Each day I receive a plethora of press releases. While some are exactly the information I seek to share with readers of Connections Magazine and AnswerStat magazine, others are more broadly targeted, and too many are complete mismatches. Consider the numerous email missives I’ve received to save the manatees or promote Michigan Special Olympics. Although both are great causes, they do not comprise the news my readers crave. Even more off course are the many pleas to promote a “hot” indie band or club. Oddly they are always from out of state.
Someday I will share a few of these random headlines, but today I want to zero in on a specific one from yesterday: “Toxic Ties to ‘New Shower Curtain Smell’ Evident.” It seems that the Center for Health, Environment & Justice is taking a stand against shower curtains made of PVC. They announced a call-in press conference for this morning. I’ve never experienced a phone press conference (actually, I’ve never experienced any in-person press conference) so I thought I’d check it out.
These guys came across as rank amateurs. They started late, were unprepared, the technology confused them, the online information was not online during the call, and the audio was so choppy as to be unintelligible. Sadly, I learned nothing about the dangers of PVC shower curtains — only the dangers of bungling a live press conference.
To their credit, they did place a follow-up call to apologize for the audio problems and answer any questions. Figuring that I already wasted enough time on the failed press conference, I declined further information.
Still I wonder if I should be concerned about my shower curtains.
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Peter Lyle DeHaan is an author, blogger, and publisher with over 30 years of writing and publishing experience. Check out his book Successful Author FAQs for insider tips and insights.