Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

How to get media coverage in The Boston Globe

Larry Edelman, The Boston Globe deputy managing editor, told independent PR agency heads that, while declining print subscriptions portend an all-digital newspaper, building good old-fashioned relationships still counts when it comes to news coverage in New England’s biggest newspaper.

At a recent meeting organized by the Boston Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, Edelman told some 30 small PR agency owners, “We have 95,000 paid digital subscribers, the highest among regional papers,” which is fast approaching half the total subscribers as “print subscriptions slowly decline.”

The Boston Globe's new newsroom in Exchange Place

With classified advertising for autos, employment and real estate no longer able to support the operation, the Globe has had to increase the cost to the readers for providing them with information. “When we’re charging a lot for the product it really has to be good, and when readers log on they want to get the highest-quality journalism. The paper has to be sold on the merits of quality.”

Given changes in the way people access information, especially international and national news, The Globe has reduced its commitment to staffing bureaus in Washington, DC and overseas. “Our motto is to provide journalism you can’t get anywhere but The Globe.” For media relations pros, that means offering its reporters exclusive, newsworthy information about local business and organizations and their impact on the community.

Larry Edelman of The Boston Globe

At the meeting, run by public relations consultants Hank Shafran and Sarah Leaf-Herrmann, Edelman emphasized, “It comes down to building individual relationships” for both PR pros and reporters as well. “Even though information is available online, reporters still have to get out of the office to cover stories in person and PR folks have to build relationships with reporters. News is a relationship business – a good batting average though is worse than a major league baseball player,” in terms of successful placements.

Edelman urged PR professionals to look beyond your own client for broader stories with greater impact. He pointed out, “A hotel company that was building properties in the outlaying parts of the city such as Allston and Brighten pitched a story about the business.” Rather than publishing a story about this one company, “The Globe did it as a trend piece, which made it a stronger and more interesting article.” Everybody won.

When asked about whom to contact, he recommended sending email pitches directly to reporters since they know more about the topic and editors have too many additional responsibilities to focus on content, though alerting both the reporters and their editors is acceptable.

Joshua Milne, who focuses on sports promotions and media relations, asked whether editorial visits during which company executives visit the editorial staff in the newsroom to provide background information, with no expectation of coverage are still viable.

Hiawatha Bray, Technology Reporter

Both Edelman and Hiawatha Bray, who has been covering technology for the Globe since 1995, encouraged the visits, especially when the executives are willing to come to the newsroom. Bray joked, “I just met with a company and they were all from MIT, so I figured it must be important.” 

Veteran business reporter Jon Chesto is known for taking a lot of editorial meetings. “He meets more people in a day than I meet in a month,” quipped Edelman. Notwithstanding, when publicists pitch stories they need to know the topic. Bray said, “It's disrespectful to call a reporter and not know what your product is or what it does and then fill the void by using terms like ‘best-in-breed’ or ‘disruptive technology.’” 

Bray chided PR people who call at 5 o’clock to pitch stories, and for trying to be creative, “Don’t write a story like ‘Once upon a time,’ just the facts please.”

Other changes at The Globe include The Express Desk, which was started last year and is staffed with 25 reporters and editors to deliver breaking news – “immediate news drives a lot of subscriptions,” Edelman said adding that Express Desk tracks readership and revises headlines if an interesting story isn’t drawing readership.

In addition to the Spotlight Team, the famous investigative reporting unit featured in the eponymous Oscar winning movie about sex abuse in the Catholic Church, Edelman, noted, “We created a subset of the Spotlight Team that, instead of spending months on a story is poised for quick investigations that might take only a week or two. One of its latest accomplishments was an investigative report on a recent Massachusetts State Police scandal over no-show traffic details.

Despite the modern newsroom in the heart of the financial district, the absence of the monster Web press, and a hugely successful formula for a digital newspaper of the future, Edelman said some things in Boston remain constant: “Who’s driving the most subscriptions? It’s still sports.”

Dick Pirozzolo, APR of Pirozzolo Company Public Relations is a Boston communication consultant whose credentials as a professional journalist include membership in The Society of Professional Journalists, The Foreign Press Association of New York and the National Press Club of Washington, DC. He is the author of countless articles on public relations and several books on a wide range of topics. 

Veterans Deliver Job Skills Employers Often Miss —Like Leadership, Commitment and Innovation

November 11. Veterans Day—A day set aside to honor those of us who served in the armed forces. There will be parades, flag waving, speeches, ceremonies dedicated to American military people and there’ll even be free pizza and coffee at chain restaurants.

 As well as the occasional: “Thank you for your service,” from fellow Americans.

I can't think of a better way to honor and thank our veterans, than to make sure they come home to a job that recognizes the skills they acquired in the military. Things have changed for the better. When Vietnam veterans returned, we met resistance from potential employers who wrongly claimed military people are too regimented, unfamiliar with latest civilian technology, and can’t think for themselves. Sometimes, opposition to the war resulted in opposition to veterans.

There were also creative ways of calling vets “losers” back then. In one case, a reporter for The Boston Herald wrote that she went to the Pine Street Inn – a Boston homeless shelter — to get “the veterans’ point of view.” Never mind that John Kerry and the CEO of State Street Bank were veterans, who were hardly residing at the Pine Street Inn.

During a job interview, a potential employer discounted my entire military experience by asking: “Don’t you feel your career doesn't really start until after the service?”

It was as if my four years in the U.S. Air Force didn’t exist. Fortunately, I learned my craft, public relations and journalism, in the Air Force through formal schooling, at the Defense Information Officers School (DINFOS), and on-the-job training. The Worcester Telegram & Gazette recognized my capability and hired me right away. A year later the late Jack Star, who headed up PR at Boston University, hired me for the international media relations skills I acquired as an Air Force press officer in Saigon.

