I watched the HBO film “Game Change,” mouth agape last night, wondering if in fact former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin could indeed have been so dimwitted during the 2008 historic election.  Having worked extensively with the media, and with high-profile individuals, I know first hand that media reflections are often far from reality.  While I found the movie to be thoroughly enjoyable I couldn’t help but walk away and wonder if indeed it was an accurate reflection of Palin.

Learning that a Democratic public relations firm is representing the film doesn’t make me reassured that the movie was balanced or accurate. Seems like a real double standard.

One of the managing directors of the firm tasked with promoting the film is Anita Dunn, former White House Communications Director under Obama.  The same PR Agency is working done pro-bono for Sandra Fluke, who was attacked by arch-conservative Rush Limbaugh. Other senior staffers of the firm include former top advisors to Andrew Cuomo, and Chuck Schumer amongst other Democrats.

To be clear, Palin could indeed be a ding-bat – but having DNC operatives claim the movie is fair and balanced isn’t exactly a convincing argument.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

(P.S. – One of my favorite quotes in my book “For Immediate Release” comes from Anita Dunn – “The press corps wouldn’t be doing its job if it weren’t demanding more access than we’re willing to give. We wouldn’t be doing our job if we didn’t occasionally irritate the press.”)

• With all of the anarchy and PR missteps surrounding Anthony Weiner’s resignation from Congress, wanted to share the piece I recently published on Crisis PR at Business Insider: http://t.co/OO78XUp

It was a Public Relations nightmare, to put it mildly.

• Another story which I found interesting was regarding a case in a New Jersey appeals court, where a New Jersey court ruled that a “Blogger is not a journalist, and new media is not news media.” NJ Superior Court appellate judge Anthony J. Parrillo’s statement in the court document on the case – “Simply put, new media should not be confused with news media.” More information can be found at: http://rightcoastconservative.blogspot.com/2011/06/nj-court-rules-blogger-not-journalist.html
• It’s a never ending saga the world of owning a PR Agency – Have a new website going up this week, constant travel the last few weeks, a number of clients visiting town, and anxiously awaiting the release of my first book.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Yesterday, I spoke with a group of 40 MBA students visiting from France who came to my office.  As we spoke about job opportunities in the new market, the similarities between the new financial realities of the U.S. and the socialist system of France became readily apparent, as Newsweek in fact recently noted.  While I don’t usually blog on politics, I can’t resist the opportunity to refer to this brilliant letter on how the current political system is adversely affecting entrepreneurs, which has been making the rounds on the Internet and which a number of entrepreneur clients have forwarded to me.  I absolutely agree with the sentiments of it, and I think we are living in tremendously unique financial times.

As I remarked a few months ago in The Atlanta Journal Constitution, the era of trust in the U.S. simply doesn’t exist these days.  As the era of lies and liars emerges – Bernie Madoff, Bear Sterns, A-Rod – brands that can manage to communicate authentically can win in a major way.  I believe marketing in the short term is best done on a personal basis with niche marketing or hand-to-hand combat. Targeted strategic communications and PR plans will win a lot better in the short term.  It’s a sniper rather than a machine gun (and yes, this economy remains a war).

It’s remarkable that things are so bad these days in the newspaper business that shares in the New York Times Co. on Friday slumped to a low of $3.99, less than the price of the Sunday paper.

While many people often speak about the value of social media, there are also dangers that we must be aware of.  A competitor recently “friended” me on Facebook, and then contacted nearly all of my friends in an attempt to send them information on his agency.  Similarly, LinkedIn and other networks are dreams come true for recruiters, competitors and the like.  So be careful with your public contacts.  Risks and reward should both be considered when participating in new social media platforms.

Ronn Torossian

5WPR

Friday morning, as part of our ongoing speaker series, 5WPR hosted Rev. Al Sharpton.  Although I disagree with him politically, Sharpton has influence and access, and he brought a new view to our conference room.  He’s clearly a messenger with a voice in politics and the media, and someone we can learn from.

As a PR agency, we host a speaker series for our clients, friends, contacts, and the media.  In the past four months, our speakers have included Hank Sheinkopf (a friend and very smart political consultant… daily on CNN), Roger Stone (political genius), two Israeli MK’s, including Gilad Arden (a probable Minister in a Netanyahu administration) and Yoel Hasson, a longtime friend and Chairman of Kadima (current ruling party), among a slew of others.  It’s beneficial for our clients, interesting and exciting.

Sharpton’s topic was Race & Business in the Obama Administration.  He spoke quite eloquently, acknowledging that while a significant glass ceiling has been broken, there is still a ways to go.  “We’ve made a lot of progress, but I don’t think we should stop until we make it all the way,” he said

When asked how far he thinks he has moved the Civil Rights movement, he responded, “We have made enormous progress, [but] Martin Luther King used to say ‘you gotta measure things from the bottom to the top.’  So we made a lot of top progress, but the bottom has to be on the same progressive curve as the top.  You can’t just have Tiger Woods, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama, but double unemployment in Harlem and act like it’s not important.  That’s where the challenges still remain.”

Sharpton’s entire presentation can be heard at 5W Public Relations’ YouTube page.
The presentation is broken into three segments:
Part -1:
Part -2:
Part -3:

Sharpton’s most resonating words for me were, “This isn’t the end of grievance politics.  There will be grievance politics as long as there are grievances.”  Working with a ton of politicians on PR issues, I agree that as long as there’s politics there will be grievances.

It was an all around exhausting week, so I’ll end with a quote from an investment banking friend, who said: “Most people DON’T have a clue what they’re doing and the ones that do work their asses off – right?”  I concur.  It’s not easy being a business owner.

Ronn Torossian
5W PR

I spent the weekend reading “Off the Record: The Press, the Government, and the War over Anonymous Sources,” by Norman Pearlstine, who spent years in the media serving as executive editor of The Wall Street Journal and editor-in-chief of Time Magazine.  Pearlstine writes about his experiences at Time battling the White House and court systems; he also discusses the press and its limits.  The book is very interesting reading for anyone involved with the media, PR, or public affairs.

As I have stated before, journalists have the ability to make and break people, products, and businesses and often feel “above the law.”  This book details many of the conflicts inherent in high-level journalism, most notably regarding the law and protecting anonymous sources.  I really enjoyed it.

In the business of public relations, and certainly in politics, there is often a need to feed information to a reporter off the record.  This process requires some level of trust between reporters and their sources.  Reporters rely on the vital information sources provide for many high profile stories and investigative pieces, whether in sports, entertainment, politics, public affairs or law.

Day to day, sources and journalists work hand in hand to create stories.  It’s simply the way the industry functions.   This book examines and questions the limits and parameters of these relationships and their boundaries.

Ronn Torossian
5WPR