There’s nothing wrong with stating the obvious and being truthful when talking to journalists.

As a media person, one of my favorite scenes in The Muppets Take Manhattan (1984) is when the amnesiac Kermit accidentally wanders into Mad Avenue Advertising, a frog-centric firm that has been trying to come up with a glam campaign and a catchy slogan to sell a product called Ocean Breeze Soap.

Introducing himself as “Phil,” Kermit listens to the lame ideas pitched by Bill, Gil and Jill but candidly rejects each of them before offering one of his own. “Why don’t you just say ‘Ocean Breeze Soap will get you clean’?” he suggests. By the reactions of awe and amazement from his fellow amphibians, it’s clear that the concept of just stating the obvious has never occurred to them. Now hopping with the excitement that their jobs in the ad game are no longer on the line, they welcome this visionary newcomer to the agency and all go off to a power lunch to celebrate.

I’m reminded of this scene every time I do feature interviews with people who are trying to promote their latest books, pitch their new products or encourage more customer traffic to their businesses. What I’ve often observed is a collective mindset that media opportunities are an excuse to engage in ambiguity, euphemisms, manipulative tactics to deflect criticism, and sometimes even a distortion of facts to put oneself in a more favorable light. Whether these approaches are intentional or just reflect a lack of understanding that “clever” isn’t synonymous with “clarity,” the result is the same: a thinning of trust that subsequently makes every claim seem suspect.

Consider your reaction, for instance, if every time you asked a salesperson about how an appliance worked, you received the answer, “Oh, that’s all covered in the owner’s manual.”  Yes, I’m sure it is, but why is this person in such a hustling hurry to make the sale that s/he can’t take the time to give me a straightforward answer about whether the appliance is easy to operate? The same goes for people who mysteriously shroud their replies in such heavy cloaks of industry jargon and doublespeak that customers feel too intimidated to confess they really don’t have a clue what was just said.

Authors, perhaps, are the worst offenders in this arena. I recently had occasion to do a feature interview with a writer about her book on Hollywood deal-making. As impressive as her credentials and experiences were, she answered almost every question with the curt reply, “It’s all in my book.” Instead of using this media moment as a chance to entice prospective readers – and potentially win trust – with selected tidbits and anecdotes to showcase her personality, she focused exclusively on pushing for the sale without providing any substance which might have justified that purchase.

Takeaway lesson: At the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with coming clean and simply telling us what we want to know in a way that allows us to make an informed choice.

This post was provided by Christina Hamlett of Media Magnetism who was a guest on PUNCH! Media & Marketing Made Easy on March 23rd, 2013. She was interviewed on the topic of, “How to Become a Reporter’s Dream Story.” Visit the archives to listen. Her latest publication, “Media Magnetism: How to Attract the Favorable Publicity You Want and Deserve,” is targeted to authors, artists, entrepreneurs, small business owners and nonprofits. 

Photo Credit: Joel Washing

LATE NIGHT TONIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

Best of the week

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, check the show’s Twitter account for guest announcements.

Denise Duguay

@tweetinthebox

If you want to read ew.com’s new story, click here. Or go to the source at nytimes.com. I won’t judge (too much).

Enough of that. I’m getting indigestion. Here’re some guests!

LATE NIGHT TONIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

Paul Rudd (R)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Paola Antonelli (Museum of Modern Art)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

Sandra Bernhard

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, check the show’s Twitter account for guest announcements.

Denise Duguay

@tweetinthebox

LATE NIGHT TONIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

Steven Brill (R)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

James Franco (Oz the Great and Powerful)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn (Half the Sky)

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, check the show’s Twitter account for guest announcements.

Denise Duguay

@tweetinthebox

– Bud Norman

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

Tuesday: Rachel Maddow (R)

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Tuesday: Jon Favreau (speech writer, not actor/director) (R)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

Tuesday: Paul Gross (Starlight), Jessalyn Gilsig (Vikings)

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, check the show’s Twitter account for guest announcements.

