Straight Talk Public Relations

Posts about public relations by Douglass Taft Davidoff Email | Straight Talk P.R. website| LinkedIn | Doug's website

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Attending @BRBC's biz luncheon with Mayor @JoeGanim, who just observed 100 days in office, round two. #BridgeportCT #CTpoliics (at Holiday Inn)

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Best #skyline view of #BridgeportCT? From 5th-floor terrace connector to garage at @HCCinfo - Housatonic Community College. (at Housatonic Community College)

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North side of Putnam Avenue. From the top: Vogue. Vanity Fair. House & Garden. The Conde Nast Press. (at Hyatt Regency Greenwich)

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From the top: Vogue. Glamour. House & Garden. The Conde Nast Press. On Putnam Avenue at the Stamford|Greenwich town line. (at Hyatt Regency Greenwich)

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Never saw these before. These two pillars flanking U.S. 1 on the Stamford|Greenwich border in Connecticut mark what was once the work and home estate of one of the great named in American journalism: Conde Nast of Vogue, Glamour, Vanity Fair, House & Garden, and -- today -- The New Yorker. Having published Vanity Fair's "Star Wars" cover yesterday with Annie Leibovitz photographing Harrison Ford, et.al., the history of these pillars seems more enduring. The Hyatt Hotel occupies some of the former Conde Nast grounds. This view is on Laddins Rock Road (the municipal border), looking north across U.S. 1 (Putnam Ave.) (at Hyatt Regency Greenwich)

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Any day that a city where you often work is featured in the New York Times, it's a good day.

Which means that Bridgeport, Connecticut, had a great day this week.

For three or more generations, the tall -- the gigantically tall -- smokestack from the shoreline coal-fired Bridgeport Harbor Generating Station has dominated the city's skyline, dwarfing all other buildings.

Bridgeport is the largest city in Connecticut (#2 New Haven, #3 Hartford) and the major city in the region where Straight Talk P.R.'s principal consultant, Doug Davidoff, grew up and now often works.

Mayor Bill Finch deserves credit for bringing a clean fuel-cell generating station to Bridgeport. It's the largest fuel-cell generating plant in North America, and perhaps one day it will lead to the destruction of the ugly smokestack that so unfairly defines Bridgeport's look.

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A Royal Beginning

This isn’t the original typewriter. But it’s identical.

Doug Davidoff, was a fourth-grade student at Coleytown Elementary School in Westport, Connecticut, when his parents bought him his first typewriter.

They took him to a musty second-hand office furniture store, with desks and chairs and adding machines and typewriters stacked to the ceiling.

Someone came across a Royal Quiet deLuxe portable typewriter in good condition. It was purchased. Doug used it for years.

When he began typing, his fingers were not long enough to reach all the keys from the touch-typoing “home position.” So Doug learned to hunt and peck.

Today, he astounds people with the speed of his hunt-and-peck typing. On a familiar keyboard, such as with his Apple Macintosh computers, Doug “pecks” on the keys almost without a “hunt.” He just memorizes the position of the keys.

No one knows what happened to that Royal. But its successor, a Smith-Corona electric typewriter, is still around in a family basement — somewhere.

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Jon Stewart Departing Daily Show Still Defender of Civilization

I remember when the Wall Street Journal recognized Franklin Delano Roosevelt as one of the 20th century’s greatest figures. Because, the newspaper said, FDR saved capitalism.

Jon Stewart hasn’t had the same powerful bully pulpit as FDR had in the White House. Mr. Stewart’s merely had the desk at Comedy Channel’s “Daily Show,” for 17 years. This past week, he announced he’s giving it up.

The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook,Daily Show Video Archive

Jon Stewart is a significant figure in American life because he has been just as committed a defender of our way of life as FDR. Through biting humor (rather than, say, an arsenal of democracy), he has sought to allay our fears of appocalypse by standing tall for good values. Not necessarily “left” or “right” values. Just good values — okay, usually from the left.

After the Paris bombing last month, Mr. Stewart championed the cause of Team Civilization.

