Everyday PR

Throughout the year, EveryDayPR has written about a lot of current issues.  Based on our 10 most popular posts, it’s only fitting that we provide an update on those people and events.

Phelps painfully learned about the power of technology.

1)    Michael Phelps – Since Michael’s public pot shot, he’s complied with the U.S. swimming sanctions and started collecting medals again.  He should stay out of hot water for awhile.

2)    Nadya Suleman – Like Tiger Woods, the Octomom’s initial news garnered public concern that ultimately left a bad taste in everyone’s mouth. Unlike Tiger, however, she went through about as many publicists as she did embryos.   Currently the Octomom is pursing a reality TV show in the UK.  Maybe Tiger should get in touch.

3)   Michael Vick – Dick’s Sporting Goods still isn’t selling his jerseys while numerous other retailers are.  With the exception of his recent performance against the Falcons, we can safely say that jersey sales are outpacing Vick’s football stats by several touchdowns.

4)   Michael Jackson – Breaking News:  Michael Jackson died.  Just when you thought everything that could have been sucked out of the top 2009 news story, a 2010 tribute was announced. He’s dead – enough already.

5)  Swine flu – If the media made as much of the need to cure cancer as they did of the Swine Flu, countless lives would be saved.  Even President Obama contributed to the level of fear with the inappropriate use of his words, as did “Say It Ain’t So Joe” Joe Biden.

6)  Kanye West – In his own selfless and giving way, Kanye West catapulted Taylor Swift in the spotlight for much more than her music.  Shortly after his antics, Taylor became the female artist with the most Top 40 singles this decade.  I hear she’s penning a new song called Rudeness is Priceless.

7)  Anita Dunn – Although her job as White House Communications Director was temporary from the beginning, I suspect she would have been gone in short order anyway.  To alienate an entire network at this point in an administration was just ill advised and a lose-lose situation.

8)   Roman Polanski - The 79-year-old can run, but he can’t hide.  The iconic director is under house arrest in Switzerland fighting an extradition order by the U.S. government. This guy epidomizes too much drama.

9)  Get a Mammo, Don’t Get a Mammo - November’s controversial announcement by a federal panel fell flat. The latest Senate health care hearings bar the feds from relying on the findings of that panel and do not include reimbursement changes for mammograms.  Remind me again, the purpose of this panel is…?

10)   Tiger Woods – The highest level fall from grace since Bill Clinton, the Tiger saga won’t end just because the year does.  Following the golfer’s collision with inanimate objects, he issued an ill-advised public statement, some major endorsements dropped him and the number of his alleged mistresses came perilously close to his golf score.  Tiger is simply the crisis that keeps on giving.  

Hope you enjoyed our 2009 update.  If you’re not already a subscriber, please consider doing so by going to the subscriber button at the top left of this page.  Or you can add our blog to your blog reader by going to www.google.com/reader.  Cheers!

President Obama recently declared the country to be in a national State of Emergency, a move typically reserved for natural disasters. New York Governor Patterson and New York City Mayor Bloomberg made similar declarations.  Both decisions had to do with expanding available health care sites and professionals to deal with patient care and vaccinations.  But how many people heard, much less understood, that part?

My problem is semantics.  The President uses the “E” word (emergency) while Secretary of Health and Human Services Sebelius simultaneously says the swine flu continues to be “very mild” for most people.  What’s a parent to do?  They have to decide whether or not their child should be vaccinated because the government sends out an emergency message, their family doctor advises the opposite, and their pediatrician says something altogether different.  It’s like asking people if they believe in UFOs – everybody agrees UFOs are a definite maybe.

Make no mistake, I am not downplaying the fatal impact of the swine flu at all.  But I am suggesting to be careful about the choice of words. Instead of declaring emergencies, in which this country just seems to be in one perpetual state, how about announcing an Advisory of Temporary Health Care Waivers or an Alert for Additional Vaccine Resources?  Wouldn’t that better identify the purpose of the declarations?   

