Austin360 blogs > Out & About > Archives > 2008 > October > 19
Sunday, October 19, 2008
ACVB entertains AFF
They used to call it “chamber of commerce weather.” Yet for the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, this weekend has enjoyed “ACVB weather.”
Tanya Schurr, Tom Schurr
I mean, not only did 100,000 or so delirious fans pack a football stadium, but one of the city’s premier festivals spread out before and after the weekend, along with social events that drew locals and visitors to parks, patios, porches — anywhere they could soak up the dry, temperate weather.
Dustin Hooks, Matthew Desotell
The ACVB welcome for the Austin Film Festival was a small but upbeat affair. The two outdoor spaces thrummed with moviemakers anticipating the days of premieres, panels and social events ahead. A high-school band, which won a contest, played quite adroitly while folks nibbled on chips and stuff that usually comes with chips.
Samantha Davidson, Elaine Garza
I tarried with a dynamic duo of publicists — Samantha Davidson and Elaine Garza — whose offspring attend the same school and who are like publicist soccer moms. Nobody in the entertainment PR biz in Austin is better — and few are as good as these public relators.
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Longhorns launch Austin above ionosphere
Even the weather argues that we’re No. 1.
No, I use “we” because I mean that Austin or, if you will, Central Texas now shares the golden glow. The mood of the city floats somewhere above the ionosphere whenever the Longhorns are winning big. And they haven’t won like this during my entire tenure in this fair city.
I didn’t witness the triumph over feisty Missouri at Royal Memorial Stadium. Not on a weekend of a million other social commitments. But I could sense from the way people drove - a little aggressively, a little giddily - that something went right. Not much suspense remained when I switched on TiVo in wee morning hours, but I savored every slicing drive, every new talent discovered.
Like Vince Young before him, Colt McCoy is now the biggest celebrity in town. If it weren’t for those pesky NCAA rules, he could write his own ticket. And if injuries or hubris don’t intervene, someday he will.
AP photo.
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Rona Barrett speaks out
Entertainment journalist Rona Barrett sounded supremely rested, speaking from her Santa Ynez ranch, despite the morning call and the two-hour difference between Texas and California. Barrett, who will appear with TV anchor Judy Maggio at the Diamonds & Denim event for Family Eldercare on Thursday, chatted about her career as a pioneer broadcast reporter, known for celebrity gossip but also Hollywood straight talk. We also touched on her campaign for the elderly.
Rona Barrett: Those living on Social Security can’t afford the care. They can’t go to a private nursing home. There aren’t enough beds for people over 75 and on SSI. I’ve worked the past 10 years with the elderly to make sure they live a better life and are not shoved under the carpet. They don’t have a voice.
O&A: Has care for the elderly improved or declined in the past 30 or 40 years?
RB: We had a whole different culture of taking care of our own. When children left the family farm or family home and moved to cities — 2,000 or 3,000 miles away from their parents — they were forced to go back and forth to care for them. And the institutions are not functioning the way they should; there’s a lot of duplication that isn’t helping. This is a real crisis. There are 90 million baby boomers, and we haven’t prepared. There’s no preventative health care, no adult day care to give a break to primary caregivers.
O&A: You were such a pioneer in your field — and thinking of another — have you read Barbara Walters’ memoir?
RB: I thought it was a very good book. The only problem I had: I was saddened for her. She could not forgive herself for not being there for her (mentally challenged) sister. We both had personal problems as children growing up. I was born with a slight handicap. That put me in an isolated mode. It was difficult to figure out how to free myself from my physical problems. She had her sister to care for — a very similar kind of early childhood.
O&A: What do you make of the changes in entertainment journalism since the 1970s and ’80s, when you were practically alone in your field? Now there are multiple 24-hour cable channels devoted to the subject and, of course, Web-based outlets like TMZ that are so much more sensationalistic.
RB: I think like everything the pendulum is always swinging back and forth. Right now, there’s a lot of silly garbage, a focus on mindless celebrities. In my day, I always thought of our business as the third-largest product we exported to world. We had a responsiblity to do interesting and entertaining things. Now if they did misbehave, and if they did it publicly, we reported it. If they were private, it was kept private. At one time I had a staff of 44, and we always asked ourselves: “Is it important for the public to know, and why is it?”
O&A: That doesn’t seem to be an issue today.
RB: Today they don’t even look at it to see if it’s a non-story. I mean, Hollywood is a social measuring stick, but we took a different focus. I saw what we did as a public service. When a bad movie came out, we said: Please save your five dollars.”
O&A: What was your biggest trend story?
RB: Hollywood was making movies in the 70’s where many of the artists were on cocaine. Cocaine users were destructive in their creativity. The movies that resulted were not good and many were shameful. For nearly 10 years, in my opinion, Hollywood produced a bad slate of films that showed America in a very bad light. In the 80’s we had the issue of Aids. Many chastised President Reagan for not speaking up, for not understanding. But he came from a different time when such things were not even discussedPermalink | Comments (0) | Post your comment Categories: Entertainment Journalism, Media & Books
This post contains untrue reports
I split Tamara Bell’s PR & Entertainment class into seven groups for an exercise in pitching stories to a journalist. Each University of Texas six-member team chose a fictional marketing firm name and cooked up an item for my column. Then each member of the seven teams chose a method — texting, tweeting, Facebook, e-mail, phoning or face-to-face conversation — to pitch me directly in real time. This class was sizzling.
WARNING: SOME OF THESE ITEMS ARE FALSE. PATENTLY.
Insiders: We represent Will Smith and we would like to offer you a pass to the premiere of the screening of his newest film, “Seven Pounds.” After the screening we will provide with a face to face interview with Smith to discuss the movie. (Not likely that such a small firm would handle Smith, but these pitchers made me giggle helplessly with their improvisations.)
Medley 6: We represent Heisman hopeful Colt McCoy who will be making a special guest appearance on the hit television show “Friday Night Lights.” We are offering you an exclusive interview with McCoy on set to discuss his transition from the field to the studio. (Despite the obvious NCAA obstacles to this story, the team pitched it enthusiastically, convincingly.)
Blackbook PR: Our client Randy Jackson, will be attending Alpha Phi’s Red Dress Gala and Fundraiser this Saturday. Mr. Jackson is an avid supporter of cardiac disease research and we are offering you an exclusive interview, a ticket to the gala, and unlimited photo opportunities. (Nice pitch. And one that would be easy to deliver.)
The Big Picture: The curtain rises on the 15th annual Austin Film Festival tonight with Oliver Stone’s “W.” We have an exclusive interview with Mr. Stone for you. (This one might be better for the film critic than the social columnist, but the team pitched it well.)
6-Pack PR: Our client is Andy Roddick and we would like to extend to you an invitation to the wedding of Roddick and his fiance, Brooklyn Decker. You will also receive an exclusive interview with the newlyweds. Let us know if you are interested. (Bingo! I’d kill for this story.)
PrAd: Our client, Greg Daniels, is being honored by the Austin Film Festival as the 2008 Outstanding Television Writer. We would like to invite you to the award luncheon this Saturday honoring his work on “The Simpsons” and “The Office” and give you an exclusive interview concerning the new Office spin-off with Amy Poehler. (Another one perhaps better for the television writer, but well placed.)
Note: In a record for the opening exercise in this workshop, variations on which I’ve offered dozens of times, Tanya Schurr guessed in 4 seconds my coffee date two hours earlier — Brendan Hansen. (She had read my blog in advance.)
Permalink | Comments (1) | Post your comment Categories: Charity, Faith & Education, Entertainment Journalism
