How to Hire HighVizPR, Part 2

Hiring a PR Firm - more than an in-house marketer
Advertisement - What we're hearing from HighVizPR clients and associates:

"Getting your company noticed is becoming rapidly more difficult as consumers are increasingly saturated with brand information. A company such as HighViz, which takes an approach that considers marketing, communications, and public relations is an advantage. ---"Chris David, Founder Venture Street http://www.venturestreet.com/

"I have found highvizpr.com to be the bridge between the demand for quality programs and speakers for companies and corporations by matching the supply of high impact speakers and trainers that HighVizPR can offer."---David K. Aaker, President Aaker and Associates http://www.davidkaaker.com/

"If [HighViz's] Abbe Buck had lived in the fifteenth century, she would have been first to invent the printing press. Her imagination and creativity in approaching her work often translates to an elegant and deployable solution. It just translates into results!"---Charles Wade CMMi Deployment Manager BAE National Security Solutions

"The buck really stops at Abbe's. God broke the mold when he gave us the PR talent that is Abbe Buck. I hope that she never leaves the business because we all need help!"----Marvin Powell, Commissioner The Fairfax County Small Business Commission

Click here for more about "HighViz-Ability"Is PR the new journalism? Read HVPR's daily PR BLOGSHVPR Top Stories

Now, for the PR Topic: Hiring a PR Firm

Here is some information for future reference * - Bookmark this pageHiring a PR Firm - HighVizPR

How can a company or individual know if it needs to hire a public relations firm?There are many factors to weigh when considering if you need to hire outside help to obtain the public relations, media relations, marketing boost, promotional or advertising assistance needed to take your company to the next level.

If you aren't completely certain, after debating the pros and cons ask these questions:

Are we getting all the PR we deserve?
Is our competition getting more than their fair share of media coverage?
Would media coverage bring more business to the firm?
Do we have a PR strategy for continuous year round media coverage?
Do we need In House PR - if so, is our in-house "PR person or department" overburdened with "in-house" work like the company newsletter?

First of all, let's define a PR firm: Some people interchange a PR firm with a marketing firm, or marketing agency, or even an ad agency. Basically a public relations firm handles media relations and is the interface between a company and the news media. Some who happen to do business development or act as majordomos, facilitating high-level introductons between corporations and organziations. This falls into the realm of marketing.A public relations firm or publicist will "pitch" the media on a story idea involving a company, invention or author. A good pitch about a story that would interest the people who read, watch or listen to a particular media outlet gets coverage. I want you to place this in mind about YOUR ORGANZIATION. Is there something that is topical that you can speak about week after week that will continue to capture the ATTENTION of the media and the public?- such as "EAS promotes new health product, to enrich lives of thousands of current and future customers", as did "Martha Stewart released from Camp Cupcake." You see, it is all relative here.

Many larger companies rely on in-house staff trained in public relations or marketing while others hire PR consultants or publicists to handle their PR campaigns. While you may not hire in-house, you may want to at least farm out an idea weekly and PUBLISH it somewhere, at least on your website to tie into product launches and promotions.

Joe Nicassio, author of Guerrilla PR Brand Manager, goes into my point even more in depth.Joe says that whether a company should conduct its public relations, marketing or advertising campaigns internally or externally should be determined by these factors (questions):Do you NEED solid, consistent media exposure week after week, or are you satisfied with "occasional" exposure? Do you have the internal staff and expertise to commit the internal resources to your public relations, marketing, advertising efforts?

If you have the internal staff, and they understand Guerrilla PR principles, then there may be no reason to hire an outside agency. Paradoxically, the busier you get, the easier it is to parlay, or "set aside" consistent, important PR activities. Don't get caught in that trap!"Public Relations is a craft that requires Passion," adds Nicassio. "You may need PR, and you may even have the people to conduct your public relations, marketing, advertising campaigns but that's not enough. To be truly effective, your PR campaigns must be conducted with Passionate Consistency."In my opinion, here is a list of reasons why it makes good business sense to hire a public relations firm to market your product or service:PR firms can get you TV and radio coverageA PR firm can get you interviewed on radio and TV.Every day thousands of interviews are conducted on TV and Radio stations across the North America and several hundred are with experts and authors. If your own in house PR person is not trying to get interviewed by the producers of those shows they won't find you because they simply don't have time to look for you amongst the many interesting people clamoring for their attention.PR firms have regular contact with national media outlets

PR firms are in regular contact journalists, editors, writers and producers from top national magazines, newspapers and radio/TV programs.When was the last time you talked to representatives from ABC's 20/20... Prime Time. CNN... People... Good Morning America... Newsweek... Publishers Weekly... Family Circle... Forbes... ABC Radio Network... Time Magazine... Dateline NBC... The View... Oprah's O magazine... Fortune Small Business... Cosmopolitan... Fox News... Good Housekeeping or Newsweek?Probably not lately. And your in-house PR person probably has not either. The reason? Your in-house person has not established the relationships with these media outlets. A PR firm with several clients can pitch one, two or three stories while talking to the same reporter or producer. An in house PR department does not have this synergy which leaves your firm out of the loop.PR firms have multiple resources such as an "experts subscription service" HighVizPR and other top PR firms belong to paid subscription services which provide dozens of leads everyday from media members looking for an expert to comment on a particular story. PR firms present you and your firm as an authority on a particular topic and request an interview. The media will, in nearly every case, mention your firm in the story as it establishes your credibility with the reader.

Your in-house person is not likely to know about this service or perhaps the several thousand dollars a year it costs to get the leads is not cost effective for a firm to buy this service. However a PR firm can spread this cost over several clients and glean the hundreds of daily queries looking for the one that may work for you.PR firms can provide media training.

Regardless of your experience most executives need media training. PR firms use media trainers to prep their clients. When you use a PR firm they have access to the best ones in the business. Why do you need one? Just watch the interview talk shows you can tell when an inexperienced executive is being interviewed. A good trainer will show you how to "plug" your company, product or service without sounding like an overbearing salesperson. The training helps you capitalize on every interview and maximize each opportunity to the fullest.A PR firm can get your press release to the top of the heap.

