You can’t buy ad space on page one of the Globe. But Legal found out a way to get it there.

The news stories focused on minor controversy that arose when a T conductor complained about an ad that said “This conductor has a face like a halibut.”

Now Legal Sea Foods and its family ownership can smile because this is the best ad campaign they’ve ever run and everyone in the region knows about it.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino today joined city officials to ask Boston to celebrate responsibly this Sunday when the New England Patriots take on the New York Giants in pursuit of a Super Bowl championship and a perfect season.

“The City of Boston continues to work with area establishments and colleges and universities to ensure public safety,” Mayor Menino said. “We are all very excited that the New England Patriots are playing in Super Bowl XLII and battling for an unprecedented 19-0 season, but public safety remains our number one priority.”

The City of Boston has coordinated with the State Police, the DOC, university police and law enforcement agencies throughout the region to ensure a coordinated public safety plan. The City has had extensive communications with local universities regarding student behavior. Any student arrested will not only face criminal charges, but will also be subject to penalties imposed by their university.

The Boston Police Department (BPD) will have an increased presence in areas that are heavily populated with students. Boston Transportation will implement temporary parking restrictions on certain streets. BPD asks that revelers obey police instructions and if asked to leave an area, please do so peacefully.

Taxis and public transportation offer inexpensive and smart alternatives to drinking and driving. Please take advantage of them. Public drinking will not be tolerated and BPD will strictly enforce all alcohol compliance laws. The Mayor’s Office of Consumer Affairs and Licensing has been in contact with area establishments to ensure adherence to duties as a license holder. Boston Police will be conducting walk-throughs of bars to monitor for alcohol and crowd control violations.

“This is unbelievably bad administrative management,” Daniloff told the News May 23. “I have to ask myself, ‘Do I want to work for such heartless and inept university management?’

This is indeed unbelievably bad administrative management.

As an alumnus, I have to ask myself:

Do I really want to be associated with such heartless and inept university management?

Do I really want to donate money to a university with such heartless and inept management?

At the end of my third year at Northeastern, I still had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. That was until I took a public relations course with Gladys McKie, on a whim.

By the end of the semester, I was so enamored with the media, so intrigued with it all, that I took on a double major in journalism, outside of my native College of Criminal Justice and put off what would have been an early graduation.

Professor Gladys McKie, who like most in journalism doesn’t like being called by the formal title, motivated me when no one else could. She is the reason I have come to find some meaning in my whole education.

Because of Gladys McKie’s teachings, personal motivation and the amount of time she dedicates to bettering her students, I came out of college and walked into a managerial role as online editor/coordinator at the Attleboro Sun Chronicle newspaper, one of the top newspapers in the state.

Hundreds of us in the school of journalism will be successful in out careers and in our lives because we found professors like the McKie’s who challenged and engaged us and forced us to realize our potential.

I don’t need a piece of paper hanging on a wall to be motivated. Indeed, the worst professor I ever had at Northeastern was a PhD fresh out of school.

I don’t follow degrees. I follow experience. I follow success. I follow gifted public relations practitioners. I follow journalists who were held captive as political prisoners in Soviet jails. I follow Emmy award-winning producers. I follow authors of definitive books on sports journalism. I follow one of Boston’s most read blogs.

The Northeastern University school of journalism currently has all that.

They should thank their lucky stars that they do.

We, the suffering students, get a pat on the back and a “there, there.” The administration tells us that it’s all going to be ok as they climb to the highest peak and shout “academic investment plan” (their plan to hire professors with advanced degrees) to all that can hear them.

Screw the academic investment plan.

Northeastern needs a student investment plan. It’s high time they started asking what the customers wanted.

The recently endowed fellow for the alternative weekly newspaper resides in Miami, but accepted an invitation from the MWW Group, representing Volkswagen, to stay in a luxury hotel in town for a lifestyle event promoting the new Volkswagen Eos. He later said a night of raiding the mini bar of forbidden pleasures followed.

Eight other journalists, this reporter included, were there to see what the Eos had to offer, not minding at all that this event was in Miami as most of us were from the Northeast, enjoying a windy winter.

But the warm-weather-based Thompson smelled pay dirt at this event, visible in his reporting.

After all, eight journalists were enjoying themselves somewhere. Something must be afoot.

And let it be known that the event was quite enjoyable. Down to the last detail, the event managers made it clear that journalists were there to experience the purported meaning behind “Eos,” the new vehicle.

Thompson was not there out of an interest in any sort of lifestyle feature or automotive article. He was there “out of a cold, scientific curiosity to see such a specimen of publicity machinery at work.”

And cold it was, because, regrettably, some of us had our guards down at this event.

Thus, the lesson is learned.

“But if you go on something like this,” Guilfoil actually said, “there’s a certain understanding that this is a topic you’re interested in covering.”

As much as one hates to nitpick, we all must hold steadfast to our thin veneers of professionalism.

The celebrity studded event featured Papa Roach, Tommy Lee and Tiesto. The first in this series of events was held in Miami in March and brought in acts including: Nine Inch Nails, Sasha and Digweed, Rob Zombie and Deep Dish.

