Paris Hilton

NEWS FLASH: Paris Hilton Taken Sobbing in Shackles to the Twin Towers Jail

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:18:19 +0000

BREAKING NEWS - updated 6/8/07 at 6:55pm PST

- Round IV: Judge Orders Paris Hilton

BACK TO JAIL FOR 45 Days

- Paris is dragged screaming and sobbing from court to jail in handcuffs and shackles -

Video

How LA Attorney Convinced Judge to Send Paris Back to Jail at the Twin Towers

How LA Attorney's Office Convinced Angry Judge to Send Hilton Back

Judge Sauer Remands Paris Hilton's Sentence; Hilton Taken Screaming and Kicking From Courtroom Back to Jail

LA Attorney and Judge File Order To Have Hilton Appear Back in Court

Paris Hilton's Sentence Reduced Before She Goes to Jail

Note: The media was in a frenzy this morning (June 8th) over the fact that Paris Hilton was being taken to the hearing in police custody.

MTB reported this last night after obtaining the city attorney's motion which specifically stated that Hilton would be taken into police custody. So why was it such a BIG NEWS item this morning?

Because CNN read my blog. I can prove it. Anyways, yet another scoop for MTB! :-D

Original story filed Thursday, June 7 10:30 pm PST

LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo has filed a motion for a hearing Friday before Judge Michael Sauer to argue that LA Sheriff's Department disobeyed the judge's direct orders that Paris Hilton would not receive special treatment.

Paris Hilton was released this morning after serving only three of her 23-day sentence because of an undisclosed "medical condition" which LA City Sheriff's Department says it cannot divulge.

Outrage has been spreading across LA and the country after news hit early this morning that Paris Hilton's sentence was reduced to a house arrest in which she would serve her original 45 days, with five days already served and have to wear a monitoring anklet.

Rumors and speculation about what medical reason Paris Hilton was released for range from a "rash" to "mental anguish" (duh, it's jail) to perhaps withdrawals from drugs or alcohol.

DISCUSS: Is there a concern of riots in LA if they don't send Paris back to jail? You never know - it's LA!

STAY TUNED: Regular updates

- You can read the motion filed by the LA Attorney's Office to put Paris Hilton back in jail.

How LA Attorney Persuaded the Judge to Sentence Paris Back to Jail for 45 Days

Sun, 08 Jul 2007 00:18:18 +0000

updated at 3pm PST - Paris Hilton Is Checked In To The Twin Towers

Now that Paris Hilton has been ordered back to jail, what exactly happened in the court room today?

(Associated Press picture shows distressed Paris Hilton being taken back to jail this afternoon)

Los Angeles city attorney Rocky Delgadillo argued at today's hearing that the LA Sheriff's Department violated the court order that Hilton not receive any special treatment - no house arrest, no monitoring anklet, no deals other than 45 days in jail for violation of her probation for DUI (see court document charging Hilton with DUI).

Delgadillo argued that Hilton's ?shortening? time was unlawful, that the LA Sheriff's Department never notified the court that Hilton would be released early and that the undisclosed "medical condition" was too vague to warrant her release.

The judge was persuaded and ordered LA Sheriff's to immediately take Hilton back to jail at the Twin Towers correctional facility, where she arrived at approximately 1 pm PST. After the judge's ruling today, Hilton reportedly broke down screaming and crying. (read about Paris' meltdown in court)

In his motion filed yesterday afternoon, Delgadillo asked the court to order the LA Sheriff's Department ?to show cause regarding [sic] contempt? of the judge?s original ruling and order ?the Los Angeles Sheriff?s Department to transport Paris Whitney Houston in custody to court for this hearing.?

(MTB reported first - yesterday - that Hilton would be taken into police custody in handcuffs and taken to this morning's hearing.)

Delgadillo concludes his filing: ?Time is of the essence to ensure compliance with this court?s order and to restore public confidence in the fairness and equal treatment of all participants in the justice system.?

Message In The Bottle ? No Partying for Paris for at least 45 Days

Delgadillo's arguments were firm and he and the judge agreed that Hilton's early release for a mysterious health condition (drug or alcohol withdrawals or nervous breakdown?) was a slap in the face of justice, especially considering the high-profile nature of the case and Hilton's continued contempt for the law.