For your story to compete for attention in the "hard news" slot it must be compelling and people need to care about it. "On a tour of the Detroit News a couple of years ago," says Joe Nicassio. "I asked to be taken to the mailroom. There I saw 20 giant four-foot tall mailbags that come into the mailroom every day. All I could think of was how many thousands of press releases were in that pile, and how the odds of any one of them seeing the light of day were not good. If your press release is in that pile, you want your story to get to the top of the heap and a PR firm can improve your odds dramatically." Public relations professionals also have built up contacts in the media, who trust them for story ideas, and will know where to pitch a certain type of story.

As for ongoing fees most firms operate on a monthly retainer basis and a minimum time commitment ranging from a few months to a few years. The level of the fee depends upon the scope of the project. Will it take five people, one person? Is the firm interested in local, state, regional, national or international public relations? Is the firm public or private? If it's public there are more SEC required reports that need filling as well as other government regulations. All of this will affect the rate quoted.So it's best to determine what you want and then work with the firm that has a track record of accomplishments and media placement. Good PR is more than hot air; it requires continuous implementation of a well thought out strategy to get results.

The following checklist is suggested in part by Guerilla Marketing Brand Manager's Joe Nicassio to "size up" any public relations firm you are considering to hire:

Do you get along with the members of the firm? Hiring a PR agency is a collaboration that you can benefit from, month after month, year after year. Quality rapport is an essential ingredient.

Are they realistic, in terms of managing your expectations, or do they promise "pie in the sky"? It's one thing for a PR firm to promise results; it's another thing to promise "specific" results.

Maybe you'd like to get on Oprah Winfrey from the start...so would everyone else. But be prepared to take advantage of several secondary media opportunities before you get to the top tier. Several base hits can score you more runs than going for the grand slam every time.

Is the PR firm creative? Creative PR people will come up with more "angles" to test.

Do they understand how to pitch your story? A progressive PR firm will be effective AND efficient at telling your story -- yielding you more media coverage.

Do they listen to what you say? Let's face it...your PR needs are constantly evolving. Your PR firm should listen and respond to your unique, evolving needs.

Are they using a "hard sell" to get you to sign? A good PR firm is a busy PR firm. They don't need to sell you. Their track record will allow you to decide based on the evidence.

Do they have local, regional, national media contacts? When you go to a great PR firm, they have cultivated several strategic media relationships, over many years of time.

Do they have the contacts to place your story in front of the appropriate media?Did they outline a campaign game plan for you? You can predict the effectiveness of a PR firm by the soundness of their overall strategic approach.

Have you seen samples of their work? Track record comes in the form of Quality of exposure, in addition to the Quantity of exposure.

Do you feel that they will carry out your PR campaign with consistent Passion?Do you should feel comfortable with the fee and the contract? Getting good PR is a process. It requires well thought out plans, implemented with passion, and a focus on results in the form of getting your story told to the world.

So, whether you conduct your public relations efforts from within or whether you hire an outside PR firm, if media exposure is valuable to you and your firm then you must include public relations as an ongoing systematic part of your marketing mix.

# # #

HighViz Consulting Group
Abbe Buck, Principal Consultant, Publicist
Strategic Communications and Public Relations
(703) 753-4100 - 1-800-380-2825
http://www.highvizpr.com/
http://www.highvizconsulting.com/
CHALLENGE US TODAY!
Take our HighViz PR - PROMO CHALLENGE!Just 24 hours to conceptwww.highvizpr.com

PR Portfolio on PR WEB: http://www.prweb.com/firm/prf2741.htm*
Labels: guerilla, high visibility, Marketing. corporations, promotions, Public Relations

# # #

How to Hire HighVizPR - Part 1

HighViz’s step by step guide, or how Marketing + Promotion
= solid PR

1. A publicist gets press coverage (in all types of media) for their clients. Many times an Information Officer or a Business Development Manager may perform many of the same duties as publicists, only they respond passively to inquiries about promotion (they seek corporate function, or sales may be the bottom line). At HighViz, we believe that a true publicist actively seeks an interested audience in almost any venue (from a trade publication to the internet), and is, in effect, selling the image, the “brand” through marketing to the media.

2. The publicist is often the middleman between the high-profile personality or an entrepreneur with a new service or product, and members of the media. The HighViz Publicist usually wants their clients to receive positive acclaim, but many publicists surveyed by our own marketers have noted the old adage that “the only bad publicity is no publicity.” As politicians and captains of industry require a little more specific ‘spin’ on their press-they want to be seen as forward-looking and confident, we have found that a smaller or mid-range company is seeking more permanent exposure in the very same fashion as they continue to grow.

3. Publicists also perform damage control, attempting to counteract any undesirable press coverage the client receives. This position as “last line of defense” is what distinguishes the adequate publicist from the extraordinary one. Good publicists can turn scandal into opportunity and create valuable name-recognition for their clients. At HighViz, we have found that in an uncertain society (the faster things move, the more facts must be checked!) “Relationship Management” is damage control, as we strive to either defend a client, or position them in the most favorable light possible.

4. Publicists don’t only work for the famous. Our clients at HighViz might include a little-known person or industry and we create reasons for them to receive press coverage. In a case where a company desiring publicity is hampered by its “esoteric nature or technical jargon”, such as with an attorney speaking of corporate governance or Information Technology pertaining to a top Government Intelligence agency must be explained, the publicist must translate its positions into easily understandable language without losing its intended message or appeal.

5. THE DAILY GRIND (or a typical day at HighViz Consulting Group): A major part of HighViz’s publicist’s day is spent writing press releases, creating press packets, launching websites and web simulcasts, which have photos and information about the publicized person or company. Publicists spend a lot of time on the phone. As we put in long hours, we actually thrive under hectic conditions, as we must adhere to strict deadlines which coincide with publicity events, as we work with a magazine for the launch of a type of business practice or a new product in comparison to the release of a movie or the publishing of a book. It is HighViz’s Job #1 -- to ensure that we will get the appropriate information to all media (from newspaper to web simulcast) in time for the event they are generating publicity for, such as a record release or automotive sale, or a top-flight seminar. HighViz is always available for comment (even when that comment is “no comment” at all!) In this, we always remain friends with the media, no matter how demanding the desires of both clients and the reporters on whom they depend (and trust us, we love this stuff!)

