There is a certain group of trend arbiters around whom I envision being skinny, wearing all black, with black framed glasses who think that when they speak the entire work of public relations will turn on a dime to do their bidding.
Over the last several years I am becoming progressively irritated when PR pundits keep saying that the standard press release is dead. Maybe the body is cold from where they sit, but in our line of work the old tried and true, boring and predictable press release is our lifeline to the media.
At a recent fire exhibition on Long Island a fellow PIO asked if I had a couple of minutes to talk to him about a problem he was having. A number of people in his community were complaining to members of his volunteer department about what they thought was the excessive costs involved in running and maintaining a motorized drill team to compete. So upset was the Chief of Department that he asked the PIO to send a release to the local papers extolling the virtues of motorized racing. The only problem is the PIO agrees with the community complaints.