In addition to specific job skills, Veterans come home with general leadership and management skills, and other qualities that are a huge benefit to civilian employers.

Leadership. Whether officer or enlisted, the military does not hold back when it comes to putting you in charge and, often in situations that are way above the job description. To be sure, I made plenty of mistakes when I was a second lieutenant, but the most valuable lessons I learned was to listen and learn from the enlisted folks who had years of experience and technical skills far superior to mine.

Military people take an oath. Most folks don’t go around thinking about the oath they took when the signed up, but it underscores commitment. In a nutshell, once a soldier signs up, he or she can’t say, “I quit” and walk out on the boss or colleagues.

Diversity and equal rights. The armed forces are not without problems when it comes to gender and race and, in most cases, commanders deal with sexual misconduct and discrimination quickly and definitively. Nevertheless, the military has been way out in front on race relations that began with the full integration of our armed forces after World War II and ongoing efforts since then that include the integration of the LGBT community into the military.

Simply put, rank matters. Race and sex do not. No one tells the female lieutenant to make coffee or the African-American captain to make photocopies!

The ability to improvise. When a four-man squad goes on patrol, there may be command and control from headquarters, but the squad leader, probably a young 20ish soldier, will make hundreds of life-and-death decisions to complete the mission and return everyone safely.

Completed staff work “Hey boss what do you want me to do now?” Putting the monkey on the boss’s back is no-no in the military as the armed forces adhere to the doctrine of completed staff work .

When a team has a job to do, the job is completed totally before presenting the results to the commander or superior who delegated the responsibility. Of course, not every project goes according to plan and obstacles come up. In those cases, the presentation has to be sufficiently complete so that, if more information is needed, all a supervisor has to do is sign a request.

One of the hard-and-fast rules team members learn is they cannot go directly to their supervisor to get partial approval, or to lobby for their own solution to the problem. This cuts down on a lot of office politicking and backbiting.

Chain of command. This might be anathema to a lot of current management thinking, but the principle avoids a lot of ill will. In the military trying to curry favor with one’s boss’s boss usually ends badly.

Likewise, the military insists that when you give an order it comes from you no matter where it originated. Military folks don’t give whinny orders like: “I wouldn’t make you do this, because I’m nice, and I want you to like me, but the big boss insists soooo ….”

Empathy. The military is often a matter of life and death and people can be together 24/7 where the division between work and off-duty life does not exist. I was always in awe of leaders who could navigate the murky waters of their people’s personal and family issues, while staying focused on the mission. It’s a complex skill that is well taught in the military and applicable to civilian employment.

The Marines often teach leadership through what are called sea stories that underscore the risky decisions and dilemmas one must face in combat such as: do you risk two Marines' lives to bring back few cases of cold Coke, that will improve everyone's morale, or do you not take the chance? The outcome is not nearly as important as opening debate on the leaders' dilemma.

Honesty “I will not lie cheat or steal or tolerate anyone among us who does.” We’ve all heard the mantra, but what it means is that military people learn to both delegate and trust the people who work for them without reservation. If someone says, “I counted all the M-16s and there are 46,” you can, without checking up, sign a document endorsing the count.

Learning in public. From basic to advanced training fellow students may compete for class rank, but they pull everyone up with them. Then the whole team wins.

Can-do spirit. Military folks believe they can achieve anything. After returning from Vietnam, I served with the 253 Combat Communication Group in Massachusetts. We could install all the navigation, air traffic control and communication needed for a temporary airport, while the Navy Seabees, built the runway and erected tents for the whole lot of us. Done quickly and as a matter of routine.

And consider Mike Cotton, who created a surf club at China Beach while serving in Vietnam so that airmen and soldiers could get a taste of home when they were off duty.

It would be great to hear from veterans about their job hunting experiences, how the military helped them with their careers and also from companies looking to hire smart, motivated veterans with a can-do attitude.

By Dick Pirozzolo, Managing Director of Pirozzolo Company Public Relations in Boston and coauthor of "Escape from Saigon" a novel, with Michael Morris.

 

 

How's Your "Issues Management Hygiene?"

PR Gurus the world over have been weighing in on the media fallout from United Airlines forcibly removing passenger Dr. David Dao from a flight as an object lesson in lousy crisis management.

It was painful to watch the smart phone videos of law enforcement agents dragging Dr. Dao off the plane while a major carrier slow walked its response from blaming the customer to the announcement of a lawsuit to a financial settlement and finally an apology by CEO Oscar Munoz.

Though CEO Munoz struck out during his first at bat, he finally connected by instituting a number of reforms. He increased compensation for bumped passengers, empowered employees to more easily resolve passenger complaints on the spot, and even provided a phone app to assist them in doing so. As consumer expert Shep Hyken pointed out in Forbes recently, “United Airlines is upping its customer service game, and it is my prediction that other airlines will follow. United employees will be on their best behavior, and so will employees of other airlines.”

 

 

Everybody wins. This time.

United’s crisis management mistakes could have been averted if the company had recognized and planned for all three components of communication management that propel companies onto the nightly news and create infuriating Twitter storms. They are:

Emergency Management

Issues Management

Crisis Management

United and the airline industry generally get A+ on only one of the three components, Emergency Management. Carriers anticipate and have detailed plans, personnel and systems in place to deal with customers, family members, the media and other stakeholders in an emergency and they know how to coordinate with government agencies like the NTSB when the most dreaded of operational failures occurs – a plane crash. And they practice.

While it’s best to routinely review and practice the fundamentals of crisis management with the CEO and review the crisis management plan periodically it’s harder to make it happen. Notwithstanding, savvy senior managers are smart enough to listen to their public relations counsel, once they find themselves in the midst of a media maelstrom.

The Department of Defense offers a solid definition of a crisis: "A low-probability, high impact event that threatens the viability of the organization and is characterized by ambiguity of cause, effect, and means of resolution, as well as a belief that decisions must be made swiftly.”