So do you wonder, at the end of the day, do we go to the hottest parties in town, the ones for our clients at a movie premiere or a seminar, or at the National Press Club, The Omni Shoreham, the Mark Hopkins? (---we do attend, if you ask us to!).


Here is what we do at HighViz…..


Ø Public relations, marketing, and event planning are also conducive to our full-service infrastructure for our clients.

Ø “HighViz is a project company” Public relations, sales, promotion of a new brand, launch marketing, and event planning are also conducive to our full-service infrastructure for our clients.

Ø We firmly believe that an event planner creates events to generate interest in whatever the publicist is promoting.

Ø We also have our marketers study the community to determine how the client is perceived and how its members feel his image could be improved on an ongoing basis.

Ø Advertisers and writers often create the materials used by publicists, to which HighViz is asked to incorporate in much of our marketing, promoting and “publicizing”. As we work in this milieu, we also can determine where and how frequently the company should advertise As Booking agents are responsible for procuring venues for publicity and anticipating the effect the events will have on the client’s image, HighViz will also follow along these lines. . For instance, we believe that our customer may have to weigh the exposure that comes from being a keynote speaker at an association’s convention or corporate event to being a guest on a major talk show, holding their own against the potential friendliness or the hostility of the host!


So, talk to us….so we can talk for you! We’re at 1-800-380-2825


HighViz is a project company:
1600 Tysons Blvd., #1600, McLean, VA 22102
www.highvizpr.com
highvizpr@yahoo.com


# # #

The boss and the tao of existing in a day job - a personal haiku

i took a brief respite from HIGHVIZPR and advertisement for myself
i decided to work for a small "beltway bandit" in the underbrush of northern, va
and then
i met mr. boss, my c o.o.
he needed things done to take the firm to the next level ASAP

Suddenly i did things that could not be done before for this little corp.
Good. but is the norm for me.

then I had a surprise
all at once felt every bit my age,
then at once i am (this) 33 year old highly paid secretary,
like miss marmelstein you know,
who graduated from cc n -y,
and then i find i am just
like a giggly 15 year old back in high school.
it's been a long time since i have been 15.
like a clumsy colt at the starting gate seeking approval
i simply do not need anymore
or do i?

just like with my with my HVPR clients, i was needed!
even though i was just an 'employee',
i liked it!

would i do pr?
would i be a biz dev gal?
a facilitator to federal agencies (i cannot divulge the work,
but diverse it was and is)

but my days are numbered...
you see, i can only go so far, and then i have to move it forward -
it will be time to go
a gig is a gig'and this is not my gig

about this mr boss fellow--
is this regular joe the c .o. o. cool as in joe cool?
oh, no never in a million years.
but there is a quality about him, a rumpled lawyer look and sound,
and a stubborness that is intriguing.
to challenge it/ him would be futile.

even if i influence decisions for this company''s good,
the direction taken may not be the road i want to keep travelling.
it is a 'day job'.
someday for certain i'll want my old life back.

((( if i knew mr. c.o.o.
in another life i would throw back
the vodkas with abandon,
i surely would )))
maybe i have a little schoolgirl crush on the working dynamic,
but to be a secretary forever is not what my calling is
FOR I AM A PUBLICIST

O, Charles Grodin, where for art thou now?

--ab

Do NOT try to steal your teen's new guitar on Christmas!

... ..

Happy New Year 2007!

....

-115 and still going. No sugar, no flour, period.

Previously----
My -88 story and thanks to Gov. Huckabee are right here:

AbbeBuckPR -in the business of "High-Viz-Ability": -88 "HighViz ...
Thursday, June 22, 2006. -88 "HighViz P.R." for myself, or, I owe GOV Mike Huckabee (R-AK), a great BIG HOOAH! a HIGHVIZ Memorandum: From: Abbe Buck[PR] ...
abbebuckpr.blogspot.com/2006/06/88-highviz-pr-for-myself-or-i-owe-gov.html -

Mike Huckabee President 2008: June 2006
Abbe Buck, a Washington DC public relations specialist, says she owes Mike Huckabee "a ... ...
I lost 88 lbs in 7 mos. I have 88 to go..." Congrats, Abbe! ..."
mikehuckabeepresident2008.blogspot.com/2006_06_01_mikehuckabeepresident2008_archive.html

Stats:
My top weight was over 300 lbs.
I put down the sugar and flour 11 months ago.
I will lose another 50, perhaps even more. I MUST.
Because I am alive.
2/3 of the world are sugar and food addicts.
Are you an addict like me?
There is hope for us.

# # #

Go, Huckabee, Go! the advice you shared helped SAVE MY LIFE

--from the New York Times:

DROPS 100 LBS.: The Slenderized Governor From Arkansas, With Advice to Share...

STORY:

September 10, 2006
The Slenderized Governor, With Advice to Share

By SHAILA DEWAN

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., Sept. 8 — Mike Huckabee has been the governor of Arkansas for a decade, but he is most famous for what he has done in the last three years: lose more than 100 pounds and encourage other Arkansans to follow his example.

As he contemplates a bid for the Republican nomination for president in 2008, the slenderized governor has inspired a host of imitators, including Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, who shed 33 pounds, and Gov. Haley Barbour of Mississippi, who promised in June to go on a diet. These and other Southern politicians say they are trying to set an example for their constituents, who exhibit the highest rates of obesity in the country.

But for those who would join the health crusade, Mr. Huckabee’s tale includes a cautionary thread. In the South, the fight against obesity is essentially a culture war. And while the campaign may have raised Mr. Huckabee’s national profile, not everyone here appreciates a governor whose policies include weighing schoolchildren and sending home report cards on their body mass index.