As Bacardi, the maker of Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Sapphire Gin and Dewer’s Scotch in addition to its rum line, takes advantage of the adult scene in Las Vegas, it was the perfect opportunity for the company to launch its 2007 concert lineup.

Also, and perhaps more importantly, this is an example of an alcohol producer marketing only to those of legal drinking age. The events will be 21+ and offer, in Bacardi’s own words, “something for everyone [21+] and presents top artists in a variety of music genres.” This comes as many alcohol companies are being accused of marketing their products and targeting television ads towards minors. The Bacardi events seem to market towards their key, legal demographic. Hosting the Labor Day Weekend events at the Palms attracted a younger audience, but younger in terms of 21-30, not 13-20.

This is the kind of marketing alcohol companies need to do. Bacardi gets the job done with this one.

He retired July 20, 70 years after starting his career in a quickly disappearing marketing profession.

According to CNN, Clyde the milkman represented the very best characteristics of sales while serving as a trusted and vital resource to five generations of Missouri families for nearly three quarters of a century.
Priest also knew he worked in sales and had to offer value to his customers beyond what they could get at any supermarket of chain store.

“My theory all these years has been: You could buy milk anywhere, so the only thing I got to sell is my personal service. That was my philosophy,” he told the Associated Press. This could be one of the reasons why he stayed in business longer than seven of the actual dairies that supplied milk and related products to him.

The milkman, once a staple supplier to most American homes, is a dying breed in this country, and people like Clyde Priest represented that level of service. According to the report, he was so trusted by the families he delivered to that they had him put the milk and other dairy products in their refrigerators when they weren’t even home. One is hard pressed to find another salesman with that level of respect and trust.

Priest attributes his success to doing what he loved and putting a little extra effort in.

It is amazing what a little extra effort will do over 70 years.

This is a preview of tomorrow’s discussion, so take a look. This was first introduced to me by Dan Kennedy. It’s a few years old but it’s thus far deadly accurate–except for the references to the dying Friendster which just as easily can be MySpace.

Tomorrow I will be posting an article that discusses some of the things that are really going on.

First and foremost, there is a war going on.

There is a brutal and bloody war taking place between Microsoft and Google, and Microsoft is losing so far.

Part of what you’ll read tomorrow:

“Microsoft and Google are the Soviet Union and the United States 20 years ago. One, a lumbering giant trying to hold fast to its traditions and another a fast moving, aggressive powerhouse jockeying for position. There are no missiles or walls this time, only information: not the ability to search for information, but the ability to store, gather and provide information–the exclusive ability.

Forget about Yahoo! and Ask.com. (England and East Germany for comparison’s sake…)”

Lock and load.

The article performs a criminal analysis of the author by tracing her through her school yearbook by “analyzing” different portions of it.

Entries include:

Page 32 — A quote blurb is featured by Snyder in response to the question, “What was your best memory of the senior trip?” to which she responded, “The many interesting events in the hotel at night.” Clearly, she killed someone that night and is alluding to it so as to taunt authorities.

This article was written in response to authorities and media outlets digging into John Mark Karr’s past for clues that would show him out to be a cold-blooded killer.

Snyder is public relations student at Purdue.

Those PR types sure can write…

I may have also ranted for a brief moment about the number of calls I drop with my Nextel service and stated that it was a contention for another article.

This is that article.

I returned from the gym today, pulled my cell phone out of a compartment of my duffle bag, and like clockwork, the phone was off. Stone dead, blank screen, off.

I turned the phone back on and was greeted by the “DO” slogan used by the walkie talkie cell phone company.

And then, poof. Off. Stone dead, blank screen, so badly wanting to throw it against a wall, off.

I decided to call Nextel Care and see if I could put a stop to this and get my defective phone replaced.

The automated female voice at the other end gave me several options, including Spanish, sales, customer service, and ah yes, technical support.

On hold for about five minutes, a female technical support agent finally answers and I calmly explain that I purchased an i560 from Nextel less than two months ago and that it shuts itself off by itself.

She apologized profusely and tried to explain to me that Motorola offers a warranty, but that would mean sending them my phone for repair and being without a phone for up to 4 days, an impossibility in my profession.

Again apologizing, she brings in another lady, this time an agent of “tele-sales.” She explains to me that while Nextel stands by their hardware, Motorola warranties the phones and I would probably have to go through them.

But she wasn’t 100 percent sure.

Did I mention the Nextel phone service and coverage in Boston, Connecticut, New York, Las Vegas, Denver, Orlando, Chicago and all of southern California (some of the places I’ve been since I switched to Nextel) is not very good?

Somehow, the sales representative knew this, and knew that I was having problems with my service. She offered to transfer me to a third person-a customer care representative-who could offer to credit my account for the dropped calls.

Well…money…

So I talk to Jack in customer care, and our conversation went something like this: “I understand your frustration sir, let me see…” BEEP!!! “TRY AGAIN”

My Nextel dropped a call, to Nextel.

So I close the phone and prepare to redial on speaker phone.

Blank screen.

Dead silence.

The phone turned itself off again.

Finally, I am able to call back after thoroughly screaming at the disconnected and turned off cellular phone. As soon as I get to the menu, BEEP.