Additionally, a crisis has the ability to impact public opinion and trust in an organization and devalue its brand equity. Look no further than the massive Yahoo customer hack that reduced the company’s value by $350 million in its bid to be acquired by Verizon.

While United, with some expert PR counsel, eventually moved on from the crisis, the game is not over for the private airport security firm that, acting on orders from the airline, dragged Dr. Dao down the aisle creating the viral video sensation in the first place.

Issues Management: the neglected stepchild of PR Planning

While the value of Emergency Management and Crisis Management principles and practices are valued and well understood, organizations fail most often when it comes to Issues Management practices, which often stems from a firmly held belief among senior management that “our organization is different—special, better, even unique.”

Military leaders, for example, certainly read the newspapers and watch the news about issues involving Second Amendment rights and their relationship to workplace and gun violence, changing attitudes toward sexual harassment at work, decriminalization of drug possession and the epidemic of opioid addiction, legalization of Marijuana, immigration policies and so forth. All too often corporate leaders convince themselves that the problems associated with these hotly debated issues cannot possibly impact the people I manage because we’re different, more disciplined, prouder, more cohesive.

iPhone Apps empower flight attendants to take care of passenger problems immediately

And then stories, seemingly out of the blue, emerge about Marines passing around nude photos of their female colleagues and an Army major goes on a murderous armed rampage at Ft. Hood. Everyone is caught off guard because of an it-can’t-happen-here culture.

Same goes for the airline industry. News outlets are filled with reports of customer angst over outdated crowded airports, overbooking, flight delays, burdensome TSA procedures, and burgeoning checked baggage fees. Flying is miserable, getting worse every day and the customers are doing a slow burn.

Yet, United couldn’t see this? Other airlines as well had to wait until Dr. Dao was dragged off a flight before examining their own customer relations practices? No one saw the pressure cooker of public discontent was about to blow its lid?

A smart statistician once told me: gather a mere 300 people at random and over time every human condition will present itself: drug abuse, divorce, death, alcoholism you name it, it happens and it doesn’t happen to other people. Organizations need to bear this in mind and practice Issues Management Hygiene to stay tuned into the early warning signs of a crisis before it spins out of control.

Let’s look at the fundamentals. Issues are what you find yourself discussing with peers and press most of the time. Most issues develop over time, and they can generally be seen developing if one pays attention. Issues offer professional communicators the most time to put a management plan together that addresses emerging concerns and growing sentiments before they harden into rock-solid opinions. Take heed of trends and don’t be shocked when what’s happening out there happens under your own roof. 

Issues have three common elements:

• For something to be an issue, whatever is being examined or talked about must have two or more strongly opposing arguments being made about it.

• For something to be an issue, a large number of people must be emotionally involved with whatever is being discussed.

• Finally, issues typically involve a concern people are experiencing about a decision they see as having an impact on their lives or the smooth functioning of society.

As a professional communicator you will find a variety of issues facing you and your organization; environmental issues, medical issues, social issues, gun lobbying issues, and consumer protection issues are but a few.  In many cases you will have a position on those issues that impact your organization, say zero tolerance over sexual harassment and age, racial or gender discrimination. But intensity can build rapidly, consider how quickly the town hall meetings with US Representatives and Senators over healthcare policy turned rancorous.

Smart PR pros are tuned into emerging issues, responsive to public opinion shifts and intensity, prepared with a clear message and willing to advocate for a shift in organizational behavior when the tide of public opinion is going against you.

By Dick Pirozzolo, Managing Director 

Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

Emergency, Issues and Crisis Management services and training since 1981

www.pirozzolo.com 

Contact: dick@pirozzolo.com or 1-617-959-4613

 

Written in part with input from DINFOS the DOD's Defense Information School for public affairs professionals

On Letting Go - to Move Ahead by The Rev. Sarah Robbins-Cole

It was a distinct honor to have been included in the Easter Sunday homily at St. Michael's Episcopal Church, in Holliston, Mass.

Earlier last week, I was chatting with Sarah—my friend and neighbor—who is otherwise known as The Rev. Sarah Robbins Cole. She told me she was working on her sermon for Easter Sunday, the theme was letting go. I suppose the idea is there cannot be rebirth without letting go of those things that tie us to the past.

"Any thoughts?" she inquired. 

Not missing a chance to plug "Escape from Saigon - a Novel," I mentioned that "letting go" is a theme running loosely throughout the story.  

The struggle with letting go is voiced by Billy Freda, the high school friend, who has to let go of the moment he scored the winning point in the championship game, US Ambassador Graham Martin who cannot let go of South Vietnam that had become intertwined with his identity, the reporters who devoted their youth to covering the war and have to find a new life elsewhere, and of course, the two Vietnam veterans who wrote the book—myself and Michael Morris, who saw combat in the Vietnam War as a young soldier in 1967.

That war ended on April 30, 1975—42 years ago on the last day this month.

Here is what The Rev. Sarah Robbins-Cole, Rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Holliston, Massachusetts told her congregation about letting go on Easter Sunday Morning 2017.

 

 Easter 2017

Marie Kondo of the book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing is perhaps one of the best known books that has come our way from the field of decluttering and home organization. If you have not read the book, the basic premise of the book is to get rid of things that do not spark joy. Marie Kondo recommends taking out every item you own, in a particular sequence, and touching each item, and if it does not spark joy – out it goes. She has other helpful hints such as not buying more specialized storage containers to hold yet more clutter, and folding your clothes, for example your shirts, in a way that finding a shirt is as easy as flicking through record albums – because they all are standing on end.

The desire to hold on and to accumulate is as old as time and man. Perhaps it’s because we falsely equate accumulation with security. If I just hang on to clothes, household items, food, photos, books, I will never be in want. Who knows? I might need one of these things later.

