A Side of Blog

Your PRSA Chapter at Work

As you may be aware, a front-page story that ran in the Akron Beacon Journal on Sunday, Nov. 26 by Phil Trexler, thrust our profession into the spotlight. We are happy to report that your Akron-Area Chapter of PRSA responded to Trexler's story.

We believe we have provided thoughtful, appropriate responses to Trexler's perpetuation of stereotypes and misunderstandings about our profession. PRSA Akron President Carrie Ann Kandes, APR, and nominated President-Elect Dr. Jeanette Drake, APR, both authored letters to the Beacon Journal's "Voice of the People." Drake's letter was printed on Monday. Here are both for your review and comment:

Carrie Ann Kandes, President, PRSA Akron

As the president of the Akron-Area Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), I feel compelled to respond to Phil Trexler's recent story about public relations professionals who work for local government entities. I believe Mr. Trexler really missed the point.

The conflict at play in this story is not a new one. Mr. Trexler has targeted an important societal issue, but he misfires when he attempts to identify the cause of the problem. Certainly, it can be argued that teachers, police officers, prosecuting attorneys and other public servants should derive more public value and earn higher salaries than they traditionally have in our society. But I am fairly certain this issue will not be resolved by calling into question the efforts and earnings of senior professionals who also strive to serve the public with work that is effective, meaningful and ethical.

I believe it's important to note that government entities are not exempt from paying the market rate to acquire the services they need. Salaries are set by the free market and are commensurate with a professional's experience. The market rate for a senior-level communications officer is typically higher than the market rate for a police officer or a teacher. Surely, the Beacon Journal's attorneys earn more than reporters, and for similar reasons. Mr. Trexler's story seemed to imply that public relations counselors in the public sector are overpaid simply because others who work for the same entities earn less. Had he compared the salaries of the communications executives he cited to those of professionals in similar positions in the private sector, I believe he would have concluded differently.

While media relations is often the most visible element of the profession, the role of the senior public relations counselor extends far beyond leveraging media relations. That work can range from communicating essential information about everything from schools to traffic control to higher education to products and services that save lives. Perhaps the broader role of public relations was overlooked because reporters are often only exposed to one facet of public relations work - media relations.

The management of media relations is something that is important not only to the organizations we represent but to the media at large. Under the best of circumstances, the relationship between the public relations counselor and the reporter/editor can and should be mutually beneficial. Public relations counselors make decisions about who to put in front of the media that are based largely on the needs and demands of reporters, editors and consumers of news. Certainly a news organization would more often than not choose to speak to the president rather than a cabinet member if given the choice. This situation in comparison to the one noted in Mr. Trexler's story is worth considering.

Akron PRSA represents and supports more than 100 educated, skilled professionals in the Akron area. Many public relations practitioners in this community work relentlessly to increase and communicate the value we all derive from our governments, our employers, the companies we patronize and the organizations we support. They are truly advocates for the clients and organizations they represent. Your story accomplished little more than to perpetuate age-old stereotypes about our profession. Why not get down to brass tracks and talk about the real issues involved in the salaries of teachers, police officers and other public servants? Your readers deserve nothing less.

Dr. Jeanette Drake, President-Elect, Akron PRSA

Akron Beacon Journal reporter Phil Trexler asked important questions in his Nov. 26 story headlined "Image makers at work in Akron."

Residents should question how tax dollars are spent. We should be concerned about the exorbitant pay disparity between top executives and front line workers. After all, American execs have become fat cats, earning 475 times that of an average worker as compared with execs in Hong Kong, Britain and Japan, who respectively earn just 41, 22, and 11 times the average Joe.

Indeed, we should reflect on our values as a society when we compare salaries of folks of every stripe--from athletes and celebrities to teachers, police officers and journalists.

That said, it would be a mistake to underestimate the value of public relations in this 21st Century of hair-trigger communications. A 92 percent placement rate among PR undergraduates and a recently launched master's program in public relations at Kent State University reflect the growing importance of this management function.

It's no coincidence that public relations ranks in the top 20 careers; every organization understands its value.

Just like legal and financial advisors, public relations counselors play a critical role at the top levels of an organization. Simply put, the PR professional acts as a boundary manager--interpreting public will to management and, in turn, interpreting organizational policies and practices to the public.

Promotion and publicity are just two small parts of the much larger scope of public relations, which includes building relationships, building trust and safeguarding an organization's reputation. It includes keeping a finger on the pulse of public opinion, helping an organization and its publics adapt to each other, being prepared for crises, and maintaining mutually beneficial two-way communications.

