Media Training

Do your pitches keep getting the brush off? Consider borrowing a few tricks from Hollywood storytellers to make your press releases, pitches and other materials more emotionally compelling—and more successful.

Peruse any journalist’s Twitter account and you’re bound to find a tweet about a terrible pitch they’ve received. Media relations is one of the most important skills for PR professionals to master, and email pitches are a crucial piece of the puzzle.

There are countless communications takeaways from the recent celebrity gaffes. Whether it’s Paula Deen dealing with allegations of being a racist and then dropped like a buttered sweet potato by every brand partner, or Jennifer… Continued

For the last several years PR agency Peppercomm has worked with Nikon to promote the Nikon Small World photomicrography contest, which features up-close-and-personal views of everything from algae and bugs to beautiful landscapes. Previously, Peppercomm deployed its PR efforts around the winning entries, which offered a relatively small window—perhaps a few weeks or so—to get the word out and pitch the media to cover the contest and the results.

It’s been a little more than a week since we learned about Paula Deen’s damning deposition, in which the food queen uttered the ‘N’ word. But in that time Deen’s “sweet grandmother” image has suffered irreparable damage

In abruptly firing Men’s Wearhouse founder and executive chairman George Zimmer, the men’s clothing company has sent a few messages to the marketplace, none of which are likely to help the brand’s reputation or its PR efforts.

Serena Williams has a history of speaking her mind and shooting straight from the hip. However, she may have crossed the line in a recent Rolling Stone interview.

Celebrity chef and butter aficionado Paula Deen is losing in the court of public opinion as revelations of her racist remarks and behavior continue to unfurl in a lawsuit brought against her by a former manager. Deen’s actions are undeniably inexcusable and begs the question: Has anyone dared to suggest to her that perhaps she needs some media training?

My son Max tells very long stories that veer in curious directions. By the time he’s nearing the point, he forgets the ending. It’s rather cute and endearing – he is, after all, only 12… Continued

How many times in the last 48 hours have you read or heard the phrase “content is king”? Maybe people think that if you chant it enough times it’ll be true. But we know in our hearts that it’s not true—some content is king, but not all of it.