Mr. Huckabee, a teetotaler who now rises before dawn to jog five miles, has been accused of nagging the populace, banning birthday cakes in schools (not true, he says) and trampling the personal freedoms of smokers with an indoor smoking ban. While he says he uses the carrot, not the stick, to encourage better health, his virtue alone has a way of making people like Pearletha David, the owner of David Family Kitchen, a soul food restaurant here, feel henpecked.

“I think it’s fine for him,” Ms. David said, putting her hands on her hips. “But he ain’t got to make the whole state lose weight.”

After the governor’s nutritional guidelines for school lunches took effect, one girl wrote a letter to him demanding “real food” like nachos and pizza. A columnist for The Baxter Bulletin imagined a future of diners picking at their “sautéed soybeans with flavor-free dressing” and discussing the criminalization of cheese curls.

Despite the efforts, the state’s obesity rate among adults has actually increased since last year, according to the Trust for America’s Health.

Mr. Huckabee counters that changing dietary habits is a long-term, generational project, and says that in three years of recording children’s body mass index and reporting it to parents, the number of children at risk of obesity has decreased — by half of 1 percent.

Mr. Huckabee knows what he is up against, namely all-you-can-eat buffets, cheese grits and a local ice cream flavor called Woo Pig Chewy. One of his own family dogs is named Sonic, after the fast-food chain whose cherry limeades are favored by his wife, Janet.

“It’s not just your culture,” he said, speaking in his office in the Capitol building. “It’s your comfort.”

But Mr. Huckabee insists that a lifestyle revolution can happen, citing four behaviors that have been reshaped over the years by concerted government effort: littering, seatbelt use, smoking and drunken driving.

“In each of those cases, in my lifetime, I have seen the needle move from one side to the other,” he said. “People used to throw entire sacks of trash out of their cars without thinking it was inappropriate.”

Mr. Huckabee’s health obsession began in 2003, when he received a diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, which can sometimes be controlled by diet and exercise. At the time, he weighed close to 300 pounds.

With the help of doctors at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, the governor went on a strict diet and began to exercise, shedding weight so rapidly that it was as if he simply unzipped a fat suit and stepped out. He wrote a book called “Quit Digging Your Grave With a Knife and Fork.” In March 2005, he ran the Little Rock marathon in 3 hours 38 minutes.

But Mr. Huckabee’s change of eating habits has put him in another sort of bubble. He no longer eats at banquets and receptions. He keeps a cooler of food in his car. On a recent day, an acquaintance started to offer him a slice of homemade cheesecake, then stopped herself. “I’d give it to you, but then I’d be digging your grave with a fork and a plastic knife,” she said.

The governor insists he does not want to create a “nanny state” or a “grease police.” Many of his policies include incentives like exercise breaks for state employees. He has expanded state insurance coverage to cover obesity treatment. He advocated restricting access to vending machines for high school students and replacing the sugary sodas in them with juice and water.

Arkansas is one of a handful of states where the nutritional guidelines for school lunches are stricter than the federal requirements.

But some critics say Mr. Huckabee’s crusade has more rhetoric than substance. Part of his Healthy Arkansas initiative is to give a seal of approval to restaurants that offer healthful alternatives and nutritional information, but critics point out that the list of 106 restaurants includes a Burger King, a Pizza Hut and 52 McDonald’s.

The policy that has brought the most attention to the governor, however, was not his initiative. In the spring of 2003, Herschel W. Cleveland, then the Arkansas House speaker, introduced a bill to remove vending machines from elementary schools and send home the body mass index report cards.

The bill passed easily, but the public generally did not notice until Mr. Huckabee had become the health governor. The news made national headlines and brought vehement objections from parents concerned about government intrusion and fragile young egos, recalled the sponsor, State Representative Jay Bradford, a Democrat, who spoke by telephone from his office in Pine Bluff. “I’m also thin, by the way,” Mr. Bradford added.

For those who would change Southern eating habits, though, there is always the problem of tradition and identity. And though Mr. Huckabee is not naïve, his strategy for tackling the issue is optimistic. “There’s much more to celebrate in a person’s health than there is about just what they eat,” he said.

Comment: he is right about that.

# # #

Glenn Ford, 1916 - 2006

.

From the Los Angeles Times: How topical it is today!

As a commander in the Naval Reserve, Ford spent a month in South Vietnam in 1967.

Accompanied by a Marine Corps camera crew, he filmed combat locations for "Global Marine," a documentary training movie for recruits.

"People who come out here for a visit and go back with pat opinions about how the war is going to be won are fools," Ford told The Times at the end of his trip to the war zone.

"This is a vicious war, a unique war, with no simple answer, but I think the complicated problem we face here cannot be appraised and judged by anyone who has not been here."

Naval Commander Ford, who was the Brad Pitt of his day, (trust me on that!) knew what it was all about. He never won an oscar. Never even had a nomination in the academy (but he made sure William Holden had the win for "Stalag 17" in 1953 by sacrificing his own nom). This journeyman actor could play drama, comedy and [all of those] westerns with style. I became a fan once he stopped making movies, but what a discovery!

http://www.armyarcherd.com/2006/08/glenn_ford_reme.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/california/la-me-ford31aug31,1,7553049.story?coll=la-headlines-pe-california

# # #

EMMY: it's a big country. Leave Conan O'Brien alone. Sic NBC

http://hotair.com/archives/2006/08/27/emmy-parodies-planecrash-hours-after-kentucky-accident/

[ i liked bob newhart locked in the glass case submeged in water for 1111:0000 hrs much bettah!]

###

NO Mission Impossible 4! - Tom Cruise dumped by Paramount - studios are sick of being pushed around

.
a) So, Paramount does not want to make a deal, and Redstone publicly lays out the "scandal" card.
b) Cruise and his partners lash out
c) Tom Cruise's baby no where to be seen publicly - was Holmes pregnancy real or ruse?

PARAMOUNT severs ties with Tom Cruise... Behavior of star 'unacceptable'...Wagner: Redstone's comments 'outrageous and disrespectful'...Studios 'sick of being pushed around'... After 14 years...Who's Crazier: VIACOM or Tom? (-Hollywood Reporter, New York Times, CNN Money)

http://www.deadlinehollywooddaily.com/viacom-tells-wsj-tom-cruise-dumped/
---just click on this link for everything you need on this story. Nikki Finke knows IT ALL.