“I know very few people go into comedy as an act of courage, mainly because it shouldn’t have to be that,” he said. “It shouldn’t be an act of courage, it should be taken as established law. But those guys at Hebdo had it and they were killed for their cartoons.”

“A stark reminder that for the most part the legislators and journalists and institutions that we jab and ridicule are not in any way the enemy. For however frustrating or outraged the back and forth can become it’s still back and forth, a conversation amongst those on let’s call it ‘Team Civilization.’ And this type of violence only clarifies that reality.”

The Daily Show Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Indecision Political Humor,The Daily Show on Facebook

As Rachel Maddow noted last night, Mr. Stewart spoke up firmly for American values over the pain of public discourse during the rally he held in Washington in 2012 with friend and mentee Stephen Colbert.

“We live now in hard times, not end times,” he told 200,000 people on The Mall in the capital. “And we can have animus and not be enemies.”

After critiquing the role of the media and polarizing views in blocking honest and fruitful discourse, Stewart said, “We [Americans] work together to get things done, every damn day…”

“Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, liberals, or conservatives…”

“Look. Look on the screen,” he said, gesturing to a giant display screen showing the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel, crossing beneath the Hudson River between New York City and New Jersey.

“This is where we are. This is who we are. These cars. That’s a school teacher. He probably thinks his taxes are too high. He’s going to work. There’s another car. A woman with two small kids, can’t think of anything else right now…”

“But this is us. Every one of the cars you see is filled with individuals of strong belief and principles they hold dear — often principles and beliefs in direct opposition to their fellow travelers. And yet these millions of cars mustsomehow  find a way to squeeze one by one into a mile-long 30-foot-wide tunnel carved underneath the mighty river. (Carved by people who, by the way, who, I’m sure, had their differences.)

“And they do it, concession by concession.

"You go, then I’ll go.

"You go, then I’ll go.

"You go, then I’ll go.

“Oh my gosh, is that an NRA sticker on your car?

“Is that an Obama sticker on your car?

“Ahh! Well, that’s okay. You go and then I’ll go.

For a New Jerseyan like Jon Stewart, that’s the epitome of everyday life for Team Civilization.

My Dad used to say that rules of politeness are how we keep from bumping into each other. He might have said that letting strangers go first, letting strangers move ahead, not arguing unless we have a good cause — and then arguing only until a reasonable decision can be reached — is not just the way to keep from bumping into each other.

It’s the Golden Rule, the foundation of Team Civilization.

World News Videos | ABC World News

Here’s to the rest of Jon Stewart’s career.

As Doc Rivers, George Karl, Jerry Sloan, Pat Riley, and especially Phil Jackson moved from NBA players to mentors as NBA coaches, I hope Mr. Stewart will become the foundation of a league of commentators on our society.

His stable of John Oliver, Larry Wilmore, Mr. Colbert, Samantha Bee, Jason Jones, Jordan Klepper, and Aasif Mandvi — and many Daily Show alumni, Steve Carrell included — is already proof that able observers are ready to help us understand who we are through laughter and tears.

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On Macs, The Best Yosemite Feature is The Worst Yosemite Feature

Ring, ring!

Ring, ring!

In the good old days, let’s say during the pre-cell phone 1980s, a family might have had several phones in the house. There’d be a wall-mounted phine in the kitchen, a phone in the living room, and a desk phone in Mom and Dad’s bedroom, perhaps on their desk.

And if Sis was lucky, and if she behaved well, her parents might provide her with an extension phone of her own. If money was plentiful, she might even receive her very own phone line with a separate phone number for total privacy.

The Bell System had some iconic advertisements for such services. They’d picture a teen-aged girl on a frilly bed, yakking on a Princess telephone.

Let’s say Sis didn’t have a line of her own, just an extension phone. When a call came into the house, everyone would hold their breath. Sis’ little-squirt Brother would answer in the Kitchen. All the phones in the house would stop ringing when Brother picked up the kitchen wall phone. He’d yell, “Dad, it’s for you!” Dad would pick up the desk phone in his bedroom. Life would move on.