We all know relationships are no walk in the park, and if image weren't important enough to bankroll, northeast Ohio wouldn't be focused on improving that very thing these days. The truth is, both perception and police curb crime. Image alongside imagination built Silicon Valley.

Although "talk" may not be cheap in terms of the salary that PR executives earn, managing effective communication and good relationships is less costly than the alternative we've seen at every level of government, including botched levy campaigns, disastrous disaster relief and poorly planned wars.

Make no mistake, actions speak louder than words. PR is about more than saying the right thing; it's about doing the right thing. Bottom line, government PR is more than worth its weight in taxes when it puts the public first.

Creating a Successful Internship Experience

By Michele Ewing, Assistant Professor, Kent State University

Part Two: Something for the Employers

In my prior posting, I shared some ideas with students about how they could enhance their internship experiences. Now, let’s discuss some tips for intern employers.

• Develop an employer agreement to confirm the student’s and employer’s expectations. Outline the intern’s responsibilities, learning opportunities, compensation, schedule and other employment terms. The more you treat the student like an employee, the more he/she will view the internship as a job.

• Offer compensation. At Kent State, we encourage our students to seek internships with compensation. While unpaid internships can offer valuable experience, most students either solely or partially financially support themselves. It’s too challenging to juggle classes, an internship and a part-time job. Also, Kent State PR students have marketable skills by the time they're eligible to complete the internship requirement.

• Assign an intern supervisor to manage the internship program and supervise interns. Make sure the intern supervisor has adequate training with managing people. I know it seems like a good opportunity for a young staff member to gain supervisor experience by managing the interns, but take the time to teach staff members about how to manage and mentor people. Supervisors should work with students to develop specific learning objectives for the internship. They should provide ongoing evaluation and candid feedback to help students improve their performances as well as learn about the company and/or clients.

• Make time to carefully explain assignments and rationale behind the strategies and tactics. If a student learns about the objectives and strategies of a media relations program to launch a new product or service, the student will understand the value of updating a media list and tracking news clips. The work will be more meaningful. Be as specific as possible. I know it may feel like you could have the assignment done by the time it takes to explain it to the intern. However, time invested in training should lead to a good return-on-investment on future tasks.

• Invite interns to observe staff, client and other meetings, whenever possible. They can learn a great deal by listening and watching company and client executives. These types of lessons are difficult to teach in the classroom. Remind them about appropriate dress and clearly explain their observational role in the meetings. Afterwards, it would be helpful to spend a few minutes talking about the meeting outcome.

• Help the students build their resumes and portfolios. As you know, the more writing experience, the better. It would be ideal if the students completed various writing projects—news releases, new pitches, newsletters, Web copy— by the completion of their internship. I’ve found that recent graduates are intimidated with talking to the news media. It would be valuable for interns to experience pitching and following up with the news media or even observing others working with the news media.

• Assign a project that an intern can own. One of the best things an intern employer can give a student is confidence in their skills. Many of my students call or write me to share good news about major accomplishments. They tell me how much more confident they feel after successfully completing internship projects. Also, ownership is a great motivator.

• Encourage input. Even the brightest students will feel somewhat intimidated in the real work environment. Provide interns with opportunities to share their viewpoints and ideas. During my agency days, some great ideas came from interns. Sometimes, hearing an intern ask “why,” leads to a better strategy or process.

• Enjoy the energy of college interns. I’ve found working with college students to be a refreshing experience. They remind me of why I pursued a career in public relations and inspire me to take on new challenges. I have the opportunity to be surrounded by all of this energy everyday. It’s one of my favorite things about life in academia.

If you have some additional ideas about how employers can build or enhance internship programs and/or how professors can better prepare students for internships, please share your ideas.

One last note: thanks to all of the public relations professionals who support the Kent State PR sequence by offering internships, serving as class and PRSSA speakers, and participating in the PR Campaigns course and other activities. You help to bring a real-world perspective and professionalism to the PRKent program. It’s much appreciated.

Creating a Successful Internship Experience

By: Michele Ewing, Assistant Professor, Kent State University

Part One of Two: Students, this is for you.

By now, many college students are working at their internship jobs. I thought it might be helpful to start a dialogue about how students and employers can create successful internship experiences this summer. Based on my experiences as a professor and public relations executive, I’ve outlined a few tips that might be helpful. My first blog entry focuses on the students’ needs, and we’ll then post another entry from the employer’s perspective.