Denise Duguay

@tweetinthebox

Have a good week. See you tomorrow with Tuesday’s late-night breakdown.

LATE NIGHT

Late Show with David Letterman (11:35 p.m. ET on CBS)

Monday: Sandra Day O’Connor

The Colbert Report (11:30 p.m. Comedy Network, 12:30 a.m. ET, CTV)

Monday: Emily Bazelon (R)

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight (7 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. ET, CBC)

Monday: Colin Mochrie, Mark McMorris

Charlie Rose (11:30 p.m. ET, PBS)

Mr. Rose announces his guests only on the day of broadcast, check the show’s Twitter account for guest announcements.

Denise Duguay

@tweetinthebox

“Friendship is a strong and habitual inclination in two persons to promote the good and happiness of one another”

- Eustace Budgell

          In my search of an appropriate quote for this post, I found it confusingly difficult to even start.  I had to understand what it was about before I could relate why it was a big deal to me. So here it go?

       At 50, I am a very busy person, mostly because unlike most persons in their 50′s my husband and I had children in my late 30′s, which means I have a set of twins that are 15 and a younger child that is 13. As you can imagine I am very busy with the many sports, school events and outside activities that they are involved in, in addition to my writing:  Books, articles, websites and several blog sites. It is rare that I have time for anything or anyone outside of my stolen time for myself.

          A newly acquainted friend who is trying to take her business to the next level asked if I could come to her demo-taping.(WhatMatters2Pam).   She’s a professional at what she does, but thought enough to ask me to come along.

          Over the past few months of getting to know each other we have discovered a quality in the other that can help us in our own personal business ventures and have moved forward in providing each other with that support. We have had many interruptions in our lives that has carried us like the ocean waves, but like all waves we come to shore.

          At fifty, I have learned that I do not know it all or even much of it. I have learned that I am enriched when I allow others into my space and when I am able to support them in their dreams I am also supporting my dreams. It kettles the fire in me and encourages me to stay focused and work harder on my goals.

At fifty, I am nowhere near done living, dreaming, learning and supporting others . . . As they say the best is yet to come. But I believe it only comes through living and making dreams come true.

 DeVine

http://zenspeaknine.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/ZENspeakNINE

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/deadBEATpoetry

If you think that your voice is being stifled, then speak UP! Every voice deserves the right to be heard. If you don’t like or even disagree with what is being said, still respect one another. Most importantly, “LISTEN!” You just might learn something, because no one knows everything, but God Almighty!~Pastor Anita R. Sneed-Carter

That seems to be the million dollar question. According to Extra TV reports on Thursday, the talk show veteran and stand up comedian, told Deadline.com she won’t be renewing her contract in August. Although, Joy Behar, hasn’t made an official announcement as of this post, to the viewers of The View, she is reportedly saying after 16 years on the popular talk show, she is no longer interested in doing the show and wants to pursue other things, including more talk show, stand up and she’s even writing a play.Of course, Joy Behar at 70 years old, according to Extra, will miss her longtime friend and co-producer of The View, veteran newswoman, Barbara Wlaters, whom Behar credits with the reason behind her coming to join the ladies on the view couch.

Another big question will be, “Who will fill the seat vacated by Joy Behar?” One thing for certain, the women remaining will be sorely disappinted to lose their sparring partner (Whoopie) and whomever gets to replace her, will need to bring their A game. But, then, people,we know how women are.. I mean we are Allowedto change our minds at any given time. just saying. Don’t hate fellas, it’s in our DNA!

