White House press secretary Ari Fleischer says the toughest part of his job is knowing when to hold 'em and when to fold 'em - that is, discerning which information to leave
in the Oval Office and what to share publicly. "That's the strategic part that I get paid for," he told a packed crowd at the June 7th Thoth Awards hosted by PRSA's National
Capital Chapter. Spill too much privileged information from White House staff meetings and presidential advisors may feel less comfortable speaking freely in future meetings. Hide
too much information from the press and nasty speculation runs rampant. "Reporters like to ask the same question over and over," he notes. "It's important to understand that and
not get snotty." Fleischer spends roughly a third of each day in meetings with the President and likens his job to "permanently playing the 7th game of the World Series." PRSA
presented him with an award for "Outstanding Media Relations at the Highest Level." Firestone Reputation Goes Flat. Firestone has more to worry about than its crisis du jour,
according to a recent survey of 130 member companies by The Council of Public Relations Firms. Two-thirds (66%) of senior executives surveyed disapprove of Firestone ending its
95-year-old relationship with Ford and 85% agree that if Ford and Firestone had worked together instead of publicly attacking each other, their relationship - and their
reputations - would have remained intact. One exec sums up the findings: "The real question is why didn't these two supposedly responsible, respectable companies join forces?
Where were their crisis counselors?" (Jack Bergen, CPRF, 877/PRFIRMS)
Representing Dubyah