But let’s suppose the phones did not stop ringing when Brother picked up the kitchen phone. Let’s suppose they kept ringing, even while Dad talked on his extension.

Sis would be annoyed. She’d take her precious Princess phone, yank the connecting cord from the wall jack, and toss the whole thing into the trash.

That’s about what we have with the new “Continuity” feature in “Yosemite,” the still-new version of Apple’s Mac OSX operating system. Yosemite — “version 10.10” to the wonky crowd — turns your iPad and your Mac into extension phones.

Its great whe your iPhone is in another room, or it’s buried at the bottom of your backpack, briefcase, or handbag.

But in the experience of some users — me included — when you answer a phone call, the Mac doesn’t stop ringing. In fact, it doesn’t stop ringing ever. Until you do something drastic. Like yanking the power cord.

That’s what I’ve had to do on one occassion with my 2013-edition iMac. 

It’s a flaw that turns one of Yosemite’s best features into one of its worst features.

Fortunately, as Dave Taylor and many other Apple lovers advise, you can turn off the feature on your Mac. Just follow these instructions.

But it also kills the feature entirely. Not just the ringing. It kills the ability to send or receive telephone calls from your Mac.

And that’s a shame. A real #MacFail. It’s time for Apple to fix it.

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How to decide who inherits your Facebook account Amy-Mae Elliott, mashable.com

Facebook introduced a new legacy contact feature in the U.S. on Thursday — allowing users to choose who can manage their accounts once they've died — and it's something we should all think about activating.

While no one wants to think about his …

These features are a long time coming. I pray that for you, Dear Reader, their activation is a long time in the future. Meantime, it's a good idea to set them up. I'm still trying to get control of my father's Facebook page, more than five years after he died.

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Ibsen has no hope of climbing the drifts on our #ArlingtonMA sidewalk. #Bosnow #masnow (at East Arlington, Massachusetts)

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Brian Williams Deserves The American Privilege of A Second Chance, Just Like Dan Rather

You’ve read about it, and you can even believe it (this time): Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, is going on a six-month suspension without pay for — the gentle term seems to be — “mis-remembering” being aboard a helicopter in Iraq under attack in 2003.

He isn’t the first reporter to be caught in an error. Some lose their careers over it. Some don’t. Dan Rather of CBS had his own problems. And getting a story wrong, even a story about yourself, isn’t as egregious in the journalism world as borrowing someone else’s work. Plagiarism is an automatic fireable offense. It should be, and it’s been the fatal career error for at least one journalist I’ve worked beside.

That said, America is the land of second chances.

So here’s what I think about Brian Williams: 1. The suspension for six months without pay is fair and justified. The chief of NBC Universal made an eloquent, reasonable, and human statement about the difficulty of the matter and the achievements of Mr. Williams. America, at least judging by the #BrianWilliams tag on Twitter, seems to be agreeable to the suspension terms. 2. On the other hand, it’s strange behavior and somewhat unbelievable to think a person could recollect being aboard a helicopter under attack when they were not. It’s not hard to quip that the Fake News anchor is leaving his job and that, oh yes, Jon Stewart announced this week he’s leaving The Daily Show on Comedy Channel. 3. But on balance, this is the land of second chances. It’s based on the values of forgiveness and understanding. It’s based on appreciation of the humanity and frailty of others. Brian Williams is not only benefiting from his professionalism, respect, likability, and large audience, but also from a sense that it’s a strange error we can all make. We’ve all embellished stories. Even journalists, in private. But in public? On occasion, that as well.

Jesus said (John 8:32, NIV), “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

James A. Garfield said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.”

Gloria Steinem said, “The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off.”

And now Brian Williams can say that the truth has set him free, but it’s cost a six-month suspension from the job he loves.

Williams, NBC News, and journalism will survive. This is why we have and also need many sources of news. Pluralism has few better expressions of value than in the news business. Moreover, if news is not about stories of humanity, then what is it about?

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Add More Wow! To Flipboard's Stunning Debut on the Web

Sample image from new Flipboard for the web, as seen inside the Fluid app for Mac computers. Below, the Fluid app turns Flipboard into its own Mac app, complete with an icon on the dock.

