Thursday, March 31, 2005

I am quoted in today's Charlotte (NC) Observer.

In "How do Panthers repair damage?" by business writer Rick Rothacker, I'm one of several public relations practitioners surveyed about how the Carolina Panthers should deal with the public relations crisis created by news reports alleging substance abuse by players and former players.

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast #3 for March 30, 2005

5/20/05: Updated link to podcast file.

LOBP for March 30, 2005: Features Steve's March 9, 2005 presentation "How to keep the news media neutral in a crisis," at the College and University Public Relations Association of Pennsylvania, Hershey, PA.

Sunday, March 20, 2005

Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast #2: Steve and Robert George at Fairleigh Dickinson

5/20/05: Updated link for podcast to our new libsyn.com address.

Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast is back. Our podcast installment for the week of March 21, 2005 features a dialogue between me and Robert George, assistant editorial page editor of the New York Post at Fairleigh Dickinson University, recorded March 19 at the Schering Plough Executive Lecture series.

Editor's Note, 3/30/2005: We have gone back to our two initial podcasts and renamed the files for consistency. The programs remain the same.

A nice mention in Corporate Communication - Theory to Practice

Corporate Communication - Theory to Practice Mentions my lecture at FDU Saturday. Be watching this space for a podcast audio version of the program.

Thursday, March 17, 2005

Did I coin the phrase "e-business?"

I don't know, but I'm going to claim it, just for the heck of it.

A while back, I got an email from an internal editor at IBM asking if I had invented the term "e-business." She Googled the phrase and found this posting I made to the BUSLIB-L newsgroup in 1993.

BUSLIB-L Digest - 28 Nov 1993 to 29 Nov 1993
Only 1 message in topic - view as tree
Steve Lubetkin Dec 1 1993, 1:44 pm show options

Newsgroups: bit.listserv.buslib-l
From: Steve Lubetkin - Find messages by this author
Date: Wed, 1 Dec 1993 13:19:02 -0500
Local: Wed, Dec 1 1993 10:19 am
Subject: Re: BUSLIB-L Digest - 28 Nov 1993 to 29 Nov 1993
Reply to Author Forward Print Individual Message Show original Report Abuse

Regarding the Health Care Legislation virus alert that keeps making the rounds
here and in other groups:


The files on the disks that the White House distributed were plain vanilla ASCII
files. To my knowledge, there was no binary program distributed on the disks,
so there is really no way they could carry a virus. Does anyone here have
firsthand knowledge of a virus, or are we just reposting the same bogus alert
over and over again?


Stop the rumors, please. I really believe this story is false.


Steve Lubetkin
doing e-business as lubet...@mgh.com, slubet...@delphi.com,
76616....@compuserve.com, and wvpk...@prodigy.com

This appeared, she told me, to be the earliest known online usage of the term e-business. I responded to her that I would be happy to negotiate an arrangement for IBM to continue using the term. Shortly after that, they seemed to halt their use of the phrase. Another missed opportunity for fame and fortune. (Unlike Al Gore, I'm not claiming the entire Internet, just the phrase "e-business.")

Anyone have an earlier, documented use of the phrase, I'm willing to concede it.

VNRs: Amused by the politics

I'm very amused by the political attack being waged against the current Administration for its effective use of such time-tested and valid public relations tools as video news releases. These are the pre-packaged news stories that public relations firms like mine can help clients put together. They are delivered via satellite feed to broadcast news outlets around the country at no charge, and they deliver product launch news, consumer tips, or other educational information about the client's products or services. In this case, the client happens to be a federal government agency.

Critics of the Administration, frustrated by the inability of their political leaders to come up with a message that effectively reaches the public, instead attack the successful use of these communications tools by the government. That's a bogus attack and the public should understand it for what it is.

The Public Relations Society of America, the largest professional association of public relations practitioners, has made it very clear to its 28,000 members and students that the PRSA Code of Ethics and Professional Standards requires clear disclosure of the origins of video news releases to the broadcast outlets that receive them. Once we do that, it is up to broadcast news directors to ensure that they tell their audiences where they got the report.

When I was a radio newscaster in the 1970s (LOOONG time ago!) there was an 800 number at the US Department of Agriculture where you could download audio news reports featuring interviews with USDA officials and experts. Like newscasters at many other radio stations, needing extra content for newscasts, I used these reports. They always signed off saying "I'm so-and-so with the US Department of Agriculture." What's the big deal?

One of the saddest signs for the decline in network TV news recently was coverage of the floods following heavy rains in Southern California. Two of the traditional TV networks, CBS and NBC, used purchased video footage of the damage caused by the flooding. There was no on-air announcement that the video didn't come from CBS or NBC film crews, just very small visual "bugs" on the screen as credit lines that most viewers would have missed.

What a state of affairs when two news organizations that were once worldwide in their scope now don't even have a video crew in Southern California! Even sadder, no one is attacking the networks for the decision to cut back staffing so much.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

LOB Podcast for week of March 7, 2005

5/20/05: Updated link to podcast file.

Lubetkin's Other Blog Podcast for the week of March 7, 2005 is available. It's our first podcast, and it features my keynote speech to the Bank Marketing Association/NJ Bankers Association meeting in Woodbridge, NJ on March 3. Please give us your feedback and comments. Thanks.

Editor's Note, 3/30/2005: We've renamed our podcasts to make the file names a little more consistent. The podcast program remains the same. Thanks.