Wo r d s !'"
hen Susan Murphy phoned
Sanit-Air to have the air ducts
in her home cleaned, she fig-
ured some day she might return
the favor. She did.
The gregarious, fast-talking
Itm- Ms. Murphy would soon tell any-
one who would listen about the
value of clean air ducts. And, of course, her
new public relations client, Sanit-Air.
When the Workout Co. of Bloomfield
Hills wanted to tell the aerobics-exercis-
ing community about their new personal
training division, they called Carolyn
Krieger-Cohen, a former radio promotions
manager with a persistent yet polite man-
ner.
"We're developing our story, so people
who come here can tell their story about
how private training helped them," said
Barbara Schiff, co-owner of the Workout
Co.
Ms. Murphy, president of Lip Service in
Royal Oak, and Ms. Krieger-Cohen, a sole
practitioner, are storytellers for hire, pub-
lic relations specialists They've both spent
the last 10 years convincing journalists
that their clients deserve the
spotlight of public attention. Arthur Bricker
These days, every news- Litvhelps Ruth
try on a
room is inundated with press
coat.
releases and messages about
a "good story." Increasingly, small busi-
nesses and professionals — such as attor-
neys, architects and financial consultants
— are turning to the publicity side of "p.r."
either as a substitute or in addition to ad-
vertising campaigns.
'We've got a story to tell about our fam-
ily business and our quality workmanship,"
said Arthur Tunis, owner of Bricker-Tu-
nis Furs in West Bloomfield.
The seasonal fur business comes under
sharp attacks from animal nights activists.
After years of image-building advertis-
ing campaigns, Mr. Tunis turned to a pub-
lic relations firm to help highlight what he
sees as the positive side of his business:
longevity as a second-generation furrier,
long-standing customer base and wide
range of qu ality coats and jackets.
"No matter how long you've been
around, there are people who won't know
you," he said. "If you're in business, you've
got to get your story across."
Vying for the attention of an easily dis-
tracted audience has created the need for
publicity, said Ms. Murphy, a longtime
publicist in the local music scene. "Basi-
cally, in p.r., you take what your client is
doing and present it positively."
The profession has its roots, ironically,
in the Progressive Era at the dawn of the
Julie Edgar contributed to this story.
Public relations firms
from one-person shops to
big companies
are helping business put out
a positive message.
FRANK PROVENZANO
SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
century, said Stuart Ewen, author of PR!
A Social History ofSpin, published in No-
vember by Basic Books.
Back then, irritated industrialists, un-
der siege by muckraking journalists, re-
sorted to reporter-like tactics to deflect the
heated criticism. A former reporter, Ivy
Lee, helped to polish the Rockefellers' pub-
lic image. He also developed an image for
AT&T that focused attention away from
monopolistic pursuits and toward its pub-
lic service ventures.
With the rise of advertising and medi-
ums such as radio and television, Mr.
Ewen argues that efforts to capture the
"popular mind" spawned a field of social
sciences that reduced the masses to an in-
stinctive herd.
"There is an increasingly sophisticat-
ed marketing and public opinion appara-
tus continually taking the public's
temperature, finding out what they're
thinking," said Mr. Ewen, a professor of
media studies at Hunter College in Man-
hattan. "Reality is being skewed and man-
ufactured by public relations firms. The
effect is that it interferes with a sound eval-
WORDSMITHS page 56
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w
Wendy Rose worts with Kevin Roseborough, managing editor of Fox2 News.
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