Change can be a difficut thing ( Iknow this) but, it also can be a great and empowering thing ( I know this!) and whatever the 70 year old Joy Behar decides for the remainder of her years, it’s going to be the best decision for her:) Okay, y’all, we know Bill O’Reilly is just chomping at the bit- factoring in how “One’s down and one to go!” oh, shush, y’all know I’m keeping it real at the “T” blog…

So who’s with me here when I predict the replacement for Joy Behar could very well be a dude? or he could just look like a lady
holla’

Many people feel Springer is smut t.v., and back in 1991 it was very much, smut t.v.  Now let’s take a look at today.  It’s hard to say Springer is smut t.v. when you have multiple reality shows with the same smut, scandal, format.  Springer is about hype, energy, and drama.  Of course the show is predictable and meaningless.  Many people feel the show is very fake and that some of the stories are scripted.  Whether the stories are scripted or not, Jerry Springer like him or hate him he is a television icon and in many circles a pioneer of sorts.  I understand icon and pioneer is pushing it, but let us take a look.  The Oprah Winfrey show was the highest rated talk show of all time.  The Oprah Winfrey show aired over 25 seasons from 1986-2011 and we all know how that turned out.  She rode off into the sunset with her own network and the title of “Richest woman in the world.”  How about Johnny Carson?  When you say late night talk, you can’t leave out one of the greatest to ever do it.  The  Tonight Show with Johnny Carson was on the air over 30 years beginning in 1962 and ending the run in 1992 becoming the all-time most watched late night t.v. personality.

Understandably, these 3 show are on a different platform and format, however all share two things in common, longevity is of course one.  The next and probably the one common thing that puts Springer in the elite class is the “Clone factor.”  When Oprah became the top show it spawned a whole new generation of talk shows, from Dr. Phil to Ellen.  With pretty much the same platform and format.  Johnny Carson did the exact same thing.  Look at the late night talk shows that spawned all over due to producers trying to get that Johnny Carson vibe again. Which leads us to what the Springer show birthed. Maury Povich was a wholesome family show the first 6 seasons.  Once the Springer style of talk shows took place, the Maury show did a complete 180, changing their formats to  paternity tests, lie detector tests, basically the same format of smut, sex, and lies just like big brother Jerry Springer.

So Whether you are watching, Mob Wives, Real housewives, or the Kardashians, this new form of smut t.v. is nothing but Springer guests with cameras in their home.  Many people say Jerry is a no hosting hack, many other people are loyal Springer fans that feel this is real entertainment.  No matter how you feel, you must admit Jerry is doing something right.  So as I sat and watched as a 400 pound man fighting over the right to continue to  sleep with his step-sister, the only thing I could do was join in with the crowd and chant “Jerry, Jerry, Jerry.”

While I was out, I had some serious R&R time and I was able to watch some daytime television while dozing in and out.  A lot has changed since I last saw daytime tv…first of all – Oprah is gone (I’m still not over it) - Ricki Lake is back (I didn’t do tooo much research but I’m fairly certain the shows weren’t reruns from the early 90′s), and Regis is gone and now it’s “Kelly and Mike.”  By the way, who is Mike??

Oh, in case you were curious – Maury Povich is still spending his days telling people they are NOT the father.  AND there are a lot of doctors on tv now…Dr. Phil, The Doctors, Dr. Oz, and The Chew – I don’t know if there are doctors on The Chew but Dr. Oz’s daughter is so I threw it in.  Watching that many medical shows would be dangerous for me.

I didn’t actually watch all those shows, but I couldn’t help and take note when I was looking through the guide how many talk shows there are.

Lastly – I think All My Children is dunzo -that was the first soap I ever watched as a little girl – yep – I was exposed to soaps at an early age due to my grandmother.  She would visit and iron and I would watch All My Children with her – she would fill me in on the drama.

Daytime tv is bonkers – I had no clue SO many talk shows were on AND that the soap I have fond memories of is now gone.  I will always remember Erica Kane.

BUT – what I alllways appreciate from television are commercials that make me laugh and there have been a few recently that I kind of love.

First place goes to…..druuuum roooollllll plleeeaseee THE CHEEZ-IT PLAYING WHO AM I!!!  Seriously, it gets me every time.

