Across Social Media, I’ve seen news consumers complaining about the volume of coverage, more than a week later, on the death of  Michael Jackson.  Many seem frustrated and seem to wish they could do something about it.  Actually, they can.

Once upon a time, middle-aged white men sat in smoke-filled rooms and made decisions about what their audience “needs to know.”  But, now, the mainstream news media is becoming more democratic, as it evolves.  News organizations tell us that they watch very closely which stories get “clicked” and which ones don’t.  Editors tend to want more coverage of the topics that get viewed on news sites.

So, if you have had enough Jackson coverage - here’s how to voice your opinion to decision-makers.  Don’t view the stories online.  You could also turn the channel on the TV or radio, but unless you have a Nielsen meter on your TV or carry around an Arbitron meter, TV and radio stations won’t know.

As Don notes in the blog below, Jackson content is riding a wave right now.  You will continue to see and hear a lot of it in the days and weeks to come. But, unlike big celebrity stories past, you actually now have a small, but direct, say in how long this lasts.

Are we, as a nation merely morbid and ghoulish when it comes to the death of a celebrity, or, are we something more? There is no doubt we are all drawn to the strange and different while always curious about our own mortality (and that of others, especially celebrity). At the same time, as with the recent death of pop icon Michael Jackson, we gravitate to emotion and nostalgia and what such an artist (and his music) meant to us. We want to experience “the good times” again in order to temper our grief.

Record-setting record sales upon an artist’s death are certainly nothing new (consider Elvis and John Lennon, for example). Yet, just as Michael Jackson broke down all barriers related to sales, convention and race in life, his record-breaking modus operandi continues in death.

This week, his “Number Ones” CD has supplanted the latest release from the Black Eyed Peas on the Billboard Top 200 chart, at, fittingly Number One (with sales of 108,000 to 88,000). Peas, in fact drop to 4th place in sales, behind “Essential Michael Jackson” (102,000 copies) and “Thriller” (101,000). In all, an astounding 421,1000 copies of his solo LPs have sold in the past week (up considerably from the 10,000 sold in the week just prior to his passing). When you note that the Peas’ total sales are for a 3-week period, these numbers, today, are even more incredible.

On iTunes, Jackson has 38 songs in the Top 100, including 8 of the Top 10 most downloaded tunes; Ringtones, similarly, reports 3 of the Top 10 belong to MJ.

From Amazon to traditional bricks and mortar retail shops, Michael Jackson’s music is selling, selling out and once again, being experienced and enjoyed simultaneously by the masses. Interesting, isn’t it, that just as he revolutionized an industry, initially back in the 80s, he has become, once again its temporary savior.

We are still trying to stay on top of every significant trend in communications and, now, we have run across a growing one that is worth sharing with you.  It is becoming more common to see services that actually connect your cell phone’s camera to information.

A new example was just announced this week. Barnes & Noble has launched an iPhone “app” to allow users to search for and buy books online.  And here’s something cool… let’s say you see a book on someone’s shelf or on a coffee table - just take a picture of its cover with your cell phone camera and use the “app” to view reviews, get customer ratings and find and reserve a copy at the closest store.  

It’s part of technology being marketed by a company called LinkMe Mobile. We have some contacts there and we’ll share details as they are rolled out. In the meantime, next time you pick up your cell phone, make sure you know how to use its camera.  That will be one of your information tools in the months and years to come.

Blogging from Milwaukee, at the end of a client business trip, I can’t help but think about the last time I visited this city.  It was 15 years ago this month on the day that the modern era of celebrity-driven mainstream news began.  O.J. Simpson was named a murder suspect and the rest is history.

I remembered that moment when I turned on the radio the rental car yesterday afternoon, trying to get a local weather and traffic update, and heard the just-breaking news of Michael Jackson’s death.  My next thought, “What will The Media do without Michael Jackson?”

In a celebrity obsessed culture, Michael Jackson was an instant audience magnet for all forms of media, virtually across the globe.  Even for American LOCAL TV news, it was tough to beat a promo featuring a Jackson story if you wanted to assure an audience for your newscast.  Trust me, I wrote a bunch of those “teases” in the mid-90s, a decade after his peak of musical popularity, but smack in the middle of his tabloid heyday.

Michael Jackson may have been the biggest individual media spectacle of all time.  Here are a few factors:

-Unparalleled fame:  He was famous on the highest possible level.  Around the world, he had amazing recognition, if not popularity.  I remember, in the “Thriller” days, he was the one current star who “the kids” liked that even my grandparents could identify.  Today, there are bona fide celebrities that I, as someone who studies media, couldn’t pick out of a lineup.

