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February 13, 2012
Binyamin Rose: Back to the Bunker: How a life-risking act by a Christian family during the Holocaust saved a family and built a thriving community a world away
Menachem Wecker: Business Schools Teach Real Estate Despite Troubled Housing Market
February 10, 2012
Lisa M. Krieger: Man with defibrillator demands access to his own heart's information
David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
February 9, 2012
Laura McMullen: 10 Least Expensive Public Schools for Out-of-State Students
Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
Menachem Wecker: Though Controversial, LL.M.'s Can Lead to Specialized Legal Jobs
The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
February 7, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Caught off-guard? President's Super Bowl interview with Matt Lauer gives those who need a reason not to vote for him, a darn good one
Suzanne Bohan: Leaping lizards! Tiny reptiles advancing robot design
February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
The Kosher Gourmet by Joseph Erdos: This mushroom and barley soup has an intense -- almost nutty -- flavor that mixes robust with Middle East. It has creaminess without cream
January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Jan. 11, 2005
/ 1 Shevat, 5765
You can't buy this kind of PR ... But then, you wouldn't want to
By
Gene Weingarten
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
I received a press release the other day offering me an interview with a man who was identified as — and I quote — "Mr. PR."
Now, I confess that this designation did not fill me with an earnest desire to find out what Mr. PR had to say. It filled me with an earnest desire to make fun of Mr. PR. The whole shtick seemed presumptuous, you know? I do not call myself "Mr. Funny."
Still, mocking people is cruel. I hesitated. Maybe Mr. PR is far better at his craft than I am at mine, I reasoned (even if Mr. PR did find it necessary to use a PR man to write his release). Then I came to the part where Mr. PR was promising he could teach Washington Post readers "how to become famous." As an end in itself, this sounded as slimy as squid succotash.
What pushed me over the edge of humanitarianism into the terrible abyss of satirical hostility, however, was the line that identified Mr. PR's new book, Networking Magic, as "best-selling." Now, I know something about the difficulty of writing bestselling books, having twice failed spectacularly to write one myself. Mr. PR's PR man defends this claim by alleging that the book was, at least briefly, listed as No. 1 in popularity by two online booksellers. If that's true, its success was astoundingly short-lived. On the day I checked, seven weeks after its publication date, Networking Magic was the 94,226 most-purchased book in the country, according to Amazon.com. I don't know if you are aware of just how non-bestselling this is, but, suffice it to say that it was not moving nearly as rapidly as Fig Heaven: 70 Recipes for the World's Most Luscious Fruit.
So, sadly, I lost my battle with my conscience. But what to do about it? I didn't want to write about Mr. PR, because that would give him exactly what he was after: big-time publicity. In the end, I decided on a diabolical plan. I would subject Mr. PR to the PR man's Worst Nightmare.
I called him up (his name is Rick Frishman), and told him I would interview him for The Washington Post, but only if he agreed to directly answer my questions, and only my questions, without digressing into any other areas. He said, Sure! Here, verbatim, is the interview:
Me: I think we can agree that the reasonable person, hearing that your nickname is Mr. PR, would conclude that you are Mr. BS. They would feel, in essence, that public relations is a field in which the practitioner accepts money to twist and shade and otherwise distort the truth so as to create an undeserved positive impression for his clients; that the field is about as respectable as loan-sharking and as shallow as a puddle of beer on a bar stool, and it is peopled by opportunists with the ethics of a New Orleans pimp. My question to you is, are you left-handed or right-handed?
Mr. PR: Uh, right-handed.
Me: Your press release says that you can tell readers how to get famous, suggesting that fame is nothing more than a commodity — not something that one earns through hard work or talent, but a condition that can be cynically manipulated for profit. Furthermore, if anyone can become famous, fame itself is devalued to the point that those who are famous on the merits of their abilities or the strength of their character — William Faulkner, for example, or even Nelson Mandela — become thrown into a vast cesspool of mediocrity inhabited by people made "famous" by people like yourself, for a fee. My question is, do you have a favorite comic strip, and if so, which one?
Mr. PR: "Peanuts."
Me: Your new book is about networking. I think the average American understands that networking is by and large the disreputable, dehumanizing pursuit of knowing the right people — creating for oneself an unlevel playing field based on cronyism, where friendships are established for hypocritical reasons, using people and then abandoning them when they are no longer of strategic value — in short, mortgaging one's mortal soul for personal gain. My question is, how tall are you?
Mr. PR: I am very short. By the way, the entire message of the book is the opposite of . . .
Me: That's not answering the question. We had a deal.
Mr. PR: Five-foot-two.
By the time the interview was over, I confess, I was feeling sorry for Mr. PR, and a little ashamed of myself. But not all that much. In the world of make-anyone-famous PR, no publicity is bad publicity. Mr. PR's PR man can now report, truthfully, that the book was "featured in The Washington Post."
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and the media consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Gene Weingarten writes the Below the Beltway humor column for The Washington Post. To comment, please click here.
© 2005 WPWG
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