Where is second place you ask?  druuuum rollll please —- PLANET FITNESS – SOOO HOT!!  Lately, I’ve felt like the girl in the towel so it hits close to home…

I know there are a ton of  commercials out there which are hilarious and my husband has a few himself that he likes.

Anybody else have some favorites or am I the only one that still looks forward to funny commercials?

What about daytime tv – who is Mike? And did I miss the memo about All My Children?

When did I start living in a bubble!?!

Al parecer la recepción por parte del público no fue necesariamente la mejor, ya que de las dos grandes producciones que se habían promocionado, una salio del aire a las dos semanas de su estreno. “Made in Cartagena” de Caracol Internacional sigue al aire, pero ¿Quién eres tú? duró solo unos capítulos en el bloque de las 10pm y sin ningún aviso previo, salió del aire.

A dos meses del cambio en el nuevo UniMás no vemos nada nuevo, sigue lo mismo de Telefutura: repeticiones de novelas que estrenaron previamente en Univision, películas, talk shows y algo de deportes. Lo único nuevo es el nombre y el logotipo. Retomaremos el tema en un par de meses MAS a ver como ha evolucionado el nuevo canal.

Al parecer la recepción por parte del público no fue necesariamente la mejor, ya que de las dos grandes producciones que se habían promocionado, una salio del aire a las dos semanas de su estreno. “Made in Cartagena” de Caracol Internacional sigue al aire, pero ¿Quién eres tú? duró solo unos capítulos en el bloque de las 10pm y sin ningún aviso previo, salio del aire.

A dos meses del cambio en el nuevo UniMas no vemos nada nuevo, sigue lo mismo de Telefutura: repeticiones de novelas que estrenaron previamente en Univisión, películas, talk shows y algo de deportes. Lo único nuevo es el nombre y el logotipo. Retomaremos el tema en un par de meses MAS a ver como ha evolucionado el nuevo canal.

The Queen reclaims her throne on the daytime television screen. Queen Latifah is revamping the “Queen Latifah Show” which originally ran from 1999- 2001. The new show will be produced by Will Smith and is expected to air in fall of this year. Click here to read the rest of this story and be sure to leave your comments below.

[ione_media_gallery id="702046" src="http://elev8.com/"]

Your thoughts?

“The Russ Parr Morning Show” Monday- Friday 6-10am & Saturday’s- 8-10am

Follow Russ Parr on Twitter @RussParrShow

Like The Wiz on Facebook to stay updated with the latest breaking, entertainment news and original interviews! [ione_facebook_like_box url_segment=1011WIZF

Having a solid integrated marketing strategy is key to promoting your business.

You have a variety of ways to market your business: advertising, direct mail, social media, email marketing, etc. These enable you to reach out to your clients, to let them know what’s going on in your business and the products and services you have available for them. Each system has its own marketing strategy. Integrating your marketing strategies will make your marketing message stronger.

Here’s a visual example that might help you see how much stronger your marketing gets when you integrate it.  Put your hands together so your fingers are pointing toward the sky. Line up the fingers of both hands. You can spread your fingers apart or you can keep them together, it doesn’t matter. Have someone pull your arms apart as you try to keep your hands together. You can’t do it easily, can you?

Let’s say each of your fingers represent one marketing strategy. One finger is email, one finger is direct mail, and so on. Just because you have all these strategies in place, doesn’t make your marketing strong. You may get one new client from each independent strategy.

Now, take your hands in the same way, but this time lace your fingers together. Interlace the fingers of both hands. Have someone try pulling your arms apart again. It’s much easier to keep your hands together this way because you have a stronger base.

In your marketing, do you talk about your direct mail in your email campaigns? Do you address what you sent in your email or your direct mail on your social networking sites? Are your advertisements telling people to connect with you on your social media sites?

That’s how you integrate your marketing. Everything is connected and laced together to make your marketing much stronger.