-Timing:  He hit just as electronic media was exploding, particularly music videos.

-Bizarre and compelling events:  His public life was a series of weird (at least) events, visual and memorable moments, starting with his hair catching on fire (in New York City to boot) in early 1984.  That was followed by, to name a few, post-surgical public appearances,  the molestation trial, the marriage to Lisa Marie Presley (he was basically Elvis’ son-in-law!), births of children, dangling of a child, etc. etc.)

-”The anti-every man”:  His life couldn’t have more different from the average America’s.  It was like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” on steroids.  The public couldn’t learn enough about how he spent his days.

As we’ve long established on this blog, media loves to cover celebrities - it’s relatively cheap, easy and draws an audience.  But what celebrity will ever create stories like Michael Jackson?  Leaving Milwaukee this time, it’s the end of an era.

What to make of it all.

By now you have no doubt read or heard, in Crains, the Detroit News,
WWJ’s Great Lakes IT Report, Fox-2 News and national PR industry journals, that our Twitter name/page was hijacked, used for nefarious, vindictive purposes and, ultimately, via Twitter and the legal system, provided to us. At the same time, we learned, via their IP address “virtual fingerprint,” who was responsible.

The “takeaways” are many:

• Social media is continually evolving; a moving target that can be difficult to control and police

• Twitter, with a staff far too small to adequately handle such oversight and timely customer service, did the right thing. No doubt they, like us, want to set precedents and deterrents that protect the integrity of their tweeters, company and the medium

• The legal system worked. Within a month of filing our federal lawsuit against “John Doe” (NOT Twitter), we had what we asked for—namely—our name

• No matter how many safeguards you put into place, if someone wants to “break into your house,” they will do so

So, what’s next? We’ll decide after consulting further with our legal counsel.

Finally, we have been asked many times by the media and our supporters what we have to say to the culprits. We won’t go there. However, we will say that, in general and as we have said before, anyone who would perpetrate such a fraud is apparently without ethics, obviously desperate and, it would appear, possessing of a lot of extra free time. One would wonder if such a perpetrator’s clients realize how they’re spending their time.

After nearly 100 speakers, hundreds of news stories and three days of live coverage (followed by a little time off), I am now able to reflect on some of the lessons of The National Summit.

The first-of-its kind gathering of business and government leaders was a memorable career experience for everyone involved.  More than 250 credentialed journalists covered the event, resulting in a steady flow of news content from Detroit over the three days (and in follow-up stories since).  

As promised, there are a few items worth sharing that are reminders for all of us in communications:

-Perspective continues to play a role in news coverage, even with shrinking numbers of journalists and new ways of communicating.  In this case, local (Detroit) newspaper reporters and columnists were very concerned with whether the Summit was a good idea, whether it would result in any change and how Detroit would look.  The national media, conversely, was much more straightforward and was there, primarily, to cover the content of the sessions and the comments of the CEO speakers afterward.

-The event was a reminder that journalists are asked to do more than ever while on-site.  For example, in addition to anchoring a three hour morning show, conducting interviews throughout the day, moderating panels and posting via Twitter during sessions and between interviews, Fox Business Channel’s Alexis Glick blogged from the site, including this piece on her top “takeaways” from The National Summit.  

-When Don and I started Tanner Friedman, we admitted “we don’t know everything.”  PR looks so “easy” to those on the outside, we often have to convince clients that they can’t do it themselves.  With an event this big, with so many “moving parts,” I really appreciated the opportunity to work closely with seasoned professionals who brought varied experiences to the job.  Our core media relations team consisted of a veteran media center orchestrator, an expert in national broadcast media, a corporate communications insider with extensive event communications management experience and a longtime executive speech and copy writer, in addition to my role as the event spokesperson and regional media contact.  All in all, it takes a team to make any significant project a success.  That’s a lesson we need to remember every day in our business.

Just in time for Father’s Day: An Associated Press report that New England QB Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, are expecting their first child. Typically, this would be cause for celebration and congratulations; however, all are thus far “mum” on the topic, including Bundchen’s manager. Worse, just last month, when asked by a reporter if his wife was pregnant, Brady, who has a young son via former girlfriend (and actress/model) Bridget Moynahan, said: “One is enough. I have dogs and that’s all I need.” A heartwarming quote his current son and future spawn will be proud to read one day.