I just LOVE the way this woman writes!

LATEST COLUMN ON DEADLINE HOLLYWOOD:

War of the Worlds Cruise And Redstone do battle – prepare for a true epic.
By NIKKI FINKE August 22, 2006

If there’s suddenly a litmus test for insanity to be administered by Hollywood moguls, then start with the studio’s executive suites. That’s my reaction to the are-you-shitting-me pronouncement by Viacom Inc. chairman Sumner Redstone that his Paramount Pictures is terminating its 14-year relationship with Tom “Crazy” Cruise’s production company because of the actor’s controversial and erratic off-screen behavior hurt the theatrical grosses of Mission Impossible 3. [more]


# # #

a potentially damned fine interview aborted - those hollyweird tee-vee idiots do it again

.
-----Original Message-----
From: Frances Kuffel [mailto: * * * * * * * * * * * ]
Sent: Thursday, August 10, 2006 9:53 AM
To: adorable me
Subject: la-la land

Having your book turned into a movie is like seeing your oxen turned into bouillon cubes.

John Le Carré

+++

I went to Los Angeles for 62 hours to do a new talk show. I had been cut from the script. I got home at 1 a.m. & am now, barely, mobile, off to collect Boomer & reunite with Daisy. I feel like Anna Karenina if she'd
survived the train.

Or maybe I feel like a bouillon cube sitting in a pool of boiling water...

love, frances

-------------------------------------

Frances Kuffel ("Passing for Thin") was out in LA to do an interview and possibly(?) to secure rights for having a movie made from her great book (her book was my and many others inpirations to KICK flour + sugar and addiction food + eating). (NOTE: I have found since from Frances' comment that this was not the case...)

So, she does this talk show, natch, then gets cut! MORONS! She is making the right news. The right message. But do they get it? Nope. (this is way beyond "The Beverly Hills Diet" meets "Jenny Craig" I guess...) Am I surprised? Nope. That is why I did my little good deed for The Society of Singers, Glenn Ford, Agua Caliente in Palm Springs and then, QUIT. I am not cut out for LA, although I would like to walk on the red carpet just once in my lifetime for s---s and giggles! I do so love driving the Pacific Coast Highway, too.

Frances' message matters. I am proud to say that I gave an interview that she used as part of the pitch for her next book -- which is what happens to us who do try to deal with the addiction to food/certain foods, lose weight, and then...fall...off ...the wagon....and many of us do! The important thing is that we get back on! It can be painful, but it can also be glorious! The IMPORTANT thing is that there is no reason to give up, we need to TRY.

My little story was part of Frances' book pitch to her publisher (thanks, Frances, it was my pleasure (smile) --) for I lost 140 once upon a time, gained it back and more! ---and have just RE-LOST my 103rd pound after many years. But this time I am dealing with more than just a diet or a weight loss club "CLUB". They don't last for a person like me. I am, dealing day in and day out with an addictive dis-ease, period.

Abbe B. - 103 to-day.

# # #

Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute - just another way to get attention-- and MORE ratings?

.
Click here first to see the letter from the Jewish Anti-Defamation League about Keith Olbermann:

http://www.adl.org/media_watch/tv/20060728-MSNBC.htm (the link)

Okay. But, hey, if Mel Brooks can make an entire INDUSTRY out of making fun out of Hitler, what's the fuss? Betcha Big bad Brother Bill O'Reilly called the ADL (HEH HEH HEH)

---but ask yourselves, is O'Reilly like Adolf Hitler? Pulleaze. But if Hebe's (Hebrew boys) like Keith-boy want to "Seig Heil", well, hell, have at it! Keith's a Hebe. Mel Gibson has an Israeli bodyguard. JESUS WAS JEWISH. FACE IT. YOU CANNOT ERADICATE US! We are all JEWISH! (PASTE STAR OF DAVID HERE) YES YES YES! ((( O'Reilly secretly wishes he were a Hebe. I know this is true. )))

http://newsbusters.org/taxonomy/term/185

GOP Bloggers :: Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute
Keith Olbermann's Nazi Salute. Robert Cox over at Olbermann Watch alerts us to ...

MSNBC Pres. Rick Kaplan Resigns.... The Huffington Post
Yes, but Keith Olbermann (who is Jewish as well) won't touch the Zionazi Rabbis shown in the picture at the following URL: http://www.davidduke.com/?p=531. ...www.huffingtonpost.com/2006/06/07/msnbc-pres-rick-kaplan-r_n_22455.html - 39k - Cached - Similar pages

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Dateline: Healthy Arkansas: Should be Blueprint for US

Memorandum to Joe Quinn, Policy Director, Gov. Mike Huckabee, (R-AR)

REF: http://www.arkansas.gov/ha/nutrition/

Diabetes • Obesity • Physical Activity • Tobacco Use • Worksite Wellness • BMI • Understanding BMI • Changing the Culture of Health: a Blueprint for Communities

Note for Gov.'s office: Gov. Mike Huckabee is getting (the) message across the miles. We owe his gentle prodding (in his wonderful book) a debt of gratitude! We need to carry the message to all who still suffer.

Abbe B.

ps: I lost another 14 lbs (grin) - it's a definite work in progress.

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Abbe's message to Mel Gibson (by way of Army Archerd and Larry Gelbart)

Mel Gibson, will you work in this town again? Absolutely. Allan Nierob is spinning apologies like mad -- and with all of this publicity! This is a town that of FULL OF YES, that loves the infamy of a big fat comeback. The old guard Jews are dying. But they do have one big fat last hurrah about Jew haters.

Face it baby. You are a racist. You are a JEW HATER, JEW BAITER. Not merely an "anti-semite", because semites are also Jihad,Hezbollah, Lebanese, Iranian, Arabian and anyone of that ilk that came from the PROMISED LAND, B.C. You just hate the CHOSEN PEOPLE. MY PEOPLE. And your father is wrong. There was a holocaust. My distant cousins DIED IN THOSE OVENS, you fucking idiot!