While Hilton's lawyers argued for other accommodations due to Hilton's apparent health problems, there was no chance Hilton would have been sent to some ?alternative? jail, like the one she bragged that she could ?go to if I wanted." Rather, she told the world last Sunday night that she was going to do her time ?the right way? and hopefully be ?an example to others.?

The magnitude of what happened today should not to be underplayed. Aside from the fact that the media and the public love to see spoiled celebrities in turmoil, Paris Hilton made herself into THE example now of two systems of justice in LA ? one for the poor and minorities and one for the rich and usually, not always, non-minorities.

Keep in mind that rapper R. Kelly has still not gone to trial five years since allegations of sexual misconduct with an underage girl surfaced.

But that has nothing to do with Paris Hilton, it just helps put it into perspective a bit for how people in LA see and know the legal system of the nation?s craziest city.

If Hilton had not been returned to jail, who knows what would have happened in Los Angeles. But we do know that the outrage would have been greatly elevated from yesterday's outrage that she was released after only serving three days.

Now there are definitely some who say that the judge's ruling today - that Hilton now serve her entire, original 45-day sentence - was a bit harsh, but chances are Hilton will either be released again early due to health reasons or good behavior.

Hilton's lawyers said just an hour ago that they will appeal the judge's ruling.

Paris Checks In to The Clink And It's Not A Skyview Suite - That's So Hot!

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 13:15:12 +0000

Hollywood heiress and socialite Paris Hilton surrendered last night after a music award show to begin her 23 day jail sentence, a day before her original sentence was set to begin.

The LA Sheriff's Department reported that they met Hilton at a outside the Lynwood correctional facility in order to keep the facility safe and free of gaggles of photographers following Hilton wherever she goes.

While she was able to strike a pose for her booking photo (at the right), Hilton will not be able to wear her extensions in jail.

OMG! Paris without extensions.

Paris Hilton in an orange jumpsuit inside a jail cell?

That's SO hot. Somebody get pictures!

Hilton showed on the red carpet Sunday to attend the MTV Music Awards. She stopped for a brief moment to talk to reporters.

Who is this guy Paris was with this weekend?

"I've gotten thousands of letters from all over the world," Hilton said, adding that she could have opted to serve her time in a "upscale" jail.

"I did have a choice to go to a pay jail," she said. "But I declined because I feel like the media portrays me in a way that I'm not and that's why I wanted to go to county, to show that I can do it and I'm going to be treated like everyone else.

"I'm going to do the time, I'm going to do it the right way."

In May, a Los Angeles County judge sentenced Hilton to 45 days in the slammer, but the sentence was subsequently reduced to half that time on the condition that Hilton serves her time on good behavior.

DISCUSS: Does Paris Deserve The Right To Set Things Straight? Please click the Comments link (no registration required) to voice your opinion.

VIEW: Paris Hilton's Arrest Record Report

LABELS: View Paris Hilton labels (scroll down page)

Slaying Media Statements: Paris Hilton

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 13:15:12 +0000

One of the least understood and possibly most abused tools in the public relations arsenal is the media statement.

Once upon a time, it was simply meant to grab the attention of reporters and give them a lead on a story. Today, however, it seems like more and more celebrities, elected officials, and corporate executives are attempting to use them as masked position pieces with little interest in reporter follow up.

In fact, most statements made today try to end stories, not begin them. It almost never works. Sure, there are plenty of examples out there, but Paris Hilton's recent weekend statement, published by the TMZ, really drives the point home. (Hat tip to Spin Thicket for the link.)

"Today I told my attorneys not to appeal the judge's decision. While I greatly appreciate the Sheriff's concern for my health and welfare, after meeting with doctors I intend to serve my time as ordered by the judge."

Stop. The first graph of her statement works. It might have worked better with a little polish and perhaps a better reveal of what her doctors concluded, but this would have been short, sharp, and to the point. Unfortunately however, it doesn't stop ...

"This is by far the hardest thing I have ever done. During the past several days, I have had a lot of time to reflect and have already learned a bitter, but important lesson from this experience."

Um, stop. The second graph begins to tread murky water as an attempt to employ the traditional practice of showing empathy, sympathy, or embarrassment. You know: I'm sorry, I learned my lesson, it won't happen again. Except, in this case, it's blatant overkill. Paris Hilton had a probation violation. And unfortunately, it doesn't stop ...

