By Carl Carter, APR Your mama was right. That time she told you to be kind, it was good advice. When she said your words would come back to haunt you, she was right about that too. Words matter. In the last couple of days, we’ve seen hasty words, bullying words and obscene insults backfire […]
Two lessons from the Alabama governor’s disastrous press conference
Conventional PR wisdom says you answer charges when attacked. And when you’re a public figure in trouble, you hold a press conference and get all the bad news out so that the story doesn’t drag on. Alabama Governor Robert Bentley showed us yesterday why conventional wisdom is sometimes wrong. The governor, who was in hot […]
Media getting your story wrong? Four things you’re doing wrong.
By Carl Carter, APR, AMM When folks hear what I do for a living, they nearly always complain that they’ve been mistreated by the media But when it happens to you, it’s usually your own fault. Here are four common common complaints, and they’re all things you can avoid. They wrote about the least important […]
How to get the media to cover your next auction
This ran in Auctioneer Magazine, September 2013. Used by permission. PDF of article as it appeared. By Carl Carter, APR Good news coverage about your upcoming auction can give your business a welcome boost. But it usually doesn’t just happen by itself. Here are a few things you can do to encourage media coverage without […]
A matter of style: Emulating the pros
This was published in the May 2013 Auctioneer Magazine. Used here by permission. Here’s a PDF of the article. — Carl By Carl Carter, APR Your mother was right. It matters how you present yourself. Sit up straight. Be courteous. Speak correctly. Show up in clean clothes, and shine your shoes. The same applies to […]
Want media to treat you better? Remember these four things about reporters
By Carl Carter, APR Originally published Feb. 2013 Auctioneer Magazine, used by permission I rarely meet an auctioneer who doesn’t have a story (or 10) about a reporter who misquoted him or garbled the story of a high-profile auction. I just smile, shake my head and say something like “unbelievable.” I’m sympathetic, because there are […]
As newspapers cut print to three days a week in Birmingham, NOLA, expect more dominoes to fall
You may have heard yesterday about the decision by Advance Communications to stop printing three of Alabama’s newspapers daily. Instead, The Birmingham News, Huntsville Times and Mobile Press-Register will print on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Their primary vehicle for delivering the news will be AL.com, Advance’s web site combining its Alabama media. Advance will also […]
Did somebody say new media rules? Yeah, they just changed again.
When I changed the name of my public relations agency to NewMediaRules a few years ago, I was convinced that the media landscape was changing in ways that would require professionals to constantly adapt. But the changes I’ve seen in the last five years have exceeded anything I could have anticipated or predicted. Now and […]
Why you should never hold a press conference
This is not a happy headline: Ouch. It gets worse. Here’s the story that went with it. What went wrong? For starters, press conferences are obsolete and have been for at least 20 years. Clients and CEOs love them and are always pressing to hold one, but smart media relations professionals generally pat them on […]
Get the AP Stylebook and use words like a pro
Like it or not, people decide what’s right and wrong based on what they see written by professional journalists. And for most journalists, the Associated Press Stylebook is the standard. That means certain ways of spelling and using words are embedded in people’s minds, and if you deviate much from the standard, they’ll view your […]