What do you think?

The World Health Organization this week estimated that some two billion people – 30 percent of the world’s population – could be infected by the swine flu by the end of the pandemic.  In comparison to the media coverage of earlier this year, the health warning practically went unnoticed. 

Considering the WHO’s ambiguous announcement, the organization’s alarmist nature and the ongoing competition of Michael Jackson headlines, the WHO needs to regain credibility with the national media and the public.  Unfortunately, August isn’t a sweeps month.   No one gets coffee this week.

If you’d like to nominate or make suggestions for our Cup of Joe Award, let me know at shart@hartpr.com or www.Twitter/susanhartpr.

From our desks overlooking the parking lot, here they are:

10)      Swine – It’s not about pigs (everybody knows the scientific reference to a “quadruple reassortant” virus); it’s about people (although some people are pigs) hygiene and cooties

Swine Flu Song – The best video clips are right here

9)        VP Joe Biden – He’s not a doctor or medical expert; he just plays one on morning talk shows.

8)        Food – Eating Mexican food is not the same as going to Mexico.  There’s no such thing as a fajita fatality.

7)         Pandemic – Not synonymous with or the same word as “epidemic” or “panic”.  Details, details.

6)        Helpful Link – To cut through the ambiguous medical jargon and political hyperbole, just visit Do I Have Swine Flu?

5)        H1N1 – Just rolls right off the tongue, doesn’t it?  Also makes you look uber smart when used in conversation.

4)        The CDC – The key word is CONTROL.  They should try to get some over public information. 

3)        The WHO – Popular rock band begun in the late 60s best known for such hits as “My Generation” and “I Can See for Miles”.

2)        To Close or Not to Close? – Do we close schools or not? Just how much havoc/panic/hysteria/disruption can be created in the lives of millions? Like breastfeeding or Brett Favre , the decision depends on the day.

And the top real fact about swine flu:

1)         Sweeps – We’re in the middle of TV ratings for goodness sakes.  On the upside, both the flu and sweeps end soon.

Nothing like the Vice President of the country causing more panic about a yet-to-occur pandemic.  A Pandemic Alert Level 5 yes; a need to close schools and major modes of transportation, no.  Contradicting the more restrained statements made by President Obama last night, Biden may need to restrict his comments to subjects he’s more familiar with before administering medical advice.

http://swampland.blogs.time.com/2009/04/30/way-to-go-joe/

POSTED APRIL 29, 2009:

Since the current pandemic fears relate to a never-before-seen combination of human, swine and bird viruses, a Facebook friend wonders just how long it will be before pigs actually fly. 

This little piggy is affecting the market.

Flying pigs or not, the 24/7 media coverage on the swine flu is enough to make anybody sick.  To add to the mix, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services today issued a checklist for large businesses to follow in the event of a pandemic.  Wait just a minute.  Not to underestimate the potential dangers of a virus, but let’s keep things in perspective here.  According to the World Health Organization, the flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 people every year, with or without a pandemic.  NOTE TO PRODUCERS: Do the math, and plan your news coverage accordingly.

The mere mention of the swine flu also affected the stock market for certain industries. Cruise operator Carnival and Delta Air Lines both fell 14 percent on Monday. Shares of Tyson Foods-the country’s biggest meat producer-dropped 12 percent.  NOTE TO INVESTORS: Are you seriously not aware of repeated episodes of missing passengers, food poisoning and plane crashes?

Some school systems have issued swine flu advisories to parents. Better to be safe than sorry, I suppose, but where was the advisory to parents about the dangers of high fat and processed foods? NOTE TO EDUCATORS: The less panicked a child is, the happier the parent.

As public relations professionals, we’re skilled in acknowledgement, not obsession.   We also recognize that the Nielson ratings sweeps began April 23.  Expect a swine flu reality show by May 20, last day of sweeps.