"As I have said before, I hope others will learn from my mistake. I have also had time to read the mail from my fans. I very much appreciate all of their good wishes and hope they will keep their letters coming."

Um, please, really, stop. While I believe Hilton might mean some of it, it's beginning to read as a publicity ploy. It lets people know that although the media has been covering some overzealous public outcry, she still has fans. This is a mistake that is easily seen in the next graph, because, unfortunately, it just doesn't stop ...

"I must also say that I was shocked to see all of the attention devoted to the amount of time I would spend in jail for what I had done by the media, public and city officials. I would hope going forward that the public and the media will focus on more important things, like the men and women serving our country in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places around the world."

Um, really, please, please stop. You're killing me. While she might be right about media coverage in general, some sentiments just doesn't ring true. Like many who act as fair weather friends to the media (please cover me when I win, but never when I lose), Paris is attempting to shift the story at best and shame the media and others at worst. It's doesn't work, especially on the heels of calling for good wishes and more letters.

All in all, this statement becomes a classic example of having just enough rope to hang oneself, which is typical of most statements issued today. You see, the best statements are simple. They avoid infusing too many facts that are unrelated to the story. In this one from Paris, it carries no less than fifteen (maybe more) points, ranging from sincere to uninspired to just plain silly.

When you issue a statement like that, the best you can hope for is that a reporter will focus on one point. The worst thing that can happen is they publish it in entirety, which is exactly what happened here. Yeah, publicity. It's seldom around when you need it to be and always around when you don't.

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Paris Hilton Sells Her Post-Prison Image

Sat, 07 Jul 2007 02:15:20 +0000

The national fascination with Paris Hilton marched on Wednesday night, as Paris Hilton spilled all to Larry King.

Paris, as you may or may not know, can teach us all a lot about sales and how to market yourself. And that was on full display tonight, as she talked openly about her grueling 20-something days behind bars, as reported by the CNN website:

But there were rough times, too, she said. The food "wasn't that tasty," she said. Being strip-searched was the most humiliating experience of her life and one Sunday visit from her parents was especially emotional for her, she said.
"It was my first Father's Day I couldn't give my dad a hug, and that was really hard on me," she said, describing how she was separated from her visitors by glass.
When she arrived at the Century Regional Detention Facility, her claustrophobia became too much to handle, she said. She couldn't sleep. She couldn't eat. She suffered from anxiety and panic attacks, she said.
Her deteriorating mental condition is what prompted Sheriff Lee Baca -- much to the chagrin of the judge who sentenced Hilton -- to release her to house arrest after consulting physicians.
"He thought it'd be better for everybody if I just went home," she said.
An angry prosecutor and judge demanded that she be returned to jail. "Ten minutes before the police arrived I'm yanked out of bed" and told the news, she said, describing the situation as "crazy; it was pure madness."

My initial thoughts:

Food that "wasn't that tasty" equates to "rough times"? How low is the bar set for "rough times" here in our country???
All she gives her dad for Father's Day is a hug? SHE'S PARIS FREAKIN' HILTON FOR CRYIN' OUT LOUD! I would have thought she'd buy him an island or a pro football team or something.
She's upset that she had to get out of bed after the police were there waiting for ten minutes? Does she ever watch "COPS"? I don't remember many times when police waited for ten minutes for anything.

Paris Hilton: The fascination continues, and sales professionals get more lessons in how to delicately balance self-promotion and selling your brand.

EX-CON PARIS HILTONS NEW BEGINNING

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:03:13 +0000

Paris Hilton has called her jail sentence a new beginning. The hotel heiress - who spent 23 days in a California county jail for driving with a suspended licence - wants to turn her back on her wild partying ways. Paris told US chat show host Larry King: "They say when you reach a crossroad or a turning point in life, it really doesn't matter how we got there, but it's what we do next after we got there. "Usually you arrive there by adversity, and it is then, and only then, that we find out who we truly are and what we're truly made of. It's a process, a gift and a journey, and if we can travel it alone, although the road may be rough at the beginning, you find an ability to walk it. A way to start fresh again. "It's neither a downfall nor a failure, but a new beginning. And I felt like this is a new beginning for me, to see jail - and I just used it as a journey to figure out myself and who I am and what I want to do. There's just so much more to me than what people think." The 26-year-old blond was confined to her cell for 23 hours a day, only leaving to shower and call her family, but she spoke to other inmates through air vents. The socialite described prison food as awful and revealed the other inmates called it "mystery slop". She said: "Lunch is basically a bologna sandwich - they call it mystery meat. It's really scary. And two pieces of bread and some mayonnaise, with orange juice. There was a little hole they would put it through. Dinner was usually the same. It was hot at least. They call it jail slop, so it wasn't that tasty."

