Online Public Relations Thoughts

The Japanese have just opened the highest observatory on earth -- 18,500 feet above sea level.  It is located on a mountaintop in Chile where the desert air is still and there is little moisture.  Astronomers go to where no one else would dare enter.  One can only imagine what  future archaeologists will think when centuries from now they stumble on the decaying buildings and recall that the Japanese had been there hundreds of years before.  

No wonder voters dislike politicians when they lie like this. Republicans are saying crime is increasing in America.  The FBI says it is decreasing.  On the campaign trail, the lie wins.  

College and university campuses across the US have erupted in protests over the destruction of Gaza by a superior IDF.  Students are calling for an end to the violence and in some cases are anti-Semitic in tone and words.  This has posed a quandary for the administrations -- how to allow free speech yet control verbal attacks on Jews.  There have been no easy answers so far.  University administrators have been found wanting in relations with their student bodies and professors.  Hair-trigger responses to protests are poor PR, but patience hasn't worked well either.  Now is not a time to be the head of a university.

Former president Trump has mastered the craft of keeping the media spotlight on himself whether good or bad.  He is a publicity case study of seizing the headlines and holding onto them at will.  One might not like how he has done it, but it has worked for many months, far longer than one might expect.  Even if he is convicted, he will use his sentences for leverage.  One must respect his ability, whether likeable or not.  

The House and the Senate have proven with the military funding bills that bipartisanship works.  It's the result of hours of talking, jawboning and negotiation -- public and private pressure.  The legislative skill of the President was essential in breaking a logjam that started in September.  It should be a lesson to PR practitioners who use persuasion to achieve their communications ends.  Never give up.  Keep talking.  Provide facts and evidence. Hammer and hammer again until someone listens.  It's tough work but essential.  Changing hearts and minds is never easy.  

 Do what I say, not what I do.  Hypocrisy in action and poor PR.