Or we mistakenly believe that if we throw things away or recycle them – somehow we won’t remember or value what that item represented.

Or sometimes what is harder is we hold on to emotions and memories - something that has hurt us deeply. Maybe you are holding onto a grudge, or an imaginary contract with someone (that is, unless they do x, I will not forgive, move on, or be nice, etc.,). And somehow letting go would be to admit defeat.

When people have asked me this week what I am preaching on this week – and I tell them that I am working on a sermon about letting go – it has been interesting to hear people’s response.

When I told my neighbor Dick Pirozzolo, who has just published the book, Escape from Saigon - a Novel this year, he said, “funny you should say that”. He is himself a Vietnam Vet, but he said in his research and during his book tour, while he has encountered many veterans who live full and rich lives, he also said that he has met a fair number of veterans who live and breathe their days in Vietnam every day—even though the end of this month will mark the 42nd anniversary of the ending of that war. “After all,” Dick commented, “you are 19 years old, your friends are all back home working in a shoe store, and you are in a strange country, surrounded by people speaking a foreign language, and you are getting shot at.”

But he said, the problem is that what happens to some of us is that we get stuck at 19. Our entire identity is formed around being a Vietnam Veteran and that does not allow a new identity to form. Our lives are dedicated to remembering that time – from the stories we share to the social media platforms we belong to and contribute to.

Another friend of mine, who works with students, said to me, “that is such an important message” because she finds that some of her students cling to ideas, ideologies, and identities in ways that are unhealthy because they perpetuate their sense of being powerless victims in a hostile world.

Or another friend talked about a woman she knew who was the team mom of a volleyball team – and she did everything – she organized uniforms, social events, coaches gifts, the booster club – but at the end of her son’s junior year, at the end of season party, when he was not elected captain by his peers for the following year, she was absolutely devastated. She refused to talk to anyone for the rest of the party and her son never played volleyball again – so attached was she to the idea of her son being captain.

I am sure we all have examples from our own lives - elderly parents who cling to the idea of unrealistic independence, or children who can’t seem to quite realize they have actually reached adulthood, a parent who cannot let go of their adult children, etc., etc.,
The subject of letting go is not just a superficial self-help issue. They are deep spiritual concerns – which come to the very heart of our gospel lesson for this morning. Jesus tells Mary – do not hold on to me. Literally – do not cling to me as I am now. I am yet to ascend to the Father. Jesus is telling her that she must not cling to him because his time on earth is done. And why that is important is that first of all, after the crucifixion they can’t just go back to the way things were – and secondly, the ascension is necessary so that the work of Jesus will no longer be constrained to his little corner of Israel – but will spread to the four corners of the earth.

And it’s not just the idea of the physically present Jesus she is going to have to let go of. If she wants to share in that resurrected life of new life and rebirth – she is going to have to let go of everything that is holding her back – she may have to let go of her anger at the Romans for crucifying Jesus, she may have to have to let go of her feelings of resentment at the disciples for handing Jesus over, betraying Jesus, and falling asleep while Jesus was praying when he very clearly asked them to stay awake. She may have to let go of her bitterness toward a world that allows an innocent man to die. She may have to let go of her wrath toward her own people for their maleficent fickleness – who on Palm Sunday lauded Jesus as King – and then jeered Jesus just a few days later when he really needed them.

But let me be clear - there is a big difference between letting go and forgetting. Letting go – means having a willingness to move forward, to not be stuck in the muck and mire of past wrongs. Forgetting is pretty near impossible, and forgiving can be a very long process indeed.

What we celebrate today is the resurrection. We celebrate that when one thing ends – and when we let go and give it to God, and trust that God will do something good and meaningful and life-giving to that of which we let go – we too will live the resurrected life.

God invites us to new life each and every moment of our lives – not to cling to the past – but to be engaged in our lives right here and right now. It is just as Joseph Campbell, the preeminent expert in comparative mythology and religion who wrote: We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the life that is waiting for us.


Along with being coauthor of "Escape from Saigon - a Novel" set during the final days of America's "first television war," Dick Pirozzolo is managing director of Pirozzolo Company Public Relations, an international communication firm based in Boston, Massachusetts.

 

The New Face of Immigration Needs a Makeover

When politicians say they want to staple H1B visas to foreign students' diplomas when they graduate from American universities, most folks think:

Grads from MIT or Stanford with degrees in science, technology, engineering and math.

But it's not all about STEM when it comes to Boston’s international base of talented and highly qualified professionals.
 
Take Iranian hotel designer Afrooz Sahraei Esfahani who was just named an “Up-and-Coming Designer” by Boutique Design for her work with J/Brice Design International, based in Boston’s Seaport District.

Ironically her culture and national origin—which will get her kicked out—is what makes her so valuable. Afrooze is able to drive business to her employer’s Boston hotel design firm and thus contributes to our economy.

Sadly, her parents and siblings are all here in the US, studying and working here legally — she is the only member of her family who is in danger of being sent out of the country and thus separated from her family. 

Afrooz Sahraei Esfahani and Jeffrey Ornstein 

Her employer has launched a time-consuming and costly legal challenge to get her a green card.  One barrier: the law says J/Brice has to replace Afrooz if the firm can find even a single U.S. citizen with design credentials that remotely match hers. 

On paper that’s one thing but the reality is quite different
 
An accomplished professional in Iran, Afrooz brought her talent to the U.S. in 2013 as a student and earned a Master’s degree in Interior Architecture from Suffolk University last year. The 30 years-old designer also holds a bachelor’s degree in Architectural Technology and Engineering from Azad University in Esfahan, Iran. 

Esfahani puts it this way:  My passion for Architecture was developed partly due to the fact that I was born and grew up in Esfahan, a city with historical architecture dating back 600 years or more. I was fascinated every time I looked at arcs of the Khajoo bridge, by the harmony and details of its design. The beautiful colors of tiles and proportion of dimensions in Naghshe Jahan square made me more interested in architecture. I was craving to learn how these huge buildings were designed and built so I chose architecture for my career.
 
