Stories by Diane Schwartz

At my middle school son’s open house last week where we met the teachers and heard about their teaching philosophies, I noticed a trend that just might be applicable to us adults. When the students walk into the classroom every day, they immediat…

The essence of journalism is stained every time a reporter either willingly or unwillingly provides a source with his or her quote for an article before publication.  This deal is sometimes made conditionally before the interview takes place, or as an…

“Are you better off today than you were 4 years ago?” That’s the question Republicans are imploring Americans to answer as they make their way to the voting booths in a few months.  Let’s put politics and party affiliations aside and apply thi…

One of my favorite childhood memories is of the annual shopping excursion for school supplies, with the coveted “list” in hand and my finagling extra items to buy, such as scented Magic Markers or a locker mirror (Mom: “Are they on your list?” …

So here goes: I personally despise, at the end of the day, when people drop the ball, because, at this moment in time, it is what it is. Just sayin. In that paragraph above I include what I and countless others find to be among the most annoying saying…

Sometimes it’s good to go back to basics in the School of Media Relations. I am reminded of this after receiving a dozen emails this week and a few phone calls from PR professionals that were (to put it nicely) off target.  Having been on both sides…

Interesting, wasn’t it, that news of the TomKat divorce hit on a Friday? Maybe not: There are two often used sayings that fit nicely into this celebrity “shocker” news: Any publicity is good publicity. And: Release bad news on a Friday afternoon….

A lesson we learn early in our careers is that what you write to your colleagues or verbally declare to them is rarely confidential.  Just because you stamp a “Confidential” note on the top of the memo does not make it confidential no matter how m…

His firm saddled with explaining the loss of at least $3 billion by his reckless investment unit on the other side of the pond, Jamie Dimon, head of JPMorgan  Chase,  seemed no worse for wear.  Testifying before the Senate Banking Committee on Wedne…

It’s a mantra so often used that we don’t think twice about it:  the customer is always right.  However, most us would agree that it’s OK to gently let go of customers/clients who are eating up time, energy and resources and at the end of the d…