This comes on the heels, last week, of more self-centered comments by another of the NFL’s most revered quarterbacks, Bret Favre. With sports reporters speculating on his possible return to the NFL via the Minnesota Vikings, Favre initially countered with this little nugget: “If my arm doesn’t hurt.” Coming only a year after his unceremonious exit from Green Bay and rumors of giving Packer playbook insights to conference competitors (Rod Marinelli and the Lions—it didn’t help), why not a more team-oriented: “If I am healthy enough to help the Vikings, I will compete for the starting position in camp this year”?

Similarly, why wouldn’t Tom Brady, who is undoubtedly adored by throngs of young, star-struck fans, when asked about the possibility of fathering another child, say something like: “I adore my son and am incredibly blessed. Right now, he is my focus where children are involved.”? You get the point.

Is it arrogance? Do they not care? More likely when you receive incomparable adulation throughout your lifetime, you come to a point where you (a) Feel you can do no wrong and (b) Become lackadaisical in your comments. As a communications professional, I would merely recommend to these two NFL greats (and others like them) that they continually remind themselves how much they are looked up to by impressionable young fans and that their every word (and action) will be scrutinized now and in the future (as if they didn’t know this already). It merely comes with the territory of living in the spotlight of celebrity. They say: there is no ‘I’ in “team.” There isn’t one in “role model” either.

I was quite pleased to read today that MotorCity Casino Hotel has become the official presenting sponsor of the Woodward Dream Cruise. It is actually something I, in my role as Executive Director, and my team, approached the casino to discuss over two years ago.

If people only knew the behind-the-scenes work, dedication and dollars MCCH puts into the Cruise (including Rhonda Cohen and Paul Lochirco), they would be astonished. They have remained dedicated to both underwriting and keeping it fun year after year after year. They deserve this and the thanks of everyone that enjoys the Cruise each year.

The “stepping up” of MotorCity Casino could not have come at a better time. Sponsorship dollars remain incredibly tight and, as you may have read in recent days, Cruise cities are not always in agreement as to how to operate the event in a mutually equitable and agreeable manner.

More power to Executive Director Tony Michaels, his team and those on the Board who remain selflessly dedicated to the greater good. We’re rootin’ for you. And, MCCH: You’ve really always been the presenting sponsor. Glad to see it’s official.

This isn’t designed as a client plug (Don and I maintain our promise to keep that to a minimum on this forum).  Really, it’s just a “heads up” and an explanation on why my blogging level is down in the last week or so.

Tanner Friedman is part of the communications team for The National Summit, a first-of-its-kind event that is bringing business, government and academic leaders together for a cross-country, cross-industry conversation about America’s future.  There are lots of “household names” involved, most of whom have never before taken part in a dialogue together.  The event is being held June 15th-17th in Detroit and is convened by the Detroit Economic Club, for which we have handled media relations for several years.  Our involvement in this event goes back to its inception in 2007.  

Here’s a link to some recent coverage, via Google News.

As a learning experience for all involved and who can observe, it will be a true “convergence” (to use a buzzword) of communications platforms. The leaders will be communicating face-to-face (in public and in private).  Traditional media coverage (our role) should be significant, with hundreds of journalists credentialed, planning multi-platform reporting.  Social media will be a factor with attendees, corporate participants and event The National Summit itself (follow @thenatlsummit on Twitter) going online.  Sponsorship helps to fund the event.  And perhaps most importantly, nearly 100 speakers will try to communicate a memorable message that resonates beyond the walls of the event and into their key audiences.

I wish I could promise that I’ll have time to blog from the site.  If I can, I will.  Otherwise, I’ll check back the week of the 22nd with some “takeaways” I hope will be helpful for all communicators and those interested in what we do.  In the meantime, check out the news coverage locally and nationally and let us know what you think about the reporting.

Depending on who you speak with or what you read, Twitter has reached a settlement with St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa—or not. Scores of individuals sympathetic to our continued push for Twitter justice, send us links to the latest.

The thing is, we’re not suing Twitter. After conducting proper due diligence and research into case law and precedents, our talented legal team recognized from the beginning that that was not the way to go. Rather, as has been reported—including in recent days in Crain’s, Detroit News and WWJ’s Great Lakes IT Report—we’re going after the person (”John Doe”) who perpetuated a fraudulent agency Twitter page with intent to impugn, seeking their name and the right to our page.

Subsequent to this news coverage a federal judge allowed our claim to move forward and, following that, Twitter has been served with a subpoena. We will have a response in the next several days. Are we worried about alerting this perpetrator to what is next? (after all, they obviously read our stuff closely). Not at all.

We are quite hopeful that, in the end, this exercise will set a precedent and serve as a deterrent against such individuals (those with no respect for media nor truthful, honest communications) doing this to others in the future. This person thought they could hide behind the anonymity that a computer screen often provides. They were mistaken.