“I’m afraid her degrees and all she has to offer will slip between the chairs of government policy making.” says J/Brice founder and CEO Jeffrey Ornstein.

According to a recent article in The Arlington Advocate by Bram Berkowitz:

The fact that someone as impressive as Sahraei-Esfahani is still not a guarantee to get a visa is worrisome to Ornstein and her attorney Shane Parker, a US immigration law specialist. “I’m afraid her degrees and all she has to offer will slip between the chairs of government policy-making,” said Ornstein.

Added Parker, “There is a lot of talk lately about how the US should be run like a business. If this is the case, shouldn’t we be trying to recruit top talent and individuals?”

Her firm needs people who undertand Middle Eastern esthetics. “J/Brice Design specializes in designing luxury interiors for hotels in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai and North Africa as well as the U.S. This makes Afrooz uniquely qualified to not only serve our clients in that region but to contribute to Boston’s economic growth and workplace diversity,” adds Ornstein whose staff of 15 employees herald from the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Korea, China, Haiti, and Montserrat.
 
Esfahani continues, “I know the culture and customs of the Arabian Peninsula—including the business culture— and, as an Iranian, I have an esthetic and color sense that is unique to the culture and region as well It’s something one can learn about if you come from Wisconsin or Massachusetts but it won’t be steeped in your bones.”
 
Boutique Design magazine (BD) is the authority on the boutique hotel, spa and restaurant industry. 

Afrooz's story runs counter to the  current heavy-handed, get-tough Immigration Policy that especially targets people from the Middle East.

by Dick Pirozzolo

Managing Director 

Pirozzolo Company Public Relations

Boston, Massachusetts

Vietnam War Literature May Hold Key to Current US Image Overseas

 America's government leaders—many of whom know the Vietnam War only through stories told by their parents  and grandparents—are looking back at that painful conflict to understand our current position in the world with regard to extended foreign conflicts, caring for veterans, the media's shifting role in society, and especially how our nation treats refugees—the most vulnerable victims of war.

The wave of interest in a 40-year-old war that divided our nation and defined a generation accounts for the popularity of current literary offerings on Vietnam—among them “The Sympathizer,” “Tribe,” and the just published, “Escape from Saigon  - a Novel."  In addition these and other books, there has been a recent spate of films, TV documentaries and theatrical productions over the past year that shed light on a war that ended abruptly on April 30, 1975. 

Vietnam War refugee Viet Nguyen’s 2016 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, “The Sympathizer,” shines a harsh light on conflicted foreign allegiances and an America-centric view of foreign conflicts. The “Sympathizer” stands up as an allegory for today’s new hyper nationalism and fear of the other.  Nguyen’s companion book of 2015,  “The Refugees” further examines the subtle complexities and conflicts of leaving ones native country for a new home in America.

Though not strictly a Vietnam War book, “Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging,” by Sebastian Junger, examines the plight of returning combat veterans by likening the military to tribal societies where individuals share loyalty, a common purpose and depend on one another for survival. Junger argues that post traumatic stress may stem partly from the loss of community veterans face as they try to adjust to civilian life. When a 22-year-old Army sergeant, who has made life-and-death decisions as leader of a four man-squad in combat, comes home to be surrounded by people who know nothing of his experience the loneliness sets in and becomes overwhelming.

Published in January of 2017, “Escape from Saigon - a Novel” by Michael Morris and Dick Pirozzolo looks at how the Vietnam War shaped contemporary American attitudes in a fast-paced fictional account that compresses the action into the final 30 days of that three-decades-long conflict and put the endgame in context through flashbacks, old news accounts and barroom ramblings about political decisions made in the 1950s that set the stage for war.

The novel recounts the events of April 1975 through the lives of ordinary people most affected by the fighting and political bungling of the powerful they encounter. In addition to Vietnamese and American civilians there are journalists, French expatriates, US Embassy staffers and CIA operatives, all seeking escape by any means possible as the North Vietnamese Army tightens its stranglehold on Saigon—a city once known as the Paris of the Orient. Indeed, the final scenes of “Escape” recount the courage of hordes of Vietnamese refugees and the aviators and sailors who helped them in the biggest air-sea rescue in history, and an America that welcomed them with open arms.

The story is as much about the war as it is about the evolution of media, with much of the plot being about the journalists who covered what was dubbed America’s first television war.  Correspondents back then devoted their youth to covering Vietnam, often for a decade or more and shaped public opinion through vivid, nearly simultaneous TV pictures of battles and newspaper exposés on the Pentagon Papers and My Lai Massacre. “Escape’s” Lisette Vo, NBS-TV’s first Vietnamese-American war correspondent, foreshadows the rise of women in journalism and the advent of 24/7 cable news, while the hard hitting Sam Esposito of The Washington Legend rips into three presidents—especially Dick Nixon—with investigative reports that changed the course of history.

Access to news and information was fairly limited in 1975. There were only three networks. Their anchors were trusted, larger-than-life figures Americans invited into their living rooms. The evening news was appointment TV and we all watched and read essentially the same news—a far cry from today’s media environment with fragmented cable TV audiences and fake Internet news outlets. The technology has improved, but with it Americans lost its sense of community.

In addition to the several books on the Vietnam War, Miss Saigon will be reprised at The Broadway in March and simulcast to local movie theaters in HD to reach a large nationwide audience. Lana Noone’s new play, “Children of the April Rain” about Operation Babylift, the ill-fated evacuation of mixed heritage children during the last days of the Vietnam War is opening around the country. Rory Kennedy’s film "Last Days in Vietnam" and Ken Burns latest PBS-TV documentary "The Vietnam War" add to the contemporary offerings on the subject.

