Entries from July 2007 ↓

I’m going to be a dad soon. Scary.

I was scanning CNN headlines today when I read “Facebook founder sued” in a very large font.

I have two big problems with this.
1) Your average CNN reader may not necessarily know what “The Onion” is.
2) People skim headlines.
3) It’s not true.

The Onion is a satire news site full of fake articles, and CNN is supposed to be “the most trusted name in news.”

Could it be?
Is it possible that some unknowing news editor doesn’t realize this is a fake news site?

CNN has written an article about a woman who killed a number of unborn children. This is the ad that ran in the story. Random or intentional?

I did an interview yesterday on publicizing books.

Author seeks big book success
It’s interesting how if you’re not very careful, the journalist can construe certain ideas about what you mean . . .
(I think sometimes it can be really intimidating if a book is really big,” said Page, crediting billionaire author J.K. Rowling, creator of the Harry Potter series of books, as the sole exception to that rule.)

Obviously, I don’t really believe J.K. Rowling is the sole exception to the rule. That’s not a direct quote. No harm done.

Here’s the answers to the Pioneer Day test.

1 - What is Utah’s state bird? - The California Gull (not just the seagull)
2 - Why is it Utah’s state bird? - Read “Miracle of the Gulls”
3 - What is Utah’s state tree? - Blue Spruce
4 - Can you name the lake that used to cover most of the state? - Lake Bonneville
5 - What are the three largest cities (population/in order) in Utah? - Salt Lake City, West Valley City and Provo (2,000 less than WVC)
6 - Name two states that border Utah. - Options are Arizona, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado. (You might get away with New Mexico because of the four corners area, but …. does it really border Utah?
7 - How did the state get its name? - From the Ute tribe and means “people of the mountains.”
8 - Name the famous cookie company that was founded in Utah - Mrs. Fields (p.s. her old house is for sale). There’s no photo, but you can see it here on Google maps. The main road is on the bottom of the screen. Her old place is at the end of the long drive past the lake.
9 - What was the original name of the University of Utah? - University of Deseret (Utah was originally the State of Deseret)
10 - What was the original name of the school that is now BYU? - This one is tricky. Brigham Young Academy would suffice, but even before that it was called Timpanogos University and was a branch of the University of Deseret. It only held this name for a year before it was changed to Brigham Young Academy.
12 - Name the geographical formation found on Utah license plates. - Delicate Arch
13 - Name Utah’s governor. - Jon Huntsman Junior
14 - Name Utah’s U.S. Senators. - Robert Bennett, Orrin Hatch
15 - Name Utah’s members of the U.S. House. - Rob Bishop, Jim Matheson, Chris Cannon.

Pioneer Day was yesterday. Your Pioneer Day test is today. In honor of the day that settlers first came to the state, see how many of these questions you an answer without looking them up in Google. Have your answers ready before you put them in the comments so you don’t see the answers from others. I’ll post the answers on Friday.

1 - What is Utah’s state bird?
2 - Why is it Utah’s state bird?
3 - What is Utah’s state tree?
4 - Can you name the lake that used to cover most of the state?
5 - What are the three largest cities (population/in order) in Utah?
6 - Name two states that border Utah.
7 - How did the state get its name?
8 - Name the famous cookie company that was founded in Utah
9 - What was the original name of the University of Utah?
10 - What was the original name of the school that is now BYU?
12 - Name the geographical formation found on Utah license plates.
13 - Name Utah’s governor.
14 - Name Utah’s U.S. Senators.
15 - Name Utah’s members of the U.S. House.

Okay, now here’s a few Utah tid-bits sans the trivia.
1 - Lake Powell is named after John Wesley Powell, a Civil War Veteran and geologist who only had one arm. He used the services of a Mormon missionary named Jacob Hamblin to help negotiate with the Indians and ensure the safety of his exploration. Powell later served as the director of the U.S. Geological survey and is now buried in Arlington Cemetary.

2 - A legend exists of a mine in the mountains east of Kamas, Utah that is full of gold (seriously). According to legend, Ute Indians revealed the location of the mine to a Thomas Rhoads on the condition that he would never tell a soul where it was. Today, treasure hunters call it the Lost Rhoads Mine.

3 - If you ever hike Mt. Timpanogos, there is actually a B-25 bomber crash site near the top of the mountain you can go see. The plane took off from Hill Air Force base in 1955. Three crew members and two passengers died.

4 - Park City was practically a ghost town between its days as a mining town and it’s days as a ski destination. (If only we would have all bought some land . . . a lot of it). It is also one of the only towns in Utah not founded by Mormons. One day a man named George Hearst rolled into town and bought the Ontario mine for $27,000, and the city goes gangbusters. Hearst’s mine produces $50 million in silver throughout its life, and he has a boy named William who became a newspaper/magazine magnate (San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seventeen, Good Housekeeping, etc. etc..).

How? Exactly like a journalist would write a story. Why? Because they just might run it as is if it’s the way they would have written it.

Utah Jazz president Dennis Haslam stepped down from his post today. He also heads up Larry H. Miller Sports and Entertainment. Here’s the first two paragraphs of the press release:

Larry H. Miller announced today that Dennis Haslam is stepping down as President of the Utah Jazz and the Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment Group of Companies (LHMSE). Haslam has held the position for the past 10 years. Randy Rigby, Senior Vice President of Sales & Broadcasting, Chief Marketing Officer has been named as Haslam’s successor.

“Denny has been an integral part of the development of this company and will be sorely missed,” said Miller. “Not only has he shaped the Sports & Entertainment Group of Companies into the successful businesses they are today, he has also branded the division and established it as a valuable partner in our community. I appreciate what Denny has done for us and fully support his desire to pursue other interests at this point in his career.”

And now, the first two paragraphs of The Salt Lake Tribune story that came out shortly after:

Dennis Haslam, president of the Utah Jazz for the past 10 years, stepped down Wednesday, the team announced.

Randy Rigby, the team’s Senior Vice President of Sales & Broadcasting, and Chief Marketing Officer, is the new president.

“Denny has been an integral part of the development of this company and will be sorely missed,” Jazz owner Larry H. Miller said in a statement. “Not only has he shaped the Sports & Entertainment Group of Companies into the successful businesses they are today, he has also branded the division and established it as a valuable partner in our community. I appreciate what Denny has done for us and fully support his desire to pursue other interests at this point in his career.”

The rest is pretty much the same. I have a hunch that the Trib will do some sort of follow-up on it, but the point is when you understand news writing, and you write your press releases like a real news story, you up the chances that journalists will use exact portions of what you’ve written.

Hillary Clinton and John Edwards had an interesting conversation while the microphones were still on during the NAACP candidate debate. LOL.

The No. 1 rule for being on TV and Radio is to say NOTHING you wouldn’t want everyone to hear if you’re anywhere near a microphone. Did the PR person forget to tell them this?