United States

Communication World, May-June, 2004 by Keith Sheldon

My worst public relations gaffe involved coordinating my first news conference in Los Angeles. I delegated the media notifications to a local agency that specialized in working with the media. The morning of the news conference arrived, and no media were in sight. At 10 a.m. I called the agency and was informed that they had forgotten to make the calls.

So, there I was, my first year in the real world, a Nobel Prize winner and my boss waiting for a throng of media to arrive, and no one showed up. I ran to a telephone booth, made a dozen quick calls and scheduled six radio interviews and two evening on-air television appearances.

From then on, I learned to plan ahead, take nothing for granted, anticipate problems and never wait until the last minute to follow up on details.

KEITH SHELDON, ABC, APR

Chico, Calif., USA