For a live interview with Morris and Pirozzolo on

America's Best Selling Authors Series 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Escape from Saigon - a Novel” by Michael Morris and Dick Pirozzolo was published in January of 2017 by Skyhorse Publishing, New York, NY, 264 pages and lists at $24.95. Further information and an excerpt are available at: www.escsapefromsaigon.com

 

 

Cyber Threats to Intensify Says "Cyber Security 2016" Report from Boston Global Forum

“While cyber-security measures continue to evolve positively, cyber threats from crime, terrorism, militarization, espionage, and censorship will continue or worsen in 2016.”

That’s how Boston Global Forum sees the future of cybersecurity in a just-published report titled “Cyber Security 2016” aimed at helping government, business leaders and individuals effectively deal with increasingly sophisticated and frequent cyber threats.

Cyber Security 2016 was published to coincide with the first annual Global Cybersecurity Day, to be held each year starting at noon, December 12 or 12-12-12. As part of the first Global Cybersecurity Day, policy makers, scholars and experts convened at Harvard University to air latest cyber security issues and announce publication of Cyber Security 2016.

“Conflict over cyber security will increase between the West and the states and criminals from which cyber threats emanate." This includes individual and terrorist groups from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, India, Pakistan, Brazil, Argentina, and many developing countries, according to the report.

“Increasing technical sophistication and vulnerabilities in infrastructure, military systems, industrial control systems, the internet of things (LoT), machine-to-machine (M2M) communications, and mobile platforms will increase opportunities for states, criminals, and thrill-seekers to discover zero-day vulnerabilities and benefit from cyber tactics. 

“Individualized encryption and the use of crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin will continue to facilitate anonymous crime and terrorism, and thereby complicate the cyber-security landscape in 2016.” 

The report calls for a number of solutions including secure backdoors for legitimate governance and additional regulation of crypto-currencies.

For the individuals, business owners and professionals, the same advice still applies: practice good cyber hygiene. That means changing passwords frequently and, despite warnings to the contrary, do not use obvious passwords such as “1234” and birthdays. Though most folks say it can’t happen to me, savvy Internet users still get duped into responding to email requests for bank account and Social Security numbers.

Corr Analytics of New York contributed to the writing of this report. Corr Analytics was founded in 2013 and provides analysis to media, nonprofit and business clients, with a focus on strategic and international political risk. 

A complete copy of the 40-page Cyber Security 2016 report may be downloaded at: 2016 Report 

As part of the Global Cybersecurity Day program at Harvard, Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and Vietnam’s Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung were named World Leaders for Peace, Security and Development and Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe received the World Leader in Cyberspace Award. For Prime Minister Abe’s acceptance speech click here. Consul General Tsutomu Himeno accepted the award on behalf of Prime Minister Abe from gov. Michal Dukakis, co-founder of Boston Global Forum.

Global Cybersecurity Day was created to inspire the shared responsibility of the world’s citizens to protect the Internet’s safety and transparency. As part of this initiative, Boston Global Forum also calls upon citizens of goodwill to follow it's Ethics Code of Conduct for Cyber Peace and Security (ECCC). 

You may also be interested in Dick Pirozzolo's article:  DDOS Attacks Threaten Foreign Currency Exchange in E-Forex Magazine.

Boston Global Forum, a think tank, with ties to Harvard University faculty, includes noted scholars, business leaders and prominent journalists among its leadership.

Boston Global Forum—Birth of an Institution in Boston

Guest Blog by Llewellyn King

Executive Producer and Host 'White House Chronicle" on PBS

A while ago, Llewellyn and I became involved in Boston Global Forum as members the Editorial Board. Llewellyn has since covered this new think tank, focused largely on reducing tensions among nations of the Pacific; predominantly China, Japan, Vietnam, Indonesia and The Philippines. With the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) now being vigorously debated among Congressional leaders, the work of Boston Global Forum has gained a heightened level of currency in an increasingly interdependent world of nations. Here are Mr. King's observations.

Do think tanks really think?

It's not that these organizations – mostly centered in Washington, D.C., but also scattered across the country – don't harbor some fine minds among their scholars and fellows. But the problem is we know what they think – and have often known for a long time. The rest is articulation.

Among Washington think tanks, we know what to expect from the Brookings Institution: earnest, slightly left-of-center analysis of major issues. Likewise, we know that the Center for Strategic and International Studies will do the same job with a right-of-center shading, and a greater emphasis on defense and geopolitics.


What the tanks provide is support for political and policy views; detailed argument in favor of a known point of view. By and large, the verdict is in before the trial has begun. There a few exceptions, house contrarians. The most notable is Norman Ornstein, who goes his own way at the conservative American Enterprise Institute (AEI). Ornstein, hugely respected as an analyst and historian of Congress, often expresses opinions in articles and books which seem to be wildly at odds with the orthodoxy of AEI.


A less-celebrated role of the think tanks is as resting places for the political elite when their party is out of power. Former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, rumored to be favored as a future Republican secretary of state, is hosted at AEI. National Security Adviser Susan Rice was comfortable at Brookings between service in the Clinton and Obama administrations. At any time, dozens of possible office holders reside at the Washington think tanks, building reputations and waiting.


My interest in think tanks and their thinkers has led me to what might be developing into a think tank, although it’s too early to say. It’s so early that it has no headquarters, secretariat or paid staff. But this nascent think tank has gathered a loose faculty from a coterie of public intellectuals, mainly in and around Boston, and abroad in Hanoi, Tokyo and Berlin.


It’s called the Boston Global Forum. Formed in 2012, it’s led by two very different but, apparently, compatible men: Michael Dukakis, former Massachusetts governor and Democratic presidential nominee, and Nguyen Anh Tuan, who founded a successful internet company in Vietnam and now lives in Boston.