Paris Hilton's In The Slammer - Total Jail Coverage

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:03:13 +0000

6-8-07 6:28pm PST:

PARIS HILTON UPDATE:

How LA Attorney's Office Convinced Angry Judge to Send Hilton Back

Judge Sauer Remands Paris Hilton's Sentence; Hilton Taken Screaming and Kicking From Courtroom Back to Jail

LA Attorney and Judge File Order To Have Hilton Appear Back in Court

Paris Hilton's Sentence Reduced Before She Goes to Jail

Note: The media was in a frenzy this morning (June 8th) over the fact that Paris Hilton was being taken to the hearing in police custody. MTB reported this last night after we obtained the city attorney's motion which specifically stated that Hilton would be taken into police custody. So why was it such a BIG NEWS item this morning? Because CNN read my blog. I can prove it. Anyways, yet another scoop for MTB! :-D

The following is the original story from 6-4-07

Hollywood Heiress Checks In To Clink Early, Not-So-Hot Mugshot, Video Shows Paris with mysterious guy, more photographs, plus discussion, arrest photos and Paris has Advice for Young People (LOL!)

- Arrest photos
- Video Paris going to jail
- Official arrest report
- Official mugshot
- Parodies of Paris' Jail Fashion

Stay tuned to Paris Jail Updates and more from MTB

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Colorado "High" School Buying Back Yearbooks From Students For Drug Content
May 27, 2007

High school yearbooks are supposed to be a treasured compilation of school friends' portraits, various school event photos, quotations and remembrances, best ofs and nots and highlights of student academics and extra curricular activities.

But the Conifer, Colorado high school class of 2007, got an extra surprise this year in their yearbook. A number of pages in the yearbook include photographs of students smoking marijuana and consuming alcohol.

The photographs are accompanied with text and quotes that school officials say clearly condone smoking pot and illegal drinking of booze.

However, if the issue is taken up by a group like the ACLU, then it may become a free speech case to keep an eye on.

Yet, as the infamous Hazelwood case of 1987 reminds us, students have limited protections under the Constitution when the school room is equated in to the picture.

- Watch a video report of the controversy
- View 12 controversial images from the Conifer High School yearbook
- Read the apology from the teacher in charge of the yearbook

Paris Hilton Checks Into the Clink Early; Rumors of Photo of Paris in Jail Cell

Fri, 06 Jul 2007 01:09:20 +0000

Updated: June 4, 2007 7:45pm EST

Get Updates on Paris' Prison Time.

There is a rumor that a photo of Paris in her jail cell from early this morning is available, however, it is likely to be sold to a celeb site like TMZ. Stay tuned by signing up for MTB's RSS Feed.

In a controversial, but not surprising, announcement today, a Los Angeles County judge reduced Hollywood socialite and hotel heiress Paris Hilton's 45-day jail sentence to 23 days for "good behavior".

More specifically, the 23 days will be granted if, the judge said, Hilton is well-behaved. (What the heck is Paris doing in this video clip?)

"I want to emphasize that her sentence has not been cut," Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department spokesman told Steve Whitmore of AFP.

"But under Los Angeles county regulations she will receive good behavior credits at the start of her sentence. Provided she behaves well, she could be released after 23 days."

On May 4, an LA judge ordered Hilton to serve a 45-day prison sentence for driving on a suspended license.

UPDATE: PARIS HILTON BUYS BOOKS!!!!
Just weeks after using a 7th grade vocabulary word - "unwarranted" - in reaction to her jail sentence, Paris Hilton is apparently preping for jail by "reading" the Bible and buying books about Buddah. Ha, Ha, Harie, Harie...

Since then there has been a frenzy of coverage, leading Hilton to boo-hoo to the media and skip a court appearance on an unrelated libel case because her psychologist said she was too "emotionally distraught and traumatized" by the whole affair.

