Tag Archives: blagojevich

Doing a Media Interview? Try These Tips

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Speaking with the media can be tough, especially if you’re not used to doing it. Christina Khoury of PRbreakfastclub.com offers some quality advice for businesses (it’s actually for PR pros to pass on to clients) about how to get your message across effectively in only 5-10 minutes, so you come across a little more like George Clooney, and a little less like Rod Blagojevich or Animal from "The Muppets":

Prepare. Inform your client about the outlet, host, market, and if you’re lucky the questions that will be asked (don’t count on it).  Note: no matter how much you prepare, prepare for the unexpected and plan for possible damage control.

Draft no more than three talking points. If there are more than three, clients feel rushed to make sure every point is discussed and it makes the interview seem less conversational.   Work with the client so that he can discuss the points comfortably with improvisation instead of memorizing them.  This will help create a more genuine interview.  If needed, index cards are beneficial but should only have key words instead of phrases in case your client forgets something.  And if he does,  it’s not the end of the world.  Stay positive, give feedback, and move on to the next one.

This is not an advertisement. Be careful how many times your client mentions his product.  If the audience wanted to watch informericals they would turn on the TV in the middle of the night.  No one wants that during prime time.  My rule of thumb, especially for short interviews, is to mention the product twice.  Once in the beginning and once at the end as a call to action to communicate where or how to purchase/experience said product.

Smile. It’s easy to sound monotone on interviews especially if they are over the phone.  By smiling clients can change the entire tone of their voice and people are more inclined to listen to a voice that is inviting.

Relax, breathe, and have fun. I’ve had clients sing on the radio, tell embarrassing stories, and some hosts have even professed their love for some clients.  Just have fun.  No one wants to listen to anyone that takes themselves too seriously, especially during drive time.

Wisconsin, Minnesota Become Partners to Fight Economic Blues

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Two states in the upper Midwest — Minnesota and Wisconsin — are hoping they’ve found a way to endure the tough times by forging a partnership, sort of like Tango & Cash, Rodgers & Hammerstein, etc.: 

The governors said they hope to save "tens of millions of dollars" in the coming years by cooperating on everything from buying road salt and prison food to running state telephone call centers.

"This is an opportunity for neighbors to help each other during a very difficult economy," Doyle said at the Madison signing of the agreement, adding later, "I am prepared to think very big about this."
 
Doyle and Pawlenty outlined the measures in St. Paul and Madison to help cope with the deficits facing both states.

Wisconsin has a projected budget shortfall of $5.4 billion and Minnesota faces a gap of $4.8 billion, both by the end of their upcoming two-year budgets.

Experts praised the proposal but cautioned it could provide only modest help at best in fixing the current budget gaps.

The effectiveness of such a pact is yet to be seen, but it’s potentially a practical and encouraging solution for some problems nonetheless. Perhaps Indiana’s governor may one day find it useful to forge a partnership with our neighboring … governor … in … Illinois … ooooohh, riiiiiight. Perhaps not.

U.S. Senate Seats Can Provide More Drama than “Laguna Beach”

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A new article on Stateline proves that Blagojevich’s Senatorial dealings are far from the first drama to surround a vacant U.S. Senate seat. Granted, I doubt any of these governors were caught on tape dropping F bombs of glee over the opportunity to personally benefit over the appointments, but interesting nonetheless:

In Alaska in 2002, newly elected Gov. Frank Murkowski (R) appointed his daughter, Lisa, to the Senate seat he himself had vacated. The move caused such an uproar that both the Legislature and later voters — through a ballot measure approved in 2004 — took away the governor’s appointment power. Alaska now holds elections to choose substitute senators, and Murkowski later was voted out of office in a Republican primary, losing to current Gov. Sarah Palin. 

In Massachusetts in 2004, Democratic lawmakers — worried then-Gov. Mitt Romney would appoint a fellow Republican to Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s seat if Kerry won the presidential election — stripped Romney of his power to do so. Voting on the proposal — which replaced the appointment process with a special election — broke sharply along partisan lines.

Also noteworthy is that current Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal — a Democrat — was the last governor to fill a vacant Senate seat with someone from the opposing party. This happened last year when Republican Senator Craig Thomas passed away, and Wyoming’s law dictated that the seat be filled by someone from the same party as the person who vacated it. Freudenthal chose Republican John Barasso.

So Which State is Most Corrupt? (Hint: Does Prison Serve Gumbo?)

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In a recent article on Politico, this report from the Corporate Crime Reporter was referenced. It ranks the most publicly corrupt states in this here union. It only ranks the 35 most populated states, and Indiana comes in at 26th:

The Corrupt States of America?

The publication Corporate Crime Reporter crunched Department of Justice statistics in 2007 to rank the 35 most populous states of the nation by corruption. The publication calculated a corruption rate, which it defined as the total number of public corruption convictions from 1997 to 2006 per 100,000 residents.

These are the results:

1. Louisiana (7.67)
2. Mississippi (6.66)
3. Kentucky (5.18)
4. Alabama (4.76)
5. Ohio(4.69)
6. Illinois (4.68)
7. Pennsylvania (4.55)
8. Florida (4.47)
9. New Jersey (4.32)
10. New York (3.95)
11. Tennessee (3.68)
12. Virginia (3.64)
13. Oklahoma (2.96)
14. Connecticut (2.80)
15. Missouri (2.79)
16. Arkansas (2.74)
17. Massachusetts (2.66)
18. Texas (2.44)
19. Maryland (2.31)
20. Michigan (2.14)
21. Georgia (2.13)
22. Wisconsin (2.09)
23. California (2.07)
24. North Carolina (1.96)
25. Arizona (1.88)
26. Indiana (1.85)
27. South Carolina (1.74)
28. Nevada (1.72)
29. Colorado (1.56)
30. Washington (1.52)
31. Utah (1.4117)
32. Kansas (1.4109)
33. Minnesota (1.24)
34. Iowa (0.91)
35. Oregon (0.68)

Hat tip to Chamber politico Chase Downham for the heads up.

Not So Fast, Governor

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So we have Our Man Mitch, a guy who’s changing government for the better and won re-election with overwhelming support even when the top of the ticket trended the other way, and our poor neighbors got stuck with this guy (not to mention George Ryan before him):

Illinois Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich and his Chief of Staff, John Harris, were arrested today by FBI agents on federal corruption charges alleging that they and others are engaging in ongoing criminal activity: conspiring to obtain personal financial benefits for Blagojevich by leveraging his sole authority to appoint a United States Senator; threatening to withhold substantial state assistance to the Tribune Company in connection with the sale of Wrigley Field to induce the firing of Chicago Tribune editorial board members sharply critical of Blagojevich; and to obtain campaign contributions in exchange for official actions – both historically and now in a push before a new state ethics law takes effect January 1, 2009.

Point Indiana. But please join me in wishing our Illinois neighbors the best so they can recover and get on track with some semblance of honest governance in the near future.

Illinois Fun Fact: According to Frugal Hoosiers, that means 4 of the last 7 Illinois governors in the past 50 years have gone to prison. (On the upside, 3 of their last 7 governors have not gone to prison.)