Dropped call number two.

I call back and get a customer care representative who again explains the Motorola warranty-which I really didn’t want to hear about.

Her computer crashes.

“Oh my, my system is going to have to restart, let me put you on hold.”

Sprint has the most annoying hold music in history.

After eleven minutes, the line rings and a technical support representative asks if she can help me.

Well, I don’t know. Can you?

She never had a chance to respond. BEEP.

That’s number three.

My next call was almost to Verizon to have a landline installed in my home and inquire about wireless plans, but I stuck with it and finally got through to poor Tammy in customer care.

“You’re gonna need to forgive me Tammy, but I am extremely upset.”

“Uh-huh.”

This is vaguely what I remember:

“I have now called you people four times to complain about my defective phone, but I cannot do so because my Nextel phone has dropped the call three times. My phone randomly shuts off. It’s a brand new phone. I do not want the Motorola warranty because I can’t be without my phone for three days. You sold me a defective phone and I want it replaced.”

Granted, I am a little upset by this point.

This goes on for about twenty minutes, a new record for a phone call on either one of my previous Nextel phones. She gives me a $55 credit to cover, ironically, the cost of using an express service with the Motorola warranty.

Then, and I’m surprised she managed to stay chipper with me all this time, she offers to transfer me back to technical support so they can create something called a “network ticket.” This means that the Sprint/Nextel guys will come out, check the signal and reception in my area and if it is nearly as poor as I’ve been saying it is, offer to credit my account to make up for it.

Hold time: 20 minutes, that’s almost 40 minutes, and I’m not even mad that this is going on an hour. I was just happy that my phone could keep a call going that long!

“Thank you for calling Sprint, together with Nextel, this is Bra..” BEEP.

Just to add coarse salt to open wound, when I called back, the Nextel offices were closed for the night.

With what I’m hearing about Nextel, combined with what I am experiencing, there must be public relations people at Sprint/Nextel on 24-hour suicide watch

Nextel: DONE (making calls).

His reason? The New York Times, followed by the Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal and other papers ran articles disclosing a federal intelligence initiative to monitor international financial transactions. The program, designed to root out possible terrorists, analyzes money going from one financial institution to another. The media outlets asserted that the program was being run by presidential subpoenas and not authorized by warrants from any federal court.

King called the articles “treasonous,” and has called for a criminal investigation. He appeared on The O’Reilly Factor Monday evening calling for the Times administration to be prosecuted.

Representative Ed Markey, (D) Mass, claims that the intelligence program itself is illegal, and he appeared alongside King on Monday’s O’Reilly Factor to counter arguments made by King.

“The Bush administration put out their own subpoenas; never told the courts about it all,” said Markey. “That is a very serious 4th amendment violation.”

King expressed his outrage towards the publicizing of the federal anti-terror program, claiming that congress had been properly briefed and those that needed to know were informed.

“If everybody knew about it, there’s no need to go public about it,” said King. King, a quick talking Republican from New York’s 3rd district, cited the laws he felt the journalists had violated.

He keeps a list of his press quotes here.

Let us clear the air right now before a discussion of the public opinion reaction: the press is not going to be prosecuted. President Bush has not called for an investigation. He merely expressed his anger that the press had run the information. That was the correct response from his administration. Clearly, the Bush administration is not going to be happy that the press ran a critical article on one of their anti-terror programs. However, even Bill O’Reilly, the Fox pundit, said that he does not believe the Times editor and publisher should or would be prosecuted.

Therefore, the reader is left with a news story, broke by a newspaper, unpopular with the Bush administration, which exposes a secret government program, for which no one will be prosecuted.

Bravo.

This reporter will not state any agreement or disagreement in principle with the publication of secret information. However, it is the job of the free press to hold a democratically elected government accountable to its people, with the best and most vigilant efforts, self-guided by ethics. I do believe that the publication of this story about surveillance of international banking records is good for the public relations efforts of the mainstream media.

References to the public relations efforts of the press are often an oxymoron. However, reading this article proves that the newspaper of yesterday has an uncertain future tomorrow. Clearly, the blogosphere and the advent of “Googlefied” news that is custom delivered to each reader based on their own preferences show that the news can be broken anywhere and by anybody. The Times, however, showed themselves viable with their continued ability to check the government.

Though controversial, the Times flexed their muscle. And that, whether agreed with or not, is good publicity.

Bill Keller, executive editor of the New York Times, ran a letter June 25 addressing the financial surveillance program article.

It’s an unusual and powerful thing, this freedom that our founders gave to the press. Who are the editors of The New York Times to disregard the wishes of the President and his appointees? And yet the people who invented this country saw an aggressive, independent press as a protective measure against the abuse of power in a democracy, and an essential ingredient for self-government. They rejected the idea that it is wise, or patriotic, to always take the President at his word, or to surrender to the government important decisions about what to publish.

The Times may have been legally wrong in publishing information about a classified government program. They may have straddled the bounds of ethics. I am not a liberal pundit, but let me be the first to say that the last major country to actively prosecute its press for covering issues not agreed upon by the government flew a red flag.