Advice for the students

• Be proactive by taking the time to gauge your career interests, strengths and weaknesses. Develop a list of skills that you would like to enhance during your internship, and schedule a meeting with your intern supervisor to discuss these interests. Invest the time to create an internship experience that will jump-start your career. If you hear about a project you’d like to be involved in—speak up. Just make sure you’re on top of all other work before you request more responsibility.

• Attitude is EVERYTHING. Show up willing and ready to work each day. Understand that you’ll be asked to perform mundane tasks like making hundreds of news clip copies. We all recognize that this isn't exciting work, but these tasks need done. Do them with great care and enthusiasm. If you approach every assignment with a good attitude, your supervisor and other staff members will be more likely to give you additional responsibilities and spend time mentoring you. We all want to work with people who are conscientious about their work and enjoy doing their work.

• Look and act like a communications professional. My students and former colleagues know that I’m a big advocate for business dress. If interns look like communications professionals, they’ll more likely to be treated like staff members rather than college students. If you’re appropriately dressed to attend a client/executive meeting everyday, there will be more opportunities to be invited. You need to act the part, too. Gossiping and commiserating will take you down the wrong path. Don’t do it.

• Ask for feedback. Organize a routine time with your supervisor to inquire about your performance. Often, edits may be made to your work without an explanation because of the fast pace of the work environment. Your supervisor and other staff members should be happy to critique your work and explain changes during less, hectic times. And, accept criticism with grace. Learn from it.

• Always take a pen and notebook to meetings. Sounds trivial? However, many college students and entry-level employees often assume they can remember directions. This makes people nervous. Be a good listener. Take notes and spend a few minutes at the end of the meeting to confirm key details, next steps. If you have questions, ask. People would rather take a few minutes answering questions at the onset of a project than deal with confusion later.

• Identify the “stars” and learn from them. In sports, you’ll usually find that you play your best game when you’re playing with better athletes. I used to play a lot of golf (before children), and I always played my best when I was golfing with a better golfer. The same principle applies in the work environment. Observe people who are successful at your company. Watch how they handle themselves in front of clients, colleagues and company executives. An internship is a wonderful opportunity to work with different people and learn from their work styles and communications expertise.

One side note: Consider taking up golf, if you haven’t already. During my agency life, I had the opportunity to have valuable hours of face-to-face time with senior executives because I could swing a golf club. I learned a great deal about my clients and their companies on the golf course, and they got to know me better.

• Be a team player. Don’t be a “clock watcher” at the end of the day. If you observe your supervisor and/or others frantically working to meet a deadline, don’t just pack up and call it a day. Ask if you can help with something. If you have to go to class or make another commitment, offer to come in early or take something home. You’ve heard this before: you need to earn respect. Prove yourself by demonstrating commitment and doing your best work.

We welcome other suggestions about advice for interns. So, please chime in. Look for part two (Now, something for the intern employers) next Monday (6.26).

What's Next? Silly Putty Perfume?

From Ben Brugler (ben@akhia.com)

I know we've been away for a while; so sorry. Did you miss us?

Any way, check out this post I found on Seth Godin's blog:

What's that you're wearing?

Chris Case points us to Play Doh perfume... Play-Doh(R) Brand Modeling Compound Makes a ''Scent-Sational'' Debut as It Celebrates 50 Years.

Posted by Seth Godin on May 15, 2006 | Permalink | TrackBack (1)

Chris Case points us to Play Doh perfume... Play-Doh(R) Brand Modeling Compound Makes a ''Scent-Sational'' Debut as It Celebrates 50 Years.

A Word from Our Sponsor

By: Ben Brugler, secretary, PRSA, Akron / V.P. Akhia Public Relations (ben@akhia.com)

Just checking in...

-I'm more than excited to watch the Cavs in the playoffs. Like a lot of people, I'm a huge LeBron fan (until some recent meetings I was growing what resembled a beard, showing my support for the bearded wine and gold). Of course his game one performance was historic, becoming only the third player to record a triple double in his first career post season game. What I'm amazed by is how savvy he is off the court too. Not sure if you saw his post-game conference, but when handed a bottle of Aquafina by the media assistant, LeBron quickly took his bottle under the table, removed the label and put it back on the table. See, LeBron endorses Sprite, a Coke brand beverage. Coke's bottled water brand is Dasani.