The decision to reduce Hilton's sentence was made on the condition that she "behave" while housed in the "special needs" sector of the county jail reserved for inmates like public officials, police officers and others that in the prison culture would be a target for violence.

In fact, an inmate, especially someone who is looking at 25 years, would gain enormous credibility and respect in the prison and street gang culture and "networks" for injuring or killing a high-profile target.

So, in that sense, it is completely reasonable for the safety of Paris Hilton, the prison guards and staff and the larger prison population that she be segregated.

Whitman would not release any details about any possible extra security measures for Hilton during her time in the 12 two-bed cells of the special needs sector.

Hilton is ordered to begin her sentence on June 5.

More pics:

Bailing Paris: Sheriff Lee Baca

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:54:13 +0000

Sometimes when you win, you really lose. At least that seems to be the theme for Paris Hilton, who was released from jail yesterday for a mysterious mental medical condition. She was released after serving three days of a 23-day sentence.

With more public outcry than most mass murderers, media and concerned citizens made her the poster child for "buying freedom." Suddenly, without warning, the publicity beast she has gracefully embraced for more than a decade turned to bite her back.

The decision to free Hilton prompted attorney L.A. city attorney Rocky Delgadillo to file a petition questioning whether Sheriff Lee Baca should be held in contempt of court for releasing Hilton, led to media coverage that largely mocked the Hilton heiress, and convinced Rev. Al Sharpton to organize a march protest. Superior Court Judge Michael T. Sauer then ordered Hilton to report to court today at 9 a.m.

"There are any number of cases of people who handled being incarcerated badly and even have health conditions that are not released," Sharpton told The Associated Press. "But I think that it gives a very bad signal when Ms. Hilton is treated any differently than any other parole violator in their county or in this country."

While I have a hard time believing this a blatant case of racism (maybe), I do lean toward the John Gibson take: "Was it because she's white? Maybe just a bit, but more likely it happened because she's rich and her parents can make lawyers and shrinks work round the clock to move mountains."

For my part, I'm less interested in what is really non-news and more interested in the publicity beast that once appeared to be tamed by Hilton. As hard as it might be for some people to see it, she may have been happy to be released, but she did not do the bailing. Sheriff Baca did that. (As if the Los Angeles County Police Department didn't have enough public relations problems.)

No matter, it seems. Most people want to have the privileged head of Hilton, regardless of her role in the release. She may have had a hand in it or not. If she did, she did herself a great disservice.

Hilton's sometimes odd popularity was always fueled by her ability to woo a majority of the public (not the media, the public), which is why people petitioned for her not to go to jail in the first place.

The result of her release, however, unless publicist Elliot Mintz can master some major spin (he often does), could erode her credibility to the point where her brand of being strangely famous forever turns into unpleasantly infamous. It will be interesting to see who remains a friend after the popularity polls begin to dip over trying to bilk the system (whether she had a direct hand in it or not).

Ah publicity ... sure you can use it to be released from jail early, but this get out of jail card is not like Monoply. It's almost never given for free.

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JAILED SLUT PARIS HILTON PLANS ON OPENING HOME FOR FEMALE PRISONERS

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 13:54:13 +0000

Super slut Paris Hilton is on the loose again !

Paris Hilton plans to open a home for former female prisoners.The hotel heiress, who is set to be released from California's Century Regional Detention Center in Lynwood tomorrow and has spoken to jail doctors and officials about setting up a safe house for newly released inmates.Paris is quoted by E! News as saying: "I'm lucky enough that when I leave prison I have a home to go to and a family that loves me. A lot of girls in here don't have that option. They go back to the streets."I want to help build a transitional home so that when inmates leave here they have somewhere to go. These women just keep coming back because they have no home to go to." Paris, 26, says her facility would offer former prisoners somewhere to stay while they look for jobs and try to find their families. She explained: "It will be a place for them to go get food, clothes and get them up on their feet, especially the mothers. It's just a really bad cycle. If we stop it now, we can make our community a better place." 'The Simple Life' star revealed she is planning to cut ties with many of her wild friends. She said: "I think there are a lot of bad people that I was around. I don't want to surround myself with those types anymore." Paris also slammed rumors she has been refusing to eat in prison. She said: "There are a lot of untrue rumours going around. I'm the exact same weight. The food is awful, but I'm eating. When I come out, people will see I'm exactly the same." Meanwhile, Paris' mother Kathy has revealed her daughter is looking forward to getting rid of her prison uniform. Kathy, who visited Paris at the weekend, said: "Paris is so excited about seeing the family. She also can't wait to take that orange suit off. She is sick of orange, but her health is good."