I am a Jew. Period. And so many hate me! I remember swatzikas in the 60's on the wall at our rec center in Niles, Ilinois when I was just eight years old. WHY? I am now Mel's age. I thought it would surely go away. After reading Larry and Army, surely it has NOT.

Now for Army and Larry, who went to Lakeview HighSchool with my Dad, Marvin (that is too cool!)"

---Abbe Buck, APR

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Army Archerd for Variety « Jack and Marlon Main What's killing the biz? »

Message to Mel from Larry

Larry Gelbart sent this message to me for Mel:

"Icon Productions, indeed. You managed to con everyone, sir. Including those of your own faith.The Jewish people, who managed to survive Goebbels, will survive one more Mel-content, one who already has a cocktail named after him.The leaders of this community, with rare exception, have contracted a case of laryngitis in this matter, largely choosing not to speak out against a man who so stokes the bonfires of bigotry.When the people who feel exactly the same way that Mel Gibson feels come to take us and families to the ovens, they make absolutely no distinction between those who spoke out and those who chose to play it safe."

((( P.S. Larry also told me: "The reason ABC canceled Mel Gibson's new version of the holocaust -- in his version, the Jews killed six million Nazis.")))

ARMY ARCHERD ALSO SAYS: Congrats Larry. And to those who had been reading my column all these years, you learned Mel's feelings beyond question. So much so that two years ago, Mel's longtime agent Ed Limato politely disinvited me from his annual Oscar party fearing my presence might embarrass his guest and client, Mel Gibson.

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Wednesday, August 02, 2006 Permalink

INFAMOUS! The anti-semite cometh!

What a punim! What a Mugshot!*

MEL GIBSON'S CAREER SUICIDE @HIGHVIZPR.BLOGSPOT.COM

HighVizPR Promotion = the new journalism. Politics = Show Biz! News is entertainment?: Allan Neirbob spins like mad to save his client's rep--- but the buzz is that Melvin Gibson is on the verge of career suicide, I reckon. He says it's real suicide, which is real-spin. Oh, he'll make a comeback after the requisite stint in 30 day rehab. Will it be "Lethal Weapon 5 meets mAD mAX GOES HELLZABOLLah--istic??" oy vey!

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*Punim = Yiddish expression for face. Photo (c) THESMOKINGGUN.com

Deplorable. THE Brooke Astor, 104 years old, living in hell on Park Avenue

Poor Brooke Astor. Why is this happening to her? I'd rather have love than money, damnit.

--from the NY Daily News, July 25, 2006

Vicious court battle rocks the world of Manhattan's one-time society queen
BY HELEN PETERSON, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Society queen Brooke Astor is living a twilight hell because of son Anthony Marshall, court papers say.

According to court papers, Brooke Astor, 104, lives in wretched conditions in Park Ave. building.

-->Brooke Astor, the patron saint of philanthropy and society in New York, is being forced to live her remaining days in wretched, uncharitable conditions, according to court papers filed by her grandson.

Astor, now 104, is allegedly being kept inside her dilapidated Park Ave. duplex by her only child, Anthony Marshall - who controls her $45 million fortune, yet refuses to spend money for her care.

The stunning blue blood family feud emerged from court documents obtained exclusively by the Daily News.

According to court papers, Marshall:

--->Cut back on everything from her doctor visits to the brand of makeup she uses.

--->Won't give Astor a hospital bed fitted with rails, even though she has fallen from her bed.

--->Ordered her aides to not buy certain medicine at the drugstore because a weaker version is available for less on the Internet.

---> Wouldn't allow nurses to buy his mother a new outfit for her 104th birthday.

The grandson, Philip Marshall, is seeking to immediately remove his father as legal guardian, and replace him with Annette de la Renta, the wife of Oscar de la Renta, and JPMorgan Chase Bank.

Philip Marshall charges that his grandmother is a victim of "elder abuse" - and he's got some influential people on his side.

A trio of prominent New Yorkers - former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Chase Manhattan Bank CEO David Rockefeller and Annette de la Renta - have filed affidavits in support of the grandson.

Astor's 82-year-old son landed at Iwo Jima during World War II, is a former intelligence officer with the CIA, a former diplomat and a Broadway producer with his wife, Charlene. The pair have won two Tony Awards.

Reached at his E. 79th St. apartment, Anthony Marshall, who pays himself $2.3 million as Astor's caretaker, according to the papers, declined to comment.

"No, I don't want to comment. You said it is shocking and I agree. I don't think I should comment. It is a matter that is going to be coming up in a court of law and it should be left to the court," Anthony Marshall said.

He said a hearing has been scheduled for Aug. 8, putting one of New York's first families on display.

The massive court filing details everything from Astor's bland diet - which includes pureed peas, carrots, liver and oatmeal prepared by an "unmotivated cook" who replaced her French chef last year - to her medical care.

According to the papers quietly filed last week, Anthony Marshall has had Astor's weekly doctor visits cut down to once a month, and has ordered the staff not to take her to an emergency room or call 911 if she is having a medical emergency without contacting him first.

The grandson went to court because his father, who is supposed to be overseeing the care of Astor, "has turned a blind eye to her, intentionally and repeatedly ignoring her health, safety, personal and household needs, while enriching himself with millions of dollars."

"My grandmother is one of the great philanthropists of our time," Philip Marshall said in an affidavit. "The sad and deplorable state of my family's affairs has compelled me to bring this guardianship action."

Astor - who still receives about $2 million a year in income from her late husband Vincent Astor's trust - suffers from significant memory loss, skin cancer, chronic anemia, heart problems, spinal stenosis, among other ailments, and has broken her hip twice, according to court papers.

"Her bedroom is so cold in the winter that my grandmother is forced to sleep in the TV room in torn nightgowns on a filthy couch that smells, probably from dog urine," according to the affidavit.

Astor, who is one of 33 women to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest civilian honor, "has devoted her life to making the world a better place," according to Philip Marshall. She has given away $200 million to city charities alone.

