Author: Tom Unger
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Churchill said it best: Make it brief!
I’m reading the latest book by one of my favorite authors, Erik Larson. In The Splendid and the Vile, Larson recounts the many challenges Winston Churchill faced as prime minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Germany had already conquered Poland and Czechoslovakia. On Churchill’s very first day in office, Germany invaded Holland…
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Lessons to be learned from the recent presidential election
Regardless of your political affiliation, the recent presidential election holds some major lessons when it comes to news writing and media pitching. Here are just four of them: Timing – The news media usually does not plan ahead. It typically reports on the daily activities of the world around it. But there are a few…
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Word to the wise: Keep your opinions to yourself
This advice goes out to the newer and younger professionals working in corporate communications, public relations and media relations because I’m assuming old dogs such as I already know this: Keep your personal opinions to yourself. I was reminded of the wisdom of this advice yesterday when I read the CNN article that stated, “A public affairs…
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Advice about goal setting applies to creating talking points: less is more
I just finished reading the highly informative, educational and entertaining book The Ride of a Lifetime by Robert Iger. In it, he reveals how he rose from an entry level position at ABC Television in 1974 to eventually become CEO of the Walt Disney Company in 2005. Obtaining the CEO job was certainly not an…
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Never forget to include the “why” when communicating to employees
I read an excellent article in the new issue of American Banker magazine by John Enger about how experiencing past disasters helped bankers deal with the coronavirus crisis (click here to read the entire article). Some of the past disasters the article mentions include Hurricane Katrina in the southern U.S. in 2005 and the 2017…
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Virus is a once-in-a-career opportunity for earned coverage
The coronavirus has become the number one news story in America and appears it will remain that way for at least the next eight to 12 months. It’s touching practically every segment of society in our country. I’m hard pressed to think of a story as big as this one during my 40+ year career.…
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That memorable day when I met the world’s greatest journalist
In my last journalism job before I switched careers, I worked in the late 1980s as the Los Angeles bureau manager for what was then a small, family-owned, recreational boating newspaper called The Log (as in ship’s log). The Log was based in San Diego and published every other week. It was a free newspaper…
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A local angle to national/international news = a successful placement
Regardless of your political affiliation, the biggest story in the national news right now is the efforts by Democrats to impeach Pres. Trump. My hometown newspaper, The Oregonian (based in Portland, Ore.) published a story in its edition today that is an example of one of the proven strategies I will teach in my News…
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Become a comms hero by using what already exists at media outlets
I was watching a news story the other day on the local ABC-TV affiliate where I live and noticed they have a feature called “Everyday Heroes.” It highlights someone in the community who does great things for others with not much fanfare. I later realized that what I did next would make a good lesson…
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Here’s how to boost your success when making a media pitch
One of the highlights for me of the 2019 Portland Communicators Conference was a panel discussion among three members of the Portland Business Journal (PBJ) editorial staff. Editor Suzanne Stevens was joined on stage by reporters Pete Danko and Elizabeth Hayes. Their topic: how to best interact with the PBJ staff so you don’t waste…
Recent Posts
- When you receive an assignment, determine the real deadline
- Don’t put all your effort into just one story pitch
- When you should not send out a communication
- Maintaining consistency is a must in your business writing
- Four keys for comms pros to win the trust of senior executives
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Comments
I view this blog as an outlet for me as an individual to express my opinions and offer advice about…
Great advice, Unger! It's way too easy to treat writing like a task and move on to the next item…