Palin saved her most devastating riposte for the final question of the debate, when Persily asked the three candidates whether they would hire their opponents for a state job. Knowles and Halcro offered halting jokes. But when it was Palin's turn, she pounced. Smiling at Halcro, who recited reams of statistics by rote, Palin observed that the businessman "would make the most awesome statistician the state could ever look for." As the debate audience laughed, Palin pivoted to Knowles, who had owned an Anchorage restaurant. "Do they need a chef down in Juneau?" Palin asked, smiling as she turned the verbal knife. "I know Mr. Knowles is really good at that." Two years on, Halcro and Knowles admit they are still baffled how their mastery of policy and state issues was trumped by Palin's breezy confidence and feel-good answers. "When you try to prove she doesn't know anything, you lose, because audiences are enraptured by her," Halcro said. "And her biting comments give you a sense of how competitive she is. Anybody who doesn't take her seriously does so at their peril."

Yep. Given that many reporters these days are being forced to do way more with way less, here's my last point today related to communications. PR people -- when you are writing quotes for use in news releases these days, pretend that someone will actually print it. Gone are the days when we struggled over every word in a pretend quote -- only to have it rejected immediately by the reporter. Now. Well, hey, it's better than nothing and the only effort required is to hit copy and paste. So, come on -- let's try to make the quotes at least somewhat conversational and maybe even credible.

Here's an example from a story about Myers Industries in today's Akron Beacon Journal.

''Our objective with the initiatives announced here today is to further improve our manufacturing network and processes to minimize operating costs and maximize customer satisfaction,'' John C. Orr, president and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement. ''That includes rationalizing our manufacturing footprint to lower overhead and distribution costs, improve operational effectiveness and reduce working capital requirements. In doing so, we will be better positioned to serve our customers with the products they need, manufactured at the right location for the customer, and delivered when they need them.''

OMG. I know John Orr. We spent many a pleasant Saturday and Sunday afternoon standing on the sidelines watching our daughters play soccer. And actually talking about a lot of things that actually made sense. At least to me. Minimize...maximize...and footprint. Oh, my.

Beach volleyball, anyone?

"He flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her," Hardin said. "He's considered her a close family friend...He has never had a sexual relationship with her."

Oh, boy. Have we ever heard that before? (Lesson: Once trust and credibility are lost don't expect people to believe you or rush to your defense.)

And how about Miley Cyrus? One day, apparently, she was happy as could be with a provocative photo of her taken by Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. But later the 15-year-old celebrity had second thoughts. According to the Beacon Journal story, Cyrus said Sunday through her publicist: "I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about." (Lesson: Talk to your publicist before you take your clothes off.)

Oh, boy. This will be on the cable news shows for at least the next several weeks. Thankfully the presidential election is over and the troops are home from Iraq. And I tagged this post Miley Cyrus. Don't know if that means anything. But I sure don't want to miss out on the media frenzy.

Ah, by the way. Who is Miley Cyrus?

And I couldn't find references to any of these stories on the Beacon Journal's Web site. Maybe the Beacon Journal is using its pathetic Web site as a way to keep readers like me buying the printed version.

Oh, boy.

Fair enough.

Yet to paraphrase the great American philosopher Willie Nelson: Momma, don't let your babies grow up to be ... PR teachers like Rob Jewell -- nonsuperstar.

"Autopilot, perhaps?"

Ouch.

A national story in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Bill Sledzik's blog. Two stories in the Akron Beacon Journal.

Who says the University of Akron can't generate media coverage? Of course, this makes Levant and the university look ridiculous. And here's my point. From a public relations perspective, why let this happen?

If Ducharme's allegations are true -- then best to say nothing. And I'm not an advocate of a "no comment." But the fact is that a management decision has been made that can't be explained with any credibility. Why try? But if there is more to the story from Levant's perspective, then why not be specific? Or if the situation involves personnel issues that can't be discussed publicly, then say so. If true, that's at least a credible response. As it stands now, Levant is giving what former Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee called the "nondenial denial. "

And when I first read about this on Bill's blog I thought Professor Ducharme would be philosophical about this. Apparently not. And since UA apparently has no communications strategy here, stay tuned.

And talking about management, just another quick thought. The NCAA tournament continues tonight and by now my picks are mostly sitting at home watching TV. But I was thinking about this while running this morning.

Doesn't it seem like the person who organizes and conducts the office pool is the same person who doesn't seem to have anything to do the rest of the year? Well, if nothing else, I hope he/she at the University of Akron is doing it 8 to 5.

Proenza has appeared in most of them, Torisky said.

“People make it a point to tell him they saw it,” Torisky said.

Please. I beg you. On behalf of anyone who has ever had to try to demonstrate the effectiveness of a costly ad buy, next time you iron_city.jpg
see Dr. Proenza tell him you saw the ads. Even if you really were in the bathroom or getting another can of Iron City. (Please don’t tell the students in my ethics class I just said that.)

And I know that this will get me into trouble. But I’m looking forward to the Victoria’s Secret ad featuring ph2008020100233.jpg
model Adriana Lama.

Now that should be excellent.

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