Yet, according to her grandson's court filings, this is what her life has come to:

Although Astor had always used Estée Lauder cosmetics and face creams, her head maid, Mily Degernier, who has worked for Astor for 35 years, has instructed that a "cheaper brand" of makeup be used and that Vaseline be used instead of face cream.

A prescription for Astor's anemia, Procrit, which costs about $1,000 a month, was stopped for no medical reason.

An enzyme supplement, CoQ10, to promote a healthy heart, and which may help in Astor's battle against cancer, which costs $60 a bottle, was stopped at the instruction of Charlene Marshall, Anthony's wife. She then told the aides to buy the medicine off the Internet, a diluted version that costs $26 for three bottles.

When an aide's request for two air purifiers - needed for the dust-filled apartment - was denied, they were bought by de la Renta.

When a request for hair bonnets and no-skid socks was denied, Astor's nurses bought them themselves.

Astor apparently has not seen her beloved dogs, Boysie and Girlsie, in six months because they are kept locked in a pantry to keep them from damaging the apartment.

Anthony Marshall, Astor's son from her first marriage, repeatedly has refused to open up Holly Hill, her 75-acre estate in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County, this year, even though Astor has said she wants to die there.

While Astor has a nurse on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the staff has been cut back. She used to have two aides on duty at all times, according to an affidavit filed by one of her nurses, Minnette Christie.

Astor's physical therapy has been cut from three to two times a week over the protests of the therapist.

While the apartment was once filled with art, figurines and fresh flowers, according to court papers, "which gave Mrs. Astor great pleasure," some of the art and figurines have been removed. Floral arrangements have been replaced with one or two bouquets from the local Korean market.

Although Astor was known for being always impeccably dressed, she is now reduced to wearing torn nightgowns and old clothes because her son won't buy new ones.

Philip Marshall said her old clothes are too tight because Astor is not as flexible as she used to be, and the nightgowns are rough against her sensitive skin so the staff turns them inside out so that the smoother surface is against her skin.

"New clothes would be good for her spirits," he said in the affidavit.

Another aide, Pearline Noble, said that despite Astor's concern about her appearance, her son has ordered that her manicures and pedicures be cut to once a month, that a scarf Noble had used to cheer Astor not be worn because of a $16 cleaning bill, and that her hair dye be eliminated. Instead, Noble said, she now pays for the hair rinse out of her own pocket.

"The staff that works for Ms. Astor really loves her. It breaks our hearts to see that she is not being cared for by her son in an appropriate way at the end of her life," Noble said.

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Been There, Done That, too, Carnie -but go fer it, girl!

I had my bypass on Feb. 28, 1985. Like Carnie's it was a success, and I lost around 140 lbs. (137). Then I got pregnant which was a license to E A T. And regain the weight. But from 1989 until now, I stayed THAT___ F A T.

But I had no trainers, or coaches, or certainly no wonderfully exploitive "PR-SHOWBIZ-Q-Rating-let's see warts and all to get (me) to claw back in the spandex spotlite- shows like VH1's CELEBreality[TM] to get involved in and voila! GREAT BOD after baby! MASS LOVE! I'll cut an album! TEE VEE appearances! More publicity than I can gorge into my tiny mouth! YES! YES! YEeeeeees!"

((((Oh, I LOVE THIS TOO! Watching another human train wreck, this reality show biz stuff. Yeah, like the midget having the love affair with show biz blowzy blonde in the voyeur-house...ooh!))))

But I am dealing with the addiction "between the ears" that caused the ___F A T this go-round. I think Carnie will with CelebREALITY[TM] Part 4.

Here's Miss Carnie, no longer the poster child for the gastric bypass like I was in 1988, no more speaking engagements....she gains the weight back after having baby Lola, then can't ....lose it...and half just hangs on....she is human after all... This is exposure and exposure is still exposure, is still EXPOSURE. Go fer it, girl! Go get another 15 mins!

http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/celebrity_fit_club_4/106885/episode.jhtml

http://www.realitytvworld.com/news/carnie-wilson-talks-about-joining-vh1-celebrity-fit-club-4-cast-1008839.php

Carnie Wilson talks about joining VH1's 'Celebrity Fit Club 4' cast

UPI News Service, 06/20/2006 - Carnie Wilson may have lost 20 dress sizes following gastric bypass surgery, but the new mom picked up some pounds when she got pregnant with daughter Lola.

She has lost 65 of the pounds she gained, but with 40 left to get rid off, Carnie seeks professional help by being on the fourth season of "Celebrity Fit Club," Entertainment Tonight reported Tuesday.

"I may be this person known as the spokesperson for gastric bypass, but I have struggles and challenges too. I'm only human," said Wilson.

"It took me nine months to lose 15 pounds," she said. "That was really frustrating. Then you just want to give up. It was one step forward and two steps back."

When she was approached about doing VH1's "Celebrity Fit Club," she decided it might be the answer to her weight struggle.

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"Four of every ten patients who undergo weight-loss surgery develop complications within six months, the federal government said (July 23rd)

(((( Oh, WHAT ARE MY FAT CONTEMPORARIES (FELLOW FOOD ADDICTS) GOING TO DO? WHERE WILL THEY TURN?)))))

Well, I may have have died on the table. I am glad I chose another path, and the "Huckabee" way. God is my co-pilot on this one. I am powerless over sugar, flour and large amounts of food that I would be triggered to eat if I go for the refined stuff. If more people who weigh 300+ accept this, they will no longer turn to the knife. WE CAN DO IT! -- Abbe Buck, PR flack, on a mission, I think (smile)

New York Times: Officials Cite Obesity Surgery Complications
By ROBERT PEAR

WASHINGTON, July 23 — Four of every 10 patients who undergo weight-loss surgery develop complications within six months, the federal government said today.

The number of such surgical procedures has been rising rapidly, along with the incidence of obesity, which now afflicts about 30 percent of adults in the United States, health officials said.