-Speaking of supporting a brand, I saw a movie every PR practioner should see: 'Thank you for smoking'. This movie cuts to the core of defending your brand v. defending your livelihood. And presents some very interesting points of view. Go see it.

-I wrote about Go Tarts in my last 'Word...' This one is no different; more exciting news from Pop Tarts as they unveiled a new flavor, Apple Streudel. I'm not a fruit flavor guy (Brown Suger Cinnamon all the way), but this is very good.

-I'm sure most of you saw Issac Hayes quit as the voice of 'Chef' on South Park. A lot of rumor here, but word has it that he did it because of the show's abuse of Scientology. Some other sources say it's because of the show's abuse of religion in general. My take on both: 1.) if it's Scientology, this makes Mr. Hayes a hypocrite; it's ok to pick on other religions, but not his? 2.) if it's religious abuse in general, did Mr. Hayes just start watching the show? Just curious what made it ok the first eight seasons.

-Finally, I've been watching an awesome show on VH1 called 'Best Week Ever' since it debuted almost three years ago. If you're not watching it, start. You won't be disappointed.

I Stood and Cheered

Hello NE Ohio. Welcome to the blogosphere.

By Luke Armour

As a graduate student in The School of Communication at The University of Akron I have had the pleasure of learning a great deal about PR theory, application, and practice. One thing I have taken upon myself to learn about most, though, is the new media and social software permeating the public relations industry. It's a time of great change and a time of uncertainty. No doubt you have seen news articles in traditional media commenting ominously about blogs. No doubt you've been hearing from clients asking, "what is a podcast and should we be doing it?" Surely you've thought to yourself, "did I leave the iron on?" But not all of those questions can be answered simply.

I have been studying these things since October of last year and am actually writing my graduate project on using the Internet to build and sustain relationships in PR. It's fascinating, scary, and wondrous all at the same time. Up until now I have been rather disappointed in, not only with the lack of participation, but apparent lack of interest, in NE Ohio PR professionals' involvement with the new technologies. I'm incredibly excited about PRSA Akron's new venture, special thanks to Akhia for sponsoring the movement.

One thing I have learned about all of this, these new technologies aren't replacing our current channels, just adding to them. For yourselves, for your clients, for the target publics, these new media are just additional methods for implementing our strategies and achieving our goals. As my virtual mentor Shel Holtz says, "new media don't kill old media," and he's right. PR just adds them to the toolbox.

I'd like to mention a couple of resources to help anyone who has an interest in learning more about these channels.

The New PR Wiki ( http://www.thenewpr.com/) is an excellent resource with loads of information about blogging for business, which CEOs are blogging, RSS resources, how to blog, how to pitch bloggers, relevant content about more traditional PR, and so very much more. Moderated by Constantin Basturea, it is a real gem.

Secondly, I just finished reading a book entitled Blogging for Business: Everything you need to know and why you should care by Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulous (2006, Chicago: Kaplan Publishing). It's an excellent resource with really great background info and practical applications.

Lastly, my co-graduate student (and fellow blogger) Elizabeth Farrell and I gave a presentation on social media to our PRSSA Chapter in early February. We have posted our PowerPoint and a PDF ( http://homepage.mac.com/lukearmour/PRSSA/FileSharing8.html ) of some additional social media information from the meeting. Feel free to download those to have a look. A lot has changed since early February (in the online PR world and in what we've learned), but it's not a bad intro. The San Antonio PRSA blog linked to it as well as the PRSA February 15th Issues and Trends E-newsletter.

Again, welcome. I honestly stood and cheered when I heard Akron PRSA was blogging, for so many reasons. Thank you. I'm so eager to read the thoughts of local PR pros and join in discussion with them about all things PR (or not!).

A HUGE Thanks!

By Kate Eidam Frail VP, PRSA Akron

Sr. AE, Robert Falls & Co.

A HUGE thanks to the 17 professionals (listed below) who hosted a student as part of PRSA Akron’s Student Development Month in March. They shared their knowledge, experiences and advice with 19 students from the University of Akron and Kent State University.

Ben Brugler – Akhia Public Relations

Madonna Chism Pinkard – WFMJ

Judy DeShon – LearningRx

Kate Dunlap – Lockheed Martin

Melissa Edler – Kent StateUniversity

Lianne Fowler – American Heart Association

Bob Goricki – Malone Advertising

Jim Houck – Marcus Thomas

Katina Jones – GOJO Industries

Chris Keppler – InfoCision Management Corp.