Covering Hot Topics: Second Quarter 2007

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:36:34 +0000

Every quarter, we publish a recap of our five most popular communication-related posts, based on the frequency and the immediacy of hits after they were posted. While we base this on individual posts, some are related to larger case studies.

Jericho Fans Make Television History

When CBS executives cancelled Jericho over Nielsen ratings, fans of this post- nuclear terrorist attack/small town survival drama went nuts, literally. Using the Internet and social media as their point of organization, they launched the largest cancellation protest in history: sending 40,000 pounds of nuts (from just one store); rallied almost 120,000 petition signers; cancelled CBS related-cable subscriptions; boycotted network premieres; sold network stock; sent in countless letters, postcards, and e-mails; captured media attention in every major newspaper and tabloid; and flooded the network with phone calls. Within a few weeks, CBS reversed its decision in record time, heading off what was quickly becoming an exercise in crisis communication. Of all the posts, pointing out the error in CBS? marketing of Jericho took top honors with over 10,000 hits.

Link: Jericho

Wal-Mart Strikes Back Against Julie Roehm

If networks are looking for a new made-for-television docudrama, the ongoing Julie Roehm story continues to turn heads (and maybe stomachs). Filled with twists, turns, sex, back room deals, character defamation, lawsuits, countersuits, media bias, allegories, and more spin than the planet Jupiter (which rotates once every 10 hours), this story demonstrates the pitfalls of second-tier executives becoming public figures and the companies that keep them. In the end, if she has any credibility left, Roehm?s personal brand will always be linked to the short-lived, um, alleged Wal-Mart funded affair with a subordinate, her master-class ability to spin herself into another lawsuit and, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, being more indestructible than a cockroach.

Links: Julie Roehm, Wal-Mart

Digital Media Will Change Everything

While some might say it was the very loose Jericho link, we like to think it is related to the increasing interest in the future of digital media, specifically how old media is becoming new media. When we gave some attention to how News Corporation and NBC Universal are speeding ahead with the addition of FUEL TV, Oxygen, SPEED, Sundance Channel, and TV Guide as content partners committed to bringing programming to Web video consumers, people wanted to know what it might mean. To us, it means that one day very soon, broadcast news and entertainment will be forever fused with the Internet, people will access it all via versatile technologies like the iPhone, independents will have the potential to break into the big leagues overnight, and businesses will fully develop what we sometimes call income marketing.

Links: Digital Media, NBC Universal, FOX

Paris Hilton Splits Public Interest

We don?t know about you, but Mika Brzezinski of MNSBC perfectly captured the public?s sentiment over Paris Hilton. In a YouTube clip, Brzezinski refuses to lead the news with Hilton, but then goes on and on about how she refuses to cover it, making her refusal to cover Hilton carry on probably three times longer than if she would have just read the script. Love her, hate her, love to hate her, or hate to love her, we?re not buying that you?re not interested because if we post about her, we always see spikes even though we generally only cover communication side items like blaming publicists, marketing humor, and overly long media statements from jail. Hmmm? maybe that?s why Hilton took second against Roehm in terms of most read public figure.

Link: Paris Hilton

The Office Parodies A Public Relations Nightmare

Although some follow-up stories to JetBlue and Jobster came close, NBC Universal's 2006 Emmy Award-winning show, The Office, proved fictional crisis communication is sometimes more fun than real life. For our part, we wrote up how The Office episode "Product Recall? mirrors how executives sometimes allow a crisis to run away from them by applying ?tried and true? communication strategies. In the show, Michael Scott (Steve Carell), regional manager of Dunder-Mifflin, applies the practice of ?always running to the crisis and never away from it? after a disgruntled employee at the paper mill put an obscene watermark on one of their most popular paper products. The operative word in this case is ?always.? Crisis communication rules are only guidelines, silly.

