flackery
PR Dummies: The Self-Deprecating Mr. Jones
Hamilton Nolan · 01/26/12 11:30AMPR Dummies: Smack My Betch Up
Hamilton Nolan · 01/19/12 11:55AMLet Us All Come Together to Improve the PR Industry Through Ridicule
Hamilton Nolan · 01/12/12 08:00AMPublic relations is a field populated by an overabundance of liars and morons. (Apologies to the honest, mentally facile minority.) Deadspin used to run a feature called PR Dummies, in which it urged that various PR people be fired, for being dumb. (Generally expressed through dumb press releases.) Our new editor, wistful for this feature, is reviving it here, now that he's out of the sports ghetto and into "the big leagues" of famous blogs. Without further ado: PR Dummies, of the past... day or so.
Bad Flack Ronn [sic] Torossian Under Federal Investigation for Allegedly Extorting Famous Rabbi
Hamilton Nolan · 12/20/11 12:30PMFor years upon years, we here at Gawker have been bringing you stories of the sheer fuckery of incompetent superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian (pictured), head of 5WPR, the most shameless public relations firm in New York City. Here is a bit of news that we view with exceeding interest: Ronn Torossian is caught up in a federal investigation. A very serious one.
Ronn [sic] Torossian Has a 'Juvenile Division'
Hamilton Nolan · 12/14/11 11:46AMIncompetent PR Man Writes Incompetent PR Book
Hamilton Nolan · 11/15/11 10:53AMIncompetent superflack Ronn [sic] Torossian is primarily known for harassing employees and harassing journalists and giving poor advice and suing everyone over everything and representing odious clients and generally running a PR firm which is hilariously incompetent and unethical. Who better to teach you about PR?
Jaleel White Will Endorse Your Holiday Product for Only $14K
Hamilton Nolan · 11/08/11 04:01PMPR Firm Calls Blogger 'Bitch,' Then Lectures Her About Manners
Hamilton Nolan · 10/07/11 01:16PMPR Firm President to Staff: 'You Will Be Fired For Not Replacing the Milk'
Hamilton Nolan · 09/28/11 11:32AMBureaucrats Spend $200K in Tax Money on Self-Glorifying Fake News
Hamilton Nolan · 09/13/11 09:24AMWhen you think "Things that I, as a taxpayer, want my tax money to pay for, in regards to my local water management district," you immediately think "propaganda masquerading as news." Because the important thing for a water district is good PR for the bureaucrats that run it. Water stuff? Later for that!
Google Is Reborn Creepier and Meaner
Ryan Tate · 08/15/11 01:08PMOnce upon a time, Google was run like a playground; it was the sort of place where you'd get points for attending the Burning Man hippie drug fest. Under new CEO Larry Page, we're seeing a more ruthless Google — the sort of company perfect comfortable turning its business partners into creepy sock puppets today.
America's Worst PR Man Is Not Mourning 'Dope Head' Amy Winehouse
Hamilton Nolan · 07/26/11 08:17AMPR Gadfly Accused of World's Most Boring Phone Hack
Hamilton Nolan · 07/20/11 09:09AMParsing the Wall Street Journal's Catastrophic News Corp Defense
Hamilton Nolan · 07/18/11 08:37AMEven in the deepest, most gloomy depths of the worst scandal of a lifetime, Rupert Murdoch cannot contain his fundamental not-giving-a-fuck-about-public-opinion nature. It permeates every level of News Corp, the company he made in his image. But it is possible—believe it or not!—for public opinion to overwhelm even the staunchest self-justification.
Rupert Murdoch Ain't Going Anywhere
Hamilton Nolan · 07/06/11 02:47PMNYT Tech Columnist Spanked For 'Flagrant' Violation of Ethics Policy
Ryan Tate · 07/06/11 12:58PMTarget, Unions, and the Moment of Truth
Hamilton Nolan · 06/15/11 03:20PMPR Firm Offers Strategists, Creators, Connectors, and Catalysts of Bullshit
Hamilton Nolan · 06/15/11 09:14AMTraditionally, job titles at PR firms work like this: the lowliest slaves who are forced to cold-call angry reporters and write unread press releases all day are called "account executives," and everyone else is a "VP" of one sort or another, whether or not they are actually in charge of anything, or competent.
What Not to Do When Being Profiled by the Media
Hamilton Nolan · 06/13/11 11:15AMPhilippe Reines (pictured, at left) is Hillary Clinton's longtime adviser/ flack/ purse-toter. He's an inveterate gossip-spreader, self-promoter, and berater of reporters on behalf of his boss. And he loves to be recognized for his work! So the fact that Reines is profiled in the Washington Post today is not a surprise. What is a surprise: after all these years, Reines still has no idea how to not come off like an asshole.