The concept of the forum is to study and discuss a single topic for a year. Last year, in forums and
Internet hookups between Boston and Asian and European cities, the topic was security in the South and East China seas, where war could easily erupt over territorial disputes. After a year of discussion, the participants concluded that a framework for peace in the region needs to be established and that current international arrangements and organizations don’t go far enough in that direction. This year’s topic is cybersecurity.


The Boston Global Forum has strong ties to the faculties at Harvard and Northeastern University, where Dukakis is a professor. Most forum meetings take place on the Harvard campus. Two of the forum’s most conspicuous champions are Harvard professors Joseph Nye and Tom Patterson. Patterson’s office at the John F. Kennedy School of Government serves as a kind of de facto headquarters.


This new entrant into the think tank cohort is very East Coast-tony, and very energetic. This year it has plans for meetings in Vietnam, Tokyo and somewhere in Europe, and has attracted media heavyweights like David Sanger of The New York Times and Charles Sennott, one of the founders of the online GlobalPost.


As the Boston Global Forum is a new think tank, questions abound: Will it get funding? Will it find premises and staff ? Will it get public recognition?

The big question about anything that looks like a think tank is, will thinking happen there? Will the Boston Global Forum be a crucible for big ideas? Or will it, like other think tanks, develop its own binding ideology?


Will the Boston Global Forum become, like so many, a smooth propaganda machine? Or will it be a place where the outlandish can live with the orthodox?


For Boston Global Forum's latest report on easing tensions in the Pacific please visit:

Download BGF Report on Framework for Peace and Security
 

Llewellyn King
Executive Producer and Host,
"White House Chronicle" on PBS;
Columnist, Hearst-New York Times Syndicate;
Columnist, The Huffington Post;
Commentator, SiriusXM Satellite Radio

Guest Blog: Testimonials Add Punch to Your Marketing

By Kimball Wallace of Wallace & Washburn

Testimonials are working better than ever before and we have the Internet to thank, even though the reason testimonials work so well dates back to cavemen days.

Early on our brains learned that stories were critical to survival.  If a fellow hunter told you a well was poisonous or the red berries made you sick you paid attention or paid the price.

 Fast forward to the Internet which has now trained our brains to scan data at an ever-increasing rate and absorb packets of information really quickly — especially if the information is credible, relevant and well presented. A strong headline still grabs attention surprisingly well.

 Consider testimonials from true believers in your brand. If you want to add punch to your company or organization’s story, record the testimonials and present them along with photos of your supporters. Post them on your Website, include them in blog postings and e-mail them to contacts and stakeholders with grabber headlines.

 A well-edited, 60-second sound track with one or more headshots works great.  Production values matter, but if it’s too slick it looks like you have money to burn and credibility goes down. These days, thanks to Final Cut Pro, you can get 8-10 audio testimonials produced for less than the cost of one video spot.  Don’t hesitate to call me for details.

 Here are some tips on how you can use testimonials to build and motivate your fan base that came from our experience with not-for-profit organizations. These principles apply equally—whether you are selling soap or social services.

1. Use Headline Quotes That Stand Out

“The kid’s mother gave up drugs and prostitution. It  turned both their lives around.”

RISE Education

 For Children of Incarcerated Women

Ned W., Engineer, Providence Rhode Island

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYpYNm0j2X0

 

Find interesting, emotionally involving quotes. Without a strong headline, peoples’ eyes will tend to just skim over it. Every person has a powerful message if you ask the right questions in the right way. I used only seven questions to create these testimonials. The powerful headline above was viewed five times more often on YouTube than one of the weaker ones we rejected.

  2. Use Audio Tracks with Pictures

"My affection is for what I learned and how it helps me daily. We’ll leave them our estate."

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

Lisa M., Journalist, New York City

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eoe8WVwSJUU

 

Use audio sound tracks with a photo of the person, not videos. Videos are expensive and a “horror show” to edit. Unfortunately, Murphy’s Law says all the great lines will be located (spontaneously) in the middle of sentences, so you can’t edit out the best tidbits without the person’s face suddenly jumping. Besides, most people don’t present well on video. However, everyone has at least one or two good photos.

 3. Forget About Scripts

" I was the recipient of great largesse.  I am forever, forever grateful.” 

SIMMONS COLLEGE

Sue B., Management Consultant, Boston, MA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eLkuXpLXzU

 

 

Don’t use scripts and don’t send the questions out in advance. Your subjects will either read their answers or try to memorize them. Just tell them you’re especially interested in the emotional feedback. If listeners get the impression that the testimonials are “staged” they’ll click them off faster than a bad TV commercial.  You can tell instantly that Sue’s spot (above) is spontaneous. (Who says, “Oh Boy” these days?)

4. Remember, ‘Tune Out’ Happens in Seconds

“I give despite the fact that I don't have pleasant memories."

DANA FARBER CANCER INSTITUTE

 

Glenn R., Psychologist Des Moines, Iowa

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPeGlBmoPq8

 

 

The ideal length is about one minute or less, but an interesting story can go longer, like Ned who gives to help the children of incarcerated women get educated. (Have some Kleenex handy.) Remember, most TV commercials are 15 or 30 seconds, so people will start tuning out if it’s too long or isn’t very compelling. Their brains are trained to wander after half a minute.

5.  Emotions Matter Most

"It better be a damned good use. I'm not going to donate if I feel fluff!" PACE UNIVERSITY

Nick F., Advertising Executive, Philadelphia, PA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YGaSBPgkZcw

 

 

Emotions matter most and without an emotional “feel” they will fall flat. However, a little logic adds bonus points. Our research shows that most giving and buying is emotional (50-65%), even in B2B among buying teams who are extremely concerned about the emotional impact their “buy” will have on employees, processes and potential outcomes.

