Client Chris Hurn on Fox Business

3/18/09 - Client Chris Hurn, CEO of Mercantile Commercial Capital in Orlando, was a guest on Fox Business this morning discussing how the stimulus package will affect small businesses. Video follows:

--John

Heck of a story in today's NY Times about state of newspaper industry

3/12/09 - Here are just a few key snippets from a well-crafted and interesting story from today's NY Times on the state of the newspaper biz:

• “In 2009 and 2010, all the two-newspaper markets will become one-newspaper markets, and you will start to see one-newspaper markets become no-newspaper markets,” said Mike Simonton, a senior director at Fitch Ratings, who analyzes the industry.
• Web sites like Craigslist have been to classified ads what the internal combustion engine was to horse-drawn buggies.
• The Tribune Company, for instance, owner of The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and other papers, filed for bankruptcy in December, largely because of its debt load. The reality is that even though the economic climate is hard for newspapers, without their debt payments the publishers in bankruptcy would still make money, as do most newspapers around the country.
• But no one yet has unlocked the puzzle of supporting a large newsroom purely on digital revenue, a fact that may presage an era of news organizations that are smaller, weaker and less able to fulfill their traditional function as the nation’s watchdog.

Click here for the full story.

--John

Wacky New Biz Call (Installment #1)

3/3/09 - Someday I will write a book, but until then...

We got a call today from a very nice young guy who wanted to talk to a public relations firm about promoting his crazy idea. He's willing to have his body tattooed with a company's logo (he's willing to get nuts about it) so he can have money for college.

When I told him that it wasn't really the kind of thing we do (as corporate PR guys) he was cool about it. He was less enthused when I told him it has been done many times before: Remember the first time you saw goldenpalace.com across a pro boxer's back?

Another downside to good SEO, I guess.

--John