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How to Build Better Relationships with Journalists

  “You know, we have other interests. We don’t all go home and talk to our families about cloud storage all weekend — well, not all of us anyway.” Bryan Glick, Editor-in-Chief, Computer Weekly     In this latest episode of “The Story is Always There,” Computer Weekly’s editor-in-chief Bryan Glick drops some gems, including …more

So How Was That First Post 12 Years Ago?

  July 10, 2008 marks the day I published the first post on Ishmael’s Corner (below). Dusting off the post, I assumed my first attempt would come across as pompous or worse. Actually, it’s OK. Not great. Not a Pulitzer Price winner. But it does a decent job in explaining the blog’s aspirations. Keep in …more

Storytelling hammers the final nail in the coffin of Guy Fieri’s eatery

By Grace Hoffman, Editorial Assistant   It’s rare to read a restaurant review that is brutal, compelling and downright strange! Pete Wells dug in and made it happen … but how? The variety of tactics and his unwillingness to “go easy” on Guy Fieri’s restaurant is what makes this review rich material illustrating how storytelling …more

Do Studies on Journalists Help PR Understand Journalists?

I’m not a big of fan of research on journalists. The studies always “reveal” the same core points: Don’t mass blast email pitches to journalists. Offer a point of view, not vanilla commentary. Stop foisting non-disclosure agreements on us. Read the room (understand the journalist’s readership). Corporate speak dulls the senses.   There should be …more

Storytelling Through The Journalist’s Eyes

I came across an enlightening piece called “Becoming a Storyteller, Not Just a Reporter” (you might need to scroll down to reach the article). While the entire piece is worth a read, the following advice caught my attention: Don’t limit your inquiry, or your thinking, to the basics of journalism: Who, what, when, where, why, how. Think …more

In Pursuit Of Bloggers: Disconnect Between Storytelling And PR

Robert Scoble, the poster child for escaping corporate cubedom for the virtual pulpit, penned a post titled “What do the freaking tech bloggers want?” It’s a convincing view. A bit longwinded perhaps, but if “Scobleizer” is etched in your masthead, you get a pass to periodically pontificate. An earlier Scoble quasi-rant emphasized that through customers, not the PR function, is the …more

China Olympics: Let The Storytelling Begin

Forget the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. The China Olympics will essentially offer up a Petri dish for stories that transcend sports. I was in Hong Kong back in 2001 when China was officially awarded the Olympics. I managed to snag a copy of the Beijing Youth Daily newspaper commemorating the milestone, which was …more

That All Important First Graph

Take a look at the following opening paragraph in a recent Economist article: “The porters at Trinity College, Cambridge, were puzzled by the faded, handwritten letter. They did not recognise the addressee’s name, and opened the envelope. Inside was a note which appeared to suggest a meeting; perhaps even a date. But that meeting probably …more

About This Blog

Businesspeople tend to associate storytelling with fiction. Yet, the same elements that make a book such as “Moby Dick” a compelling read — good versus evil, care for the characters, humor, etc. — have a place in the business world. Whether it’s a potential customer evaluating your product or a journalist probing your latest news, communicating information …more