When you integrate your marketing you now have the ability to mention in your email marketing that you sent them something in the mail. You might even mention on your social network sites that you just mailed something out so people will be on the lookout for it. This simple strategy will broaden your reach because you can never be 100% sure where people are looking for their communication with you.  This increases the chances of your prospects seeing your messages.

When you talk about one marketing strategy in another media, you’re much more likely to capture your clients and prospects attention. They will be on the lookout for things coming from you.

For your clients and prospects that check their mail every day, their emails go to their phone so they don’t miss a single one. They’re checking in on Facebook, Twitter and other social sites several times a day.

That’s integrating your marketing. That’s putting all of your marketing strategies to work to support one another so your marketing, like your laced hands, is stronger. There is greater chance of clients seeing your message and taking action.

Give some strategic thought to your marketing and, if you’re not already, start implementing strategies to strengthen every system you use, with integration.

Find these and more great tips at www.completemarketingsystems.com.

This post was provided by Diane Conklin of Complete Marketing Systems. She was a guest on PUNCH! Media & Marketing Made Easy on March 1st, 2013 discussing, “5 Keys to Business Success.” 

Photo Credit: DigitalRalph

Last summer, one of Lake’s producers reached out to a bunch of the guys in my stay-at-home-dads Meetup Group. They were looking to do an in-depth show on the growing trend of SAHD’s. That sounded great to us, so, several of the guys responded to their email query. The next step was to fill out an application stating why we would make good guests on the show. Then came the phone interviews. Yes, I said interviews, plural. All totalled, I think Mrs. Yeti and myself were probably interviewed at least four or five times, a piece, by at least three different people. It was insane.

And while part of the problem was that Lake burned through producers like crazy (I think there were at least three producers hired and fired during the show’s mercifully short run!) and we had to be re-interviewed when the new team came onboard, the real problem was that no one wrote anything down. I’m not kidding, we had to give them the same information dozens of times. I was like: “Hello? Would it kill you to make a file for us on, oh, I don’t know, a computer, perhaps?”

Then we had to shoot a day-in-the-life video of Greta and I doing our thing. As with everything else they demanded along the way, the producers told us we needed to shoot our video and get it to them ASAP. “We needed it yesterday.” were their exact words. So, we busted our hump — actually, my brother busted his hump, we just went about our business while he taped us! — and got them a video in record time. The producer confirmed she got our video, said she loved it and then nothing. For weeks. No calls. No e-mails. Nothing.

Almost a month later, we got a call from a new producer who apparently got our name and contact information from some scribbled notes the former producer left in her office. “[Producer #1] said you guys were a cute couple and that I had to make sure and get you on the show.” Producer #2 said. Flattered, we agreed to move forward. Which meant, you guessed it, more phone interviews where we talked about the exact same stuff we’d talked about before.

Our hook all along was that I wanted to talk about the very real phenomenon of postpartum depression in men. I had been through it — hell, I still go through it! — and I know several of the SAHD’s I hang out with have felt the same way. And while I’m sure some women would call us crazy, I can tell you for a fact that anyone who takes care of a baby all day for any extended period of time feels crazy sometimes. And if they tell you they don’t, they’re lying. It’s the hardest job there is.

Anyway, that was what I wanted to talk about on the show. The isolation that I felt, the depression, the straight-up insanity of it all. And then I wanted to talk about how I got over it. The way meeting and hanging out with other dudes (sorry, ladies, I tried that route too and mostly, I just felt judged) who were in the exact same boat I was, finally lifted me out of the darkness and helped me feel better. Blogging about my experiences totally helped too. It still does!

So, that was our angle. We were the couple with the male postpartum depression. And while I always knew the chances of our story being trivialized or sensationalized on a show like Ricki Lake’s were high, part of me hoped we could actually help people. Or at the very least, help some other crazy shut-in SAHD know that he wasn’t totally alone. That was my hope at least.