John Kerezy – MetLife Cleveland Partners Financial Group

Jeremy Mathis - Northlich

Marcas Miles – Goodwill Industries of Akron

Jennifer Shankleton – First National Bank

Jacque SirLouis – First Merit Bank

Emily Sword – Smiley Hanchulak Marketing Communications

Wendy Turrell – Akron Symphony Orchestra

March’s Student Development Month is just one way that PRSA Akron and our members work to invest the next generation of PR professionals. A number of members recently spent time on campus at Akron and Kent at PRSSA-sponsored events participating in resume/cover letter review sessions. We would like to extend our appreciation to these members as well!

A Day in the Life of an Intern, p.ii

By Kristen Sheets, Akhia Public Relations, Intern

Part Two: The afternoon (Catch "Part One: The morning" in last week's posting)

12:36 pm

Lunch break at Akhia. Some days I bring in food, others I bring food in and decide that the place where everyone else is going is better than what I have in the refrigerator.  Today is no exception.  Mindy and I run to Brugger’s and pick up a bagel and head back to the conference room where everyone sits for lunch, obviously depending on how much work they have to get done.  We sit and dish about our weekends, our boyfriends, and of course what is going on in the lives of Nick and Jessica Simpson (once again talking about them like we are all good friends of theirs)

1:15 pm

Back at my desk.  Check up on my email again to make sure nothing else came up while I was eating.  I have some new business stuff to take a stab at and send to Jan, the president.  All of the mass emails come to me to, which enables me to understand exactly what is going on with all of the clients.  In my last job, I steered clear of the boss because he was so unfriendly, here, I always feel like I can stop in and talk to Jan or anyone else.  It’s a completely “open cubicle” environment here.

1:48 pm

I should work on logging my hours for today and last Friday. To get paid, I am expected to log my hours.  This gives me a chance to look at what I really did during the day and if I budgeted my time well. 

2:10 pm

Status report time.  There is a weekly meeting to determine the status on projects around the agency.  My job is to take notes during that meeting and set them up in an excel document to send out to everyone.  This actually is the first one I have done, so I’m kind of unsure how exactly to format it.  So, I’ll be traveling around to the AE’s to make sure everything is included. 

3:10 pm

Check email again.  Nothing new yet, but time will only tell.  Depending on my workload for the day, I leave anywhere from 3-5.  I do not have a strict work schedule.  Akhia understands that I am still in school, and class work is very important since I am planning on graduating in 7 short weeks.  If something comes up, I am able to tell Lindsay and we figure out a way to get my work done for the afternoon. 

3:20 pm

Finish up the press kits and copies.  Back to my arch enemy, the copy machine.

4:10 pm

Status report is finished as well as the press kits.  Last minute checks to the email and end of the day meeting with Lindsay.  I usually stop in to let her know what I finished during the day and what is on my plate for the following day.  At Akhia, I work Monday, Wednesday and Friday and Tuesday and Thursday I have my classes.  Everyone is completely flexible here.  Pretty much, this is an amazing internship, but I guess I’m partial. 

4:30 pm

Say my goodbyes and head back to school to tackle my other job: living in a dorm room the size of my cubicle with a roommate. 

A Day in the Life of an Intern, p.i

By Kristen Sheets, Akhia Public Relations, Intern

Part One: The morning (Catch "Part Two: The afternoon" next week)

9:30 am:

I love Mondays.  Stepping in the door, I am consumed by the smell of coffee, as usual, and head back to my cubicle, which surprisingly has become very cozy. After turning on my laptop, I check all my emails from the previous weekend.  Next step, take out my favorite thing on my desk:  my AKHIA pad of paper which holds my to do list for the day.  On today’s plate: finish 600 copies of press releases, construct 50 press kits, continue making follow-up calls, work on agency status report, and finish brackets for this month’s Word Has It (WHI).   

9:38 am:

Busted!  I just got caught pouring the last of the regular coffee into my cup. Mental note:  Learn how to use Akhia coffee pot!

9:42 am:

Meet with my internship advisor.  As a routine, every morning when I come in, Lindsay and I talk about what we have going on for the day.   Lindsay makes sure she knows what I have going on and lets me know what she needs me to do for the day.  We usually talk for about 20 minutes, but it isn’t unusual that we stray from the topic a little.  Lindsay is the person I go to for any questions or concerns I have really about anything.  Being in intern, I know I have a lot to learn, and it’s nice to have someone I can ask to help me out.  I now consider Lindsay a mentor.  I feel like over the last two months, I have learned more here than I did at school.  It’s such a different experience actually in the field than sitting in a classroom. 

