Political humor

Jay Leno: "Well, President Obama signed the landmark healthcare reform bill into law, or as President Obama refers to it, 'The Rush Limbaugh Deportation Act.'"

Jay Leno: "I'll tell you how excited the President is. Today, he changed his slogan from 'Yes we can,' to 'Yes we finally did something.'"

Jay Leno: "Of course, the White House is now denying it made any side deals with members of Congress to pass this bill. See, I don't know if that's true. Did you see Mount Rushmore today? They're adding Dennis Kucinich's face to it."

Jimmy Kimmel: "President Obama won one of the great – they're calling it – the 'great legislative victories of the last 50 years'. He won healthcare reform approval to extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans, or as the Republicans are calling it, 'Armageddon.'"


Source: U.S. News & World Report

Dumping on the passive voice

IN THE DECADES since Ronald Reagan's famous non-apology for the Iran-Contra scandal - "mistakes were made" - we've gotten used to treating the passive voice as a shady customer. It's shifty and craven, weak and flabby, we say. But do we have any idea what we're talking about? - Jan Freeman, The Word

Do we writers get it all wrong when it comes to the passive voice? The Boston Globe's Jan Freeman thinks so. Read what she has to say in Active resistance.

Political humor

Jay Leno: "There was a lawsuit to have 'In God We Trust' removed from our money. To give you an idea how bad the shape the dollar is in, you know who wanted 'In God We Trust' taken off? God."

Jay Leno: "President Obama announced ... that he has donated all his Nobel Peace Prize money to a charity that deals with those that have no hope -- the Democratic Party, I believe."


Source: U.S. News & World Report

Prepare to give more than 100%

Racing takes everything you've got — intellectually, emotionally, physically — and then you have to find about ten percent more and use that too.

- Janet Guthrie

Janet Guthrie's quote on racing could very well apply to working in public relations and journalism, particularly if you're serious about doing a stellar job. If your work calls upon you to toil in crisis communications, as mine does, it is hardly a glamorous occupation. It is hard work, time-consuming and labor-intensive.

If you aspire to work in broadcast news, my first career, be prepared to work long hours and meet multiple deadlines. Understand that there will be times when you must file a report on breaking news with very little information, but somehow sound credible.

The world of journalism is 24/7. Be prepared to work early mornings, nights, weekends, holidays, and 16 to 24 hours straight during a presidential election or crisis - whatever it takes to get the job done. Believe it or not, my PR work has the same demands. Can you say "sleep deprivation"?

For serious journalists and PR professionals, the world of communications is hardly a cakewalk.

Have you worked in a stressful professional? It doesn't have to be media-related. How did you cope? Inquiring minds want to know!


Tags: Public Relations, PR, Media by Sistrunk