Link: The Office

It?s very promising to see non-bad news posts starting to give bad news posts a run for their money. We're still hoping good news and educational posts might one day dominate the top five (admittedly doubtful). For example, when it comes to social media, we?d love to see more attention given to our underpinning concept that strategic communication is best suited to drive social media despite the fact that most companies seems to be trying to do it the other way around.

Anyway, while those were the top five posts (and related case studies) for the second quarter, several others came close (and almost all of them beat out last quarter). Runners up (no order): Fans of the The Black Donnellys lobby for HBO to save the canceled NBC show; PR bloggers made a non-issue into an issue over Nikon; JetBlue proved you really can overapologize in a crisis; Jason Goldberg of Jobster goes a whole week or so before behaving badly again; and our sum-up of Harris Interactive mobile advertising research despite my initial skepticism, mostly fueled by a not-so-great Webinar release.

So there you have it, except for one very, very important ingredient: thank you all for dropping by, adding comments, promoting several stories, and continuing to bring communication issues to our attention so we may offer up our sometimes serious, sometimes silly take on them. Whether you agree or disagree, all of it lends well to the discussion and I appreciate those who remember to target the topic and not each other in providing input.

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The Media

Thu, 05 Jul 2007 02:36:34 +0000

Photograph and text �2007 by Julius Lester

During the 1960s people in the business of deciding what was and was not news knew that President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., were not models of marital fidelity. But the prevailing attitude was that what these men did in their private lives was precisely that ? private. Even when then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover sent photos to news outlets of Dr. King with women, not one released the information to the public. However, since then, the media has obliterated the line between private and public to the detriment of us all.

While I think Paris Hilton is a sad, immature twenty-six year old child who needs media attention to know she exists, I was appalled and frightened by the lynch mob atmosphere instigated by the media when the sheriff released her from jail to serve out her sentence at home. The nation was outraged! Paris was getting a break because she comes from a wealthy family. Al Sharpton, who has never seen a camera of any kind that he didn?t like, called a press conference to decry the favoritism shown to Paris. When a screaming, crying, hysterical Paris Hilton was sent back to jail, the media and the nation were obscenely exultant.

Only after she was once again incarcerated did the media begin to look more deeply into her situation and discovered that the majority of people in Los Angeles arrested for driving with a suspended license and violating probation on alcohol related driving charges served no jail time or as little as one-tenth of the sentence, which in Paris?s case would have been four days.

So when Paris Hilton was taken out of the courtroom screaming, ?Mom! Mom! It?s not fair!?, she was right. It wasn?t fair. But the initial reporting led the nation to believe that the sheriff?s release of Hilton was an injustice. In fact, the sheriff acted justly. Indeed, it was discovered that the wife of Hilton?s prosecutor had been arrested for driving with a suspended license and had not been sent to jail.

The media is intent on the ?public?s right to know,? a ?right? I haven?t found in the Constitution. Well, if the public has a ?right? to know about the private lives of politicians and celebrities, does not the public also have a ?right? to know about the private lives of those who report on others? private lives?

If people in the media had to publicly reveal their sins, I wonder if the character of what passes for news these days would change. If people in the media were required to relinquish their privacy, I wonder if that line between public and private would be redrawn. If people in the media were subjected to the same scrutiny as they subject others, I think the media would concentrate its energies on the issues and ideas of our time rather than the behavior of millionaire, adolescent, high school dropouts who live as if it does not matter that hundreds of millions of people around the world live in squalor and hunger through no fault of their own.

But there is no institution in our society that scrutinizes the media the way peers into the private lives of others. We are dependent on the media to recognize and curb its own excesses and self-righteousness.

Thus the coarsening of our society will continue.

TODAY?S QUOTE

?The press is ferocious. It forgives nothing, it only hunts for mistakes.?

Diana, Princess of Wales

TODAY?S WORD

Medium ? from medius, middle. ?A middle quality, degree, or condition.?