10:00 am:

I believe the scariest thing when you start working somewhere is the fear of sending out a mass email.  I have come to master this and now even have my own signature at the bottom (I would have had it sooner, but I couldn’t figure out how to do it!).  I no longer hold that fear of pressing the send-to-all button on the top of my screen.  Today’s mass email:  send me your winners for this years NCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Championship.  I am writing a blurb for this month’s WHI on the championship and who Akhia thinks will take the title.  WHI is a monthly newsletter sent out by the company. I have been writing topics for it since I started. In January, I started small, and ended up way off the map in regards to the actual topic of the newsletter.  Now, two months later, I write a good amount of the letter.  Writing this gives everyone a chance to see the way I write as well as what I am interested in. 

10:10 am:

Set up a word document for the brackets as they come in from emails.

10:25 am:

Message waiting.  I walked away to start the copy machine and I magically have a message waiting on my voicemail.  Akhia got me a phone because of the amount of calls I make during the day. They allow me a long leash in regards to the work they give me.  I do not feel like I am just an intern here.  They value the work I am doing for them and they let me know.  They also are great at giving me feedback.  After I write releases, each AE makes sure to go over the changes with me so I understand how to make my writing better. 

10:35 am:

Start follow-up calls while also printing releases from the copy machine.  I have come to love the copy machine; however, I seem to break it pretty much every time I use it.  It’s more of a running joke around the office now.  Whenever it is malfunctioning, I am usually the person that was last to copy something.  Recently, it completely shut off while I was copying and when it booted back up there were about a zillion arrows on the screen pointing to places where a mis-fed occurred.   I swear the copy machine has it out for me!

10:55am:

The 600 copies are finished.  Ran over to see how Patsie wanted me to ship them out.  She explained to me how to get a courier to pick them up. Everyday I learn a different way to ship.  I just recently mastered shipping from UPS.  I made the calls, boxed up the releases, and wrote out the labels. 

11:05 am:

Back to my computer.  Grey’s Anatomy usual Monday morning talk.  My cubicle is located back in the creative space, otherwise known as “the cave”.  All of the ladies back there watch mostly the same television shows, so typically we dish about the previous nights line up.  Last night was Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy.  We all know the characters and really speak about them like they are our good friends.  When I started this was an easy way for me to get to know people I work with.  A love for television engulfs Akhia.  We have a 'Survivor' pool going where the employee whose person gets voted off has to bring in a treat on the following Monday.  The winner receives the cash everyone threw in to play. Enough gossip, back to my follow-up calls.

..to be continued...

A Word From Our Sponsor

By: Ben Brugler, secretary, PRSA, Akron / V.P. Akhia Public Relations (ben@akhia.com)

"Yes, I love technology..."

-Kip Dynamite singing to his new bride, Lawfandah, Napoleon Dynamite

It's true; I love technology. We should all love technology. Especially blogs. Why? Well, it's our excuse to write about whatever we want to. In fact, it's encouraged. Blogs are mildly measurable, their primary purpose is to raise awareness, build morale, support relationships; in other words, let their authors write on the topics of their choice, show their soft sides - be themselves. And to do this, we bloggers have license to write on anything - from the PR profession to pop culture. For example:

-A good case study in public image is waging right now; be sure to take a close look at the Nick v. Jessica feud. Yikes. It's playing out pretty well in the likes of Us and InTouch. But thanks to brother Drew's Dancing with the Stars recent victory, and because of my Ohio-bias, I have to say the Lachey camp is winning.

-My wife, a marketing communication teacher, started a unit on new products. She has some pretty exciting stuff to cover right now, most notably the new berry Lucky Charms (good stuff) and Go Tarts, the on the go Pop Tart (looks like a candy bar, but has LESS fat than an actual Pop Tart).

-The Oscars were on this week; I watched as I always do. Not a lot of exciting things, however, two things I noticed: has there ever been more horrible songs for original song; the make-up category must have been slim pickings if 'Cinderella Man' is being considered. I mean, how hard is it to make someone look like they've been in a fight? This is the standard of good movie make-up?

-Finally, if you're not watching '24'....you're making a big mistake.

See; we can write on anything! And just a heads-up - I plan on doing that.