Did you hear the news about the evangelical preacher who decided to abandon his church? I know it’s true because I saw screen shots of major network sites reporting it!
Did you see the pic of how Justin Bieber has gone from scrawny to brawny by using a new steroid? The pictures were all over the blogs, though I must say his face looked a little weird somehow.
It is hard to admit that Sen. Rand Paul, a darling of the Tea Party, had something important to say when he held the Senate floor in a 13-hour filibuster demanding to know whether the federal government had the authority to direct a drone strike to kill an American citizen on American soil without benefit of trial.
It would be fun if a president stood before the Joint Session of Congress and announced, “The State of the Union is terrible!” That, of course, isn’t what happens. Presidents declare to Congress and the nation that “the State of the Union is strong!” and then go on to assert all the things that need to be accomplished.
As President Barrack Obama’s motorcade rolls down Pennsylvania Avenue tomorrow in the annual ritual to Capitol Hill for the State of the Union message, thousands will be gathered along St. Charles Avenue in New Orleans for the even older ritual of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday. I think this year in particular, the irony of the two events occurring simultaneously is striking.
“I see the coolest [stuff] in the ad industry,” was a recent quote from Brain Grazer in FORTUNE Magazine to explain why he and Ron Howard want to move beyond Hollywood blockbusters and venture into the world of advertising. I felt it was one of the worst—and scarily one of the most common—reasons to get into the agency world.
Do I fault Grazer? Absolutely not.
The Super Bowl is one of the biggest advertising events of the year. I know people who look forward to strictly the ads, rather than football. The Super Bowl is the opportunity for brands to show off their best branding skills. This year, there were several that stood out, but many that I was left disappointed with.
Worst five Super Bowl commercials
On Jan. 31, 2013, I attended the Secretary of Defense nomination hearing of former Sen. Chuck Hagel. Lines were out the doors for security check-ins at the Dirksen Senate building. The hearing room was packed to the limit, with every chair full by 9 a.m. and many people standing along the sides by the time it started a half hour later.
The recent presidential Inauguration posed some interesting questions for companies and groups that have work that intersects with government relations and public relations.
In the end, Hillary Clinton may decide she will not seek the Democratic Party’s nomination to run for president in 2016. But, if she does, her appearance on Capitol Hill this week proved that she would be a formidable candidate.
After four years of disagreements with the Obama Administration over settlements, peace negotiations with the Palestinians, and a potential strike on the Iranian nuclear program, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looked to elections for the 19th session of the Israeli Knesset as an opportunity to recapitalize following the re-election of American President Barack Obama.
On the surface, publc affairs fights can be about any number of issues, but at their core, most every fight over public policy comes down to one thing: money. I’m not talking about the millions paid to lobbyists, government relations and communications specialists to analyze the policy issues; I’m talking about the money that funds the “special interest economy”.