In fact, our recent global technology study with IDG Connect reveals that vendors who fail to address the emotional impact in their offerings (digital content, conversations, social media, proposals, collateral, etc.) are significantly less likely to make it to the short list.

In the coming years, watch for a dramatic increase in emotional B2B messaging, including the use of testimonials. 

6. Offer Anonymity

Offer anonymity. Many people will open up more if they aren’t going to be directly associated with their stories. Give them complete anonymity if they want, or perhaps partial with just their first name and possibly a last initial. In B2B it’s much easier to identify supporters by name. In philanthropy and with consumer products it’s more difficult.

 7. Use the Pros

Use outside professional interviewers and editors, not in house staff. No one will ever remember that you saved two thousand dollars if they’re a “bust.” If the editing isn’t professional quality it will reflect poorly on you. Be sure to edit them carefully so people come off as intelligent and articulate.  The worst outcome would be to alienate a valuable customer or prospect.

8. Remember, Involvement Takes Time

Like they say, “Rome wasn't’ built in a day.” Neither is a good testimonial campaign. Produce lots of stories. They build interest and involvement over time. The key to success is candid, interesting stories so people look forward to them.

A few years ago we did a testimonial print campaign for Cape Cod Hospital to help improve its image. We ran testimonials every week for a year in the local newspapers. One year later research revealed a dramatic improvement in the image. Philanthropic giving also went up.  We’ve had positive results for Universities too as well as Public TV and Radio. Our testimonial “Think Again” campaign of 10 spots for WGBH Boston generated a 91% increase in “white mail” within four weeks. It was then rolled out successfully into other markets.

9. Offer Final Approval

Offer your participants final approval. This will help them relax, knowing that they can always make changes to their final testimonial.

10. Post Them Everywhere

Be sure you post your testimonials wherever possible, in e-mails, social media, on your website, adapted for print for mailings, articles and/or small space ads in magazines, and so forth.

You will find that a testimonial camapign is one of the best investments you can make to stand out in today’s fast paced Internet world. I’ve personally been involved with dozens of testimonial campaigns and my clients have never had a regret… because testimonials work.

For the complete article or for more details click here:

            Kimball Wallace

            kwallace@wallacewashburn.com

            781-235-8882

 

How to Get a Major Newspaper to Profile Your Company CEO

When Katie Johnson of The Boston Globe emailed me to say she wanted to interview Jeffrey Ornstein - the Boston-based international hotel designer - for her regular Sunday Business Section Column I was thrilled.

And, a few weeks Later Jeffrey's interview appeared in: Seven Things You Should Know About Jeffrey Brice Ornstein.

Johnson gave her readers a personal account of how Ornstein founded  J/Brice Design International in 1989 and turned it into a hotel design powerhouse with development projects in Egypt, Qatar and Saudi Arabia as well as the US. His firm redesigned the original Queen Mary that lives on as a hotel and wedding venue in Long Beach, California.

How do you get The Globe to cover your business or your client?

Pirozzolo Company pitched Johnson with a well-thought-out email and followed through with an approach based on my Five Media Placement Principles. 

1. Find the hottest current issues and pound away at them. In most every case your business or client has some relationship with front page news. In this case, it was the Arab Spring and how J/Brice managed to obtain a contract to design and complete a brand new luxury hotel in troubled Alexandria, Egypt.

2. Get your CEO to talk about personal experiences - make him or her into a 3D personality ala Richard Branson, Tommy Hillfiger or Bill Gates. Think about how many CEOs share nothing of their personal lives and compare that to how much more human one seems when they let us in. Tommy Hilfiger talks openly about his autistic child and Bill Gates introduced us to his wife Melinda and their global activities outside of the office. Jeff talked about his dreams, how he once literally swam with the sharks and the minutae of life - like paying a $1,000 in baggage fees to get samples to Saudi Arabia.

 3. Give away real, actionable how-to business tips. While the secret formula for Coca Cola works for Coca Cola, a successful interview has to include actionable advice – tactics a competing business owner can employ. Too many interviews are too vague and thus too boring to have any real impact.

4. Have fun with the interview - it’s not scripture, it’s one story in a spate of articles that, over time, will establish the CEO as a successful personality. Loosen up! Show some warts.  

5. Don’t be a helicopter parent to your CEO. If your job is to promote or, for that matter, protect your CEO, remember he or she did not get to be the boss because someone hovered constantly. Let your CEO and the reporter develop a personal relationship without your being present. Too many CEOs  revert to PR speak when the head of public relations is sitting at the table. 

Here is an excerpt from my note to Katie Johnson at The Globe that was the springboard to her Sunday Business Section feature. The note relies on a headline and bullets to quickly make the point without a lot of preambles or pleasantries.

It gets in makes the point and gets out. And it works!

J/Brice Design Creates Luxury Hotel Interiors in an Uneasy Middle East Where Arab Nations Compete for High-End Business Travel

• While others may see only conflict, Jeff Ornstein finds opportunity.

• The center of hotel innovation has shifted from Europe to the Arab World.

• Hotel Designer Ornstein is recognized as a Cultural Spy, who gets access to people, places and opportunities seldom available to Westerners

• He’s a preferred consultant  to Arabian Royals, Saudi Sheiks and Egyptian Generals

While U.S. political leaders mull war in Syria, Egypt convulses from the Arab Spring’s power
vacuum, and Libya, Lebanon still feel its aftereffects, Jeff Ornstein is sought after by the region's leaders to design hotels and resort properties in the Middle East.

 His latest project is the new 1,200-room, $160 Million Royal Tulip Hotel in Alexandria, Egypt overlooking the Mediterranean.

Months of demonstrations and Egypt’s regime change might seem like the wrong time for an American to get involved in the incongruous business of developing new luxury hotels to support Egypt’s troubled tourism industry, just now beginning to recover....

By Dick Pirozzolo, Pirozzolo Company Public Relations