by Rob Cottingham | Apr 29, 2005 | Communicating, Politics
I mistook the Educational Policy Institute for the fringe-right-wing Education Policy Institute. Oops. I didn’t double and triple check before posting a blog comment based on my misapprehension. Double and triple oops. I apologized over there, and I’ll... by Rob Cottingham | Apr 17, 2005 | Communicating, Politics
Here’s a great little term I’d never heard before, courtesy of the Double-Tongued Word Wrester Dictionary: dog whistle politics n. a concealed, coded, or unstated idea, usually divisive or politically dangerous, nevertheless understood by the intended... by Rob Cottingham | Apr 11, 2005 | Communicating, Media Mix, Politics
Pop quiz: you have to do a news conference where you have damn-all in the way of actual news to announce. The media’s already prickly, and liable to turn on you. Do you: a) repeat your message over and over, making it the only clip reporters are likely to get... by Rob Cottingham | Apr 8, 2005 | Communicating, Politics
Just a quick note to suggest you have a look at Matthew Yglesias’ explanation of why you can’t always take polls literally: I’ve seen polls showing, pretty consistently, that people favor a flat tax. Polls also consistently show that people think the... by Rob Cottingham | Apr 6, 2005 | Communicating
A. Ballpoint pens and damage control. Jake McKee dissects an interview between PRNews and the general manager of Kryptonite, the ur-manufacturer of those U-shaped bike locks you now see everywhere. Back in September, a user at a bike discussion forum posted the... by Rob Cottingham | Mar 23, 2005 | Communicating, Politics
There’s an entertaining if foul-mouthed blog out there, titled Alastair Campbell – the name of Tony Blair’s former Dark Lord of the Sith spin supremo. Is there even a chance that this is really him, with such tempered and reasonable posts as this?...