Be True to Yourself

Candor is one of the C’s of Communication preached at READY FOR MEDIA, along with Credibility, Compassion and Charisma. All were at play when Ellen DeGeneres was true to herself in responding (below) to an article written by a pastor accusing the TV host of promoting a ‘Gay Agenda’ on her show and  influencing her young, female viewers to turn …

Sensitivity Training

When a British retailer featured a greeting card with, “don’t get mad, take lithium” (an obvious reference to the medication for bipolar disorder,) customers didn’t just get mad — they got even, with posts such as “I will no longer be shopping with you” on the company’s Facebook page. The stage was set when another offended customer (@poeticfeminist) tweeted, “do you …

Bridge Over Troubled Waters

In their classic hit, Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Simon and Garfunkel offer a message to Cameron Diaz: Take the high road, not the bait! Acknowledge the interview question then bridge to the answer you’ve come to give. Anyone can fall prey to media mistakes if she hasn’t had media coaching, and the typically well-mannered romcom actress, Cameron Diaz, is no …

Everybody Makes Mistakes

Everyone needs media coaching once in a while, including Pope Francis. The Vatican has been recently involved in embarrassing situations due to poor media preparation. Time after time, Vatican spokesmen have been forced to release awkward clarifications after failed media opportunities. And more often than not, these clarifications cause more confusion. Pope Francis’ latest interview with 90-year old journalist Eugenio …

The Best Defense

During a recent conversation with The Guardian, pop singing sensation Lana del Rey experienced a media disaster by steering the interview in the wrong direction.  According to Tim Jonze, Lana’s interviewer, she repeatedly expressed discontent with her life and said, “I wish I was dead already.” Reflecting the title of  her debut album “Born to Die,” she mentioned several of …

Heat’s on!

In the aftermath of the NBA playoffs, one would imagine that the most talked about rivalry was between the Miami Heat and the victorious San Antonio Spurs! However, when a broken air conditioning system resulted in Game #1 taking place during 90-plus degree temperatures, it caused Basketball star Lebron James’ leg to cramp. That is when an unexpected battle between …

The Anatomy of a Good Apology

It seems like the past week has been one full of guilt and regrets. Pop-star Justin Bieber and Wolf of Wall Street star Jonah Hill found themselves in two different, yet very similar sticky situations. On the one hand we have Mr. Hill, who after being followed by paparazzi all day, finally snapped and said a “disgusting and hurtful” homophobic …

T.M.I. (Too Much Information)

Probably every poor reader and/or contact wearer in the audience of Sunday night’s Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas felt vindicated when TV reality star and aspiring model Kendall Jenner fumbled her teleprompter introduction of Australia’s boy band, “5 Seconds of Summer.”  She said, “And now we welcome, One…” before stopping abruptly. Everyone, including 5SOS’s British rival “One Direction,” assumed that …

Apology Not Accepted

As a follow up to his racist ramblings, Donald Sterling appeared in an exclusive interview with journalist Anderson Cooper on CNN to “apologize.” During the interview, Mr. Sterling once again made general remarks about African Americans and even added Jews to his diatribe. He assured viewers that he is not a racist, but was rather tricked by his ex-girlfriend and …

A Rose By Any Other Name

  ABC’s newest Bachelor,  Juan Pablo Galavis seemed to be homophobic with his remark that gay people are more “pervert in a sense.” And ABC did not give a rose to Mr. Galavis for his comment. Instead they stated that his, “comments were careless, thoughtless and insensitive, and in no way reflect the views of the network, the show’s producers …