A while back, I was having a chat with a reporter buddy of mine, and he started a conversation about the public relations industry and PR professionals he works with on a regular basis. He said it is frustrating the number of times he receives pitches about stories…
If you’ve ever spent any significant amount of time around a PR person, journalist or anyone else who writes for the media, you may have heard of AP style. It stands for “Associated Press” style, and it’s meant to guide media writers through some of the more tricky…
Being in the high-speed world of public relations, the luxury of having time to search for the perfect book is rare. I am here to help! I ventured through the shelves at the Booksellers at Laurelwood and did some additional research by reading online reviews to discover my…
The debate continues on whether Marissa Mayer’s controversial photo in Vogue is or is not business faux pas. Here’s the response from Crissy Lintner, managing director for our Dallas division. Crissy’s Take: Does Marissa Mayer have a lot to prove? You bet she does. But what caused the…
Marissa Mayer made headlines last week when announcements came about her sexy Vogue photo spread and article. Across the PR industry, experts were weighing in, and at Obsidian, opinions vary. Today and tomorrow, we’ll share two opposing viewpoints from our firm. The first comes from Courtney Ellett, owner…
I learned of this new phenomenon the other day: Pinterest Stress. Yes, there is such a thing as Pinterest Stress. Think about your Pinterest feed. What do you like to pin? Birthday party ideas for your 2-year-old? Creative crafts to do with your kids? Family garden ideas? Ah-mazing…
One of the many reasons I decided to get into PR is because I like people, like interacting with people and fancy myself at communicating well with people. Prior to getting into PR, I waited tables, worked at a call center and a spa in a four-star hotel,…
A while back, I was in my car on the way home when one of my favorite country songs came on the radio. I’m not exactly sure why, but as I listened and shamelessly sang aloud, I thought: “I know everyone doesn’t appreciate this song like I do.…
Behind our fancy computers, smartphones and eloquent writing skills lie the most basic and sometimes forgotten communication technique: body language. While body language may seem like an intuitive response in certain professional settings, no one is immune to dreary days when our emotions can be clearly read on…
“OH! You want to go into the PR field? So you’re learning to do market research and make advertisements, right?” I don’t have enough fingers and toes to count how many times I heard this when I discussed my career aspirations with others in college. Even more surprising,…