their own behind-the-scenes romance.

Separated at Birth: Metro Spokesgal and Harry Potter?

Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein, or a certain notorious junior wizard?  The Rock Creek Rambler asks, you decide: