Chernor Bah, a former refugee from the civil war in Sierra Leone, is a youth advocate for (our client) the Global Partnership for Education and a co-founder of A World at School, published this piece in The New York Times last fall with help from Weintraub Communications. He wrote: “It made me realize that whatContinue reading “Amplify: NY Times Op-Ed on Impact of Ebola on Education in Sierra Leone”
Author Archives: Jeff Weintraub
Amplify: Good Clients Make Good P.R.
When someone once asked Yogi Berra what makes a good baseball manager, he replied, “A good ball club.” Similarly, if you asked me what makes a good public relations professional, I’d say, ‘A good client.’ Here’s an illustration. In September 1987, I had just started a job in Chicago with a Jewish advocacy organization, andContinue reading “Amplify: Good Clients Make Good P.R.”
Amplify: A Media Relations Object Lesson From Donald Trump
I DON’T USUALLY spend a lot of precious time thinking about Donald Trump, but his dust-up last month with a public relations consultant offers an unexpected object lesson about basic media relations. The incident surrounds an article about Trump by McKay Coppins of Buzzfeed, the online news / entertainment / click-bait (or whatever you wantContinue reading “Amplify: A Media Relations Object Lesson From Donald Trump”
Weintraub Communications in the News
I’m grateful to Politico, The Hill and In The Capital for making mention that Weintraub Communications is up and running. Here are the links to all three pieces: Politico The Hill In The Capital Each mentioned, as The Hill wrote, that: Jeff Weintraub has launched Weintraub Communications, which he says will help nongovernmental organizations, tradeContinue reading “Weintraub Communications in the News”
Clarity at the Pentagon?
In today’s National Journal, defense policy correspondent Sara Sorcher put her finger on one of the Pentagon’s most obvious communications problems: the frequent inability to speak in plain English. I don’t mean to be disrespectful. I’ve met so many impressive, extraordinary people in the military who perform miracles every day. But if you’ve spent evenContinue reading “Clarity at the Pentagon?”
Alan Alda on Clarity
Today’s New York Times features an interview with the actor Alan Alda, who, it turns out, has had a lifelong fascination with science. Not enough, apparently, to keep him from his successful acting career. But enough that he has brought his experiences as an actor — essentially a storytelling vocation — to help scientists communicateContinue reading “Alan Alda on Clarity”
Crisis Communications: Lessons From 4 NASA Tragedies
IF EVER there were an organization that needs to be prepared to communicate about crises, it is NASA, our beloved, though often embattled space agency. It is so vast, complex and enterprise, involved in endeavors that skate on the edge of danger, something is sure to go wrong at NASA – as, tragically, it hasContinue reading “Crisis Communications: Lessons From 4 NASA Tragedies”
Engage: A Lesson from a Heckler
DURING A SPEECH yesterday in San Francisco, President Obama encountered something that most politicians and their advance people (who are responsible for the careful stagecraft of such an event) dread: a heckler. In this case, it was not from the distant reaches of a cavernous auditorium but from only a few feet away. It cameContinue reading “Engage: A Lesson from a Heckler”
Amplify: What Makes a Winning Op-Ed?
GETTING AN Op-Ed placed is no cinch anymore – if it ever was – particularly in the highest-profile daily papers and online outlets. There are fewer such papers than a generation ago and intense competition to get in them. (I’ve heard editors of some of the bigger national papers say they can get 75 toContinue reading “Amplify: What Makes a Winning Op-Ed?”
Clarify: The Power of Simple Language
A COLLEGE WRITING TEACHER taught me one of the best lessons I ever learned about clarity in communications: it is the primary responsibility of the writer to ensure that the reader understands – not the other way around. Sounds pretty basic, right? But I can’t tell you how often I see people in many differentContinue reading “Clarify: The Power of Simple Language”
Weintraub Communications 