Best New Thing on the web? It's Flipboard, the graphic-intensive and highly useful -- as well as visually stunning -- news reader.

Flipoboard announced Tuesday that it's launched a web browser version of its gorgeous mobile app, which has been a mainstay on my iPad and iPhone.

If you haven't tried Flipboard, you haven't given yourself the opportunity to enjoy, customize, and share news in one of the best ways yet imagined.

But if you're a user of Apple's Macintosh computers, then Flipboard can look even better on your MacBook, your MacBookPro, your MacBookAir, your iMac, or your MacPro (got one of those? lucky you!).

The trick is to run Flipboard inside Fluid, the app that turns any website into a native Mac app. For Flipboard, the results of running as a Fluid app are especially impressive.

Here's how to do it:

Download Fluid from http://www.FluidApp.com. You can try with the free version. But, trust me, the $4.99 paid version is so much better. You're going to find yourself making many apps from Fluid; it's the best $4.99 you can spend today.

Run Fluid. Name the new app "Flipboard." The URL to enter in Fluid is https://flipboatrd.com. (After you log in the first time, this URL will take you to your Flipboard just fine.)

Let Fluid create the app. When it's done, let it launch the new app. You'll see a new Flipboard icon in your dock. After the app opens, you can click, lift, and move the icon to a permanent spot in your dock.

If you haven't let Fluid launch the new app, use CMD+spacebar to bring up Spotlight and type in "Flipboard" to find the new app and launch it.

I'm sure every user will configure their Fluid apps differently. Here's what I do to alter the default settings in my Fluid apps preference panes, including the preference pane for your new "Flipboard" app: (a) Go to "Flipboard>Preferences." (b) "Behavior" tab, un-check "warn when closing multiple pages" (c) "Tabs" tab, check "select new tabs and windows as they are created" (d) "Update" tab, select "check for updates on startup" (e) "whitelist" tab, check "allow browsing to any URL" (f) go to View>Customize Toolbar and change the toolbar as you please.

Enjoy one of the best newsreading, news aggregating, and news sharing experiences on the planet.

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Just brushed two inches of snow off the car for the second time today. For the third Monday in a row. Sheesh. (at BridgeportCT)

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Above, Wonkette.com's take on the Vermont controversy includes an obscure Bob Newhart reference: "Hello, I'm Larry; this is my brother Darryl, and these are my brothers, Darryl."

Vermontis Fortis: Stella Quarta Decima Fulgeat

When in Rome and When in Montpelier

Vermont Proposes Official Latin Motto, Wingnuts Tell Vermont To Go Back To Mexico Doktor Zoom, wonkette.com

Here’s a sweet little story of Democracy in Action. A bright eighth grader writes to her state legislator with an idea for a law: Vermont doesn’t have an official Latin motto, so why not adopt one? And for that matter, make it a reference to history …

In Latin: “Stella quarta decima fulgeat.” In English: “May the 14th star shine bright.”

In 1791, Vermont became the 14th state admitted to the union — the first after the original 13 — and thus it is the 14th star on the flag.

But unlike other states in the union, Vermont never adopted a Latin motto. A campaign by a young student from the Northeast Kingdom village of Lyndonville to convince the state legislature in Montpelier to do just that risks being sidetracked by know-nothings who fear a Latin motto will lead to more dreaded immigrants from “Latin" America.

The dimwits — that’d be the reactionary Vermonters, not the Hispanics they dread — are afraid of being overrun by foreigners who speak Latin. Or is it Spanish? Or Italian?

Whatever. The dingbats don’t want Latin Americans in Vermont. This is the type of public relations problem that makes practitioners tear their hair out. How to create a positive message with a teachable moment and a behavior change without resorting to starting off with “Hey, dummies!”

A few commentators have written on social media with unknowing irony that English is the prevailing language in Vermont and (don’t you know?), “When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”

Correct.

Illegitimi non carborundum. Vermontis fortis.

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Can you HEAR it snowing, and icing? (at #EastonCT)