It’s with a heavy heart that I say that disgraced New York Governor Eliot Spitzer must resign. Recent allegations that he was ‘Client 9’ to high-dollar prostitution service Emperors Club VIP irreparably sullen the image that Spitzer had worked his entire career to cultivate: Mr. Clean, the noble knight riding in on the white steed and saving the day. In an instant, he transformed himself from prosecutor to prosecuted. Too often people look for the "silver ... Read More

If you’ve read the Stop the Presses blog for any amount of time--and we hope you have--you know that we’re not likely to use this space to toot our own proverbial horn. That’s why I hope you’ll forgive us a moment of self-indulgence to tell you about something exciting that recently happened here at Levick: the second edition of our book, Stop the Presses: The Crisis & Litigation PR Desk Reference, was just released. Stop the ... Read More

Does your company need another reason to start paying attention to the blogosphere?  Here's a big one: mainstream media journalists monitor blogs on a regular basis. In the latest research studying the connection between traditional reporters and online citizen journalists, global communications group Brodeur found the following: Nearly 70% of all reporters read blogs on a regular basis More than 20% of reporters spend more than an hour a day reading blogs Fifty-seven percent said they read blogs ... Read More

Abundance mentality is the belief that the more we give, the more we get. Scarcity mentality, on the other hand, is all about keeping score. In business--particularly among the staff that's in the proverbial trenches--great customer service is about being empowered, a common understanding of flexible principles, and ensuring an unwavering focus on the customer. I read a news story that epitomizes the benefits of an abundance mentality as it relates to customer service.  The story ... Read More

Paul Steiger, former Wall Street Journal managing editor, did a brilliant job of chronicling the recent history of print media, capturing what's happened and what's going to happen with this medium. At the end of his article, he announced his move to Pro Publica, a nonprofit organization "dedicated to reporting on abuses of power by anyone with power: government, business, unions, universities, school systems, doctors, hospitals, lawyers, courts, nonprofits, media." I predict Pro Publica will be ... Read More

Last week, State Street Corporation ousted its investment unit chief and set aside $618 million to cover future legal claims against the company, according to Bloomberg.com. And then something very interesting occurred-- the company's stock went up.  Why? There are few things that Wall Street hates more than the question mark. By defining a beginning, middle, and end to the story, State Street made the story 'old news'--and for this kind of definitive action, they were rewarded. ... Read More