Rob’s blog
Darn good question.
Pete Shinbach over at The Bach Door asks an awfully good question in relation to this excerpt from a news story: "An aide to [someone the reporter was trying to contact] said the developer was traveling out of state Thursday and could not be reached for comment." In...
And the award for best, pithiest Oscar speech goes to…
Is it too jingoistic to award it to Chris Lambeth? I am here tonight because of the grace and humility of one guy watching from Montreal. Ryan Larkin, I dedicate this award to you. And I'm sharing this award with Steve Hoban for Copper Heart Entertainment. Steve, you...
Waaaay off-message
The big issue right now in U.S. federal politics is the future of social security. (Everything you want to know about how this is shaking down is covered diligently at Talking Points Memo.) The Republican mantra as they plan to privatize large swaths of the program...
Damage control: how to do it
Not 24 hours after a media spitstorm, Her Excellency comes out smelling like a rose... and shows the rest of us how to handle a bad-news day. Here's how: She responded immediately, and made herself available: "Hearing the story on CBC Radio Thursday morning, Gov. Gen....
The dreaded “send” button
By way of the transplanted (and much-missed) Erin, the tragic story of a spin doctor, a Blackberry and two naughty words.
How not to handle a screw-up
You might want to think twice before booking with Jetsgo, if Penney Kome's tale of stranded passengers at Pearson is any indication: Other airlines called in more staff (and presumably paid overtime wages) to respond to the crisis. Not only did Jetsgo lack crew...
Come one, come all
The as-yet-not-really-confirmed trend of post-Enlightenment Americans flocking across the Canadian border may yet translate into a real flow of traffic if the folks at CanadianAlternative.com get their way. The site promotes the Canadian advantage in Medicare, foreign...
Speechwriting: the next generation
Just got a message from a public relations student asking me for advice on a speechwriting career. I resisted the competition-stifling urge to invent some dire reason why she should go into some other field ("You're very brave, given all that media hysteria about...
Where I’ll be this weekend
The International Association of Political Consultants is holding its world conference this weekend here in Vancouver, hosted by my amigos at NOW Communications.Should be an interesting time. I'll try to resist the urge to buttonhole every American I trip over –...
Fast, Cheap and Not Yet On the Air
Errol Morris, the film-maker who gave us The Fog of War, The Thin Blue Line and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control — and turned Ellen Feiss into an icon for people switching to Apple — has now posted a series of campaign ads for MoveOn.If you caught Ellen or...
Insolent swine!
Just watching The Last Samurai on DVD. One of the samurai warriors who have captured Tom Cruise's character has just barked "Insolent swine!" at him.The writer must be especially adept at stifling his gag reflex to have penned a line like that. (So far, nobody has...
Blatant self-promotion
You never know when somebody on the other side of the spectrum (waaaaaay on the other side) might take notice. (Scroll down to "Canada Votes, Day 3".)Sure, I disagree with him on the issues. But jimminy, the guy's written for a U.S. president. So he's gotta know...