What ended up happening was much less exciting. By the time we actually were given a date and time to show up for the taping our episode was called “Blended Families” and the totally random topics on our show were literally all over the place. There was a trash-talking stepmom who hated her stepson, a large group of children whose mom died and left them with their aunt to raise, the gay couple from Tori Spelling’s reality series and their bratty daughter, and then, in the last two segments of the show (which are always the shortest) the producers managed to shoehorn in the topic of SAHD’s. How blended families relate to SAHD’s is beyond me, but, that’s where we ended up.

And then, to add insult to injury, Mrs. Yeti and myself weren’t even allowed to sit onstage with the other SAHD’s. Instead, we were interviewed in the show’s closing seconds from the audience. If you knew how long they spent picking out our clothes (no, we were not allowed to wear our own clothes, crazy, huh?) the fact that you could barely see what we had on made absolutely no sense at all. What a waste of time and effort!

Another highly annoying thing is that they told us not to bring Greta to the taping, but the other two SAHD’s (the ones who got to actually sit on Ricki’s couch!) brought their kids onstage with them. Just kind of annoying.

So, while the first two SAHD’s showed their day-in-the-life videos (neither one of which held a candle to our rocking video, BTW), Mrs. Yeti and I were shuttled into our seats in the audience. And after the next “commercial break” Lake shoved her mic in our faces and interviewed us for maybe two or three minutes. It might have lasted longer had one of the SAHD’s onstage not interrupted me to say that he himself had never felt isolated or judged by SAHM’s. I was so blown away by his totally self-serving comments that I just kinda stood there looking stupid while he talked. But, inside, I was like: “Dude! You had your turn, shut the fuck up!” Grrr!

I checked out his blog later and can safely say that the dude is a first class asshole who gives daddy bloggers a seriously bad name. I mean, come on, man, I’ve got like two minutes to talk to Ricki. Why you gotta interrupt me? Total d-bag!

Luckily for me, the show had an actual doctor sitting in the front row who confirmed that male postpartum depression isn’t just real, but, actually something that several doctors have been studying. Ha! Put that in your blog and suck it, dude on stage! And then, with the clock ticking on the show, Ricki asked Mrs. Yeti if she thought I was a good Dad. Tearing up a bit, Mrs. Yeti replied: “Oh yes, he’s an excellent father!” It was very sweet, and, despite the fact that I was a giggly, sweaty mess, Mrs. Yeti looked absolutely gorgeous onscreen. Seriously, she came off great!

And just like that, the show ended and Lake literally bolted for the door. As far as I know, she never spoke off camera to any of the guests that day. Nice, huh? I understand ditching out on the studio audience, but, come on, would it have killed her to linger a little bit with us backstage? What a joke.

That said, everybody else behind the scenes was lovely. Our “handlers” were great and though the decor and snacks in the green room sucked ass (Three flavors of Pringles? Really?) we still had fun sitting in there eating them with my brother and sister-in-law. And, honestly, it was kinda cool having our names on the green room door even if that green room looked like a single dude’s apartment after a bad divorce. You know: couch, chair, coffee table, Pringles. So lame!

Lamer still was the fact that after all that rush-rush here, rush-rush there, our show didn’t air for another five months. Our episode aired on the Friday before the Christmas break. Yep, it was so bad that they totally buried it. In fact, to give you an idea of just how bad our episode was, Lake’s producers (who had changed AGAIN by the time our episode aired) played the show’s big, fancy Christmas episode the day before our episode. Wow, talk about a lump of coal for Christmas.

Oh, I almost forgot, Lake’s producers did try and do a full episode about SAHD’s later on in the show’s run. They even contacted our Meetup Group again looking for guests — I guess they forgot that most of us had already been interviewed for their show and that Mrs. Yeti and I had even appeared on it! But, this time, no one replied.

So, I repeat: “Ha ha!” Suck it, Ricki Lake…