Obesity surgery is helping thousands of Americans lose weight and reduce the risk of diabetes and other life-threatening diseases, said Dr. Carolyn M. Clancy, director of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, a unit of the Public Health Service. But she added, “This study shows how important it is for patients to consider the potential complications.’’

Many of the complications were so serious that patients were readmitted to hospitals or visited hospital emergency rooms within six months.

In a procedure known as bariatric surgery, doctors reduce the number of calories that a person can consume and absorb. One of the more common techniques restricts the size of the stomach and the length of the intestine, where nutrients are absorbed.

Federal researchers found that complications from obesity surgery significantly increased costs.

Over all, said William E. Encinosa, an economist at the health research agency, medical costs averaged $29,921 for obesity surgery and six months of follow-up care. For patients who experienced complications, the costs averaged $36,542. And for those with complications that required readmission to a hospital, the average costs were $65,031.

Prior studies found that 10 percent to 20 percent of patients had complications while they were in the hospital. In the new study, Mr. Encinosa said, federal researchers found that 39.6 percent of patients had complications within 180 days of surgery.

The most common complications included vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal hernias, infections, pneumonia and respiratory failure, as well as the leaking of gastric juices caused by imperfect surgical connections between the stomach and the intestines.

Joanne Kayser, a retired New Hampshire state employee, said she weighed 320 pounds when she had bypass surgery in 2003. “The operation went well,’’ she said in an interview. “It reduced my food intake. After the surgery, I lost 60 pounds.’’

But Ms. Kayser, now 64, said: “My incision did not heal for seven months. I could not exercise, and I stopped losing weight. The incision became infected, and I had to have surgery by a wound-care specialist. In addition, after four months, I developed a hernia, a bulge in my tummy.’’

Bariatric surgery often alleviates conditions that occur with obesity, like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. That was the case with Ms. Kayser, who said she no longer needed to take diabetes medications because her blood sugar levels were under control.

Dr. Philip R. Schauer, president of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery, estimates that 175,000 to 200,000 weight-loss procedures will be performed this year, up from 47,000 in 2001. The number of people receiving the operation “may be less than 1 percent of those who need it,’’ said Dr. Schauer, who is director of bariatric surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.

The government study was based on insurance claims filed with health plans offered by 45 large employers in 49 states. The data included information on 2,522 weight-loss operations in 2001 and 2002.

Dr. Schauer said that surgical techniques and the quality of care had improved, so patients were less likely to suffer complications. In 2001 and 2002, he said, “there were not a lot of standards for doctors and hospitals getting into the field of bariatric surgery.’’ Since then, he said, the society has adopted standards, and some hospitals that specialize in the procedure have been designated “centers of excellence.’’

In addition, Dr. Schauer said, more than half of the operations are now done with a technique known as laparoscopic surgery, which requires only tiny incisions. This approach sharply reduces some types of complications, he said.

In the cases reviewed by federal researchers, 85 percent of the patients were women.
Dr. Schauer suggested several reasons: “Women have a somewhat higher incidence of obesity. Women seek medical care more than men. And obesity is more socially acceptable in men than in women.’’

But he also said: “Obesity is more deadly in men because they are more likely to have secondary effects of obesity like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.’’

Arthur G. Richards, an insurance agent in Portland, Ore., said some insurers were refusing to pay for obesity surgery and its complications. Such complications can lead to lawsuits, even when doctors meet the prevailing standards of care. Mr. Richards said his company was developing special insurance policies that would pay doctors for treating foreseeable complications.

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Liz is my hero - and she tells it like it is! It's Liz -- not Madonna, the REAL mother of reinvention, still getting Fab PR!

And I like the idea that I look kinda like her....(smile) well, my husband says so, but he's biased as hell. She is still a beauty at 74.

Elizabeth Taylor: 'I Enjoy Food Too Much'

Elizabeth Taylor says she enjoys food too much to starve herself like other Hollywood starlets.

NEW YORK, Jul. 10, 2006 (AP) Elizabeth Taylor, who has been thin and not-so-thin, says she won't starve herself to be like Hollywood's size-zero starlets."I wish I could be that size, but I can't be," Taylor says in the August issue of Harper's Bazaar, on newsstands July 25. "I enjoy food too much. In the end, I'm too hedonistic. I enjoy pleasures."

When asked by fashion designer Michael Kors, who conducted the interview, whether she dresses for men, women or herself, Taylor reveals she prefers to impress the opposite sex."Men first. Myself. Then other women. `Cause you can't please women. They are horribly critical of each other. And more so if you're famous. Meow."

The 74-year-old legend, known for her violet eyes, has been married eight times. When asked whether she is a romantic, she concedes: "I'm afraid so."When she was married to Sen. John Warner, she says she was told not to dress ostentatiously during his 1978 campaign."I ended up in a tweed suit," she says. "Me. Little tweed suits. What I won't do for love."

On the Net: http://www.harpersbazaar.com

MMVI The Associated Press.

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Olsen twins create nutrition show: Yes, we need MORE Insanity - they certainly cannot focus on fashion anymore!

=[Yes, the] Olsen twins create nutrition show - [AND it makes the wire in the UK!]
Monday July 3, 11:45 AM - By WENN

Click to enlarge photo -[your choice]

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen are creating a show about health and nutrition for young children, according to media reports in the US.

Ashley and her twin sister Mary-Kate - who was underwent rehab for anorexia in 2004 - have met with US TV executives about the new program aimed at four-to-five-year-olds called Sportee Kids.

A source tells American publication Us Weekly, "It will focus on fitness and healthy eating."

The duo have reportedly received a mixed reactions about their new concept.

The source adds, "Some execs are weirded out to do a show about food and nutrition with the Olsens."

A representative for the pair has hit back saying, "There's no truth to people being scared to work with them. They're healthy and fine." [The twins' regular publicist is Michael Pagnotta].

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Yes, Star Jones Reynolds has left The View - and another Media Feeding Frenzy begins --or---slooooow newz day - hit snooze button NOW

fox: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,201940,00.html jane hall, gabler, cal thomas, the usual suspects

MSNBC - just google it anywhere

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