TODAY'S PHOTOGRAPH

Window, New York City, 1966
-------------------------

Photographs are for sale:

$25 - 4x6 on 8x10 archival paper
$65 - 12x16 on 13x19 archival paper

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TROUBLED COCAINE KATE MOSS AND DRUGGIE PETE DOHERTY WILL MARRY

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 15:06:11 +0000

Druggie Pete Doherty and Cocaine Kate Moss

Pete Doherty will marry Kate Moss this summer - as long as he stays drug-free. The troubled rocker, who is battling a long-term heroin addiction, is determined to clean up his act so he can tie the knot with the supermodel. Pete revealed his plans to wed in his diaries, 'The Books of Albion', which were published the other day. In one extract, which he wrote while in rehab in January 2007, the Babyshambles star said: "Smack and needle-free we shall marry in the summer and I become 10 times happier than any given smackhead." He also confessed the only reason he was in rehab was to please Kate. He wrote: "I love the girl so dearly and that's why I'm in this clinic isn't it?" Pete - who began romancing Kate in January 2005 - also admitted the couple have a fiery relationship. In an entry describing a trip to Paris in July 2005, he said: "Kate and I f*****g and fighting all the way on the Eurostar until blood finally runs down my palm and up my head, and before I leg it to oblivion leaving her at the station calling me a this, that and the other and a so-and-so (accompanied by hand gestures)." Earlier this month, mother-of-one Kate reportedly banned Pete from talking about their wedding plans on a British TV show. Pete, who is due to be interviewed by chat show host Jonathan Ross next week, was instructed to censor his answers. He appeared on the show a year ago and spoke frankly about his drug addiction and feelings for Kate. A source said: "She's given him rules on what not to talk about. The wedding is absolutely off limits."

Another Way to Make American Democracy More Democratic

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 15:06:10 +0000

Photograph and text � 2007 by Julius Lester

Whenever I visit Washington, D.C., I always go to the National Gallery of Art. I went there first the summer of 1957 when I spent the summer in D.C. The National Gallery was the first place I saw original paintings by Van Gogh, Cezanne, Winslow Homer, and other artists whose work I knew only in books. Even now, fifty years later, I go there with the same sense of awe I had when I was 18.

My wife and I went twice when we were in D.C. a couple of weeks ago. I spent a lot of time with statues by Rodin, paintings by Winslow Homer, and a special exhibit of 19th and early 20th century photographs of Paris. It was quite thrilling to see original prints of Eugene Atget, one of my favorite photographers.

As we left the gallery I felt a real sense of pride that my taxes go to such a wonderful institution. If you?ve never been to D.C., one of the surprises is that the museums and galleries under Federal auspices do not charge admission ? the National Gallery, the Smithsonian, the Museum of the American Indian, the National Botanical Garden, the National Archive, all free. All paid for from our tax dollars.

Walking down the steps from the National Gallery and heading across the mall, I thought: wouldn?t it be great if the tax laws were changed so that we could designate where we wanted our taxes to go? Not so much in specifics, like the National Gallery, but broadly ? the arts, defense, highways, poverty, the environment, etc. It would be a sure way to know from year to year what is important to the American people. We spend money on what we value, on what is important to us. What we spend our money on tells us who we are, as individuals, as a nation.

I think every American would stop trying to find ways to pay as little in taxes as possible. I know I would gladly pay my taxes if I could legally designate how I wanted them used. And I believe every American would feel the same.

I know such a law will never be enacted. It?s more democracy than politicians could deal with. But what better way could there be of having a government ?of the people, by the people, and for the people?? What better way to free that sentiment from its lofty rhetoric and make it an everyday reality?

TODAY?S QUOTE

?The happiness of society is the end of government.?

John Adams, Thoughts on Government, 1776

TODAY?S WORD

Taradiddle (noun) ? A lie, pretentious nonsense

You may apply this to the politician of your choice, as in, ?The President?s administration has been characterized by one taradiddle after another.?

TODAY'S PHOTOGRAPH

New York City, 1966

About Paris

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 02:10:50 +0000

Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebrity, socialite, business woman, model, actress and recording artist. She is an heiress to a share of both the Hilton Hotel fortune and the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton.

Hilton rose to fame when an amateur sex video depicting her was leaked onto the Internet in late 2003. The release of the tape, later titled 1 Night in Paris (2004), attracted worldwide publicity and helped the success of Hilton's Fox reality series The Simple Life. As an actress, she has appeared in several minor roles, most notably in the horror film House of Wax (2005), and in 2006, she released the self-titled album Paris. Hilton has since garnered greater notoriety as a result of several legal incidents, the repercussions of which have caused Hilton to receive a short jail sentence while being the subject of intense media attention, public controversy and parody.