Apparently her rocker husband, Coldplay’s front man Chris Martin, does not fully support his wife on this matter.  Some believe that it has to do with his jealousy, but who really knows. However, getting to the bigger picture, does this mean that Paltrow’s golden locks will never grace the silver screen again? We’ve seen actors become singers and singers transform into actors, but it doesn’t always work out for them.  Could this become bad publicity for Gwyneth?  What if she fails as a country star, could that possibly hinder her acting career too? You decide.

She’s been publicly known as “Katy Perry” since she first broke out onto the music scene.  Changing her name to Katy Brand, while being very honourable to Russell, could throw a lot of people off. Hopefully this risky decision doesn’t affect her career. Many people would not have pegged Perry to make such a conventional decision. When it comes from a public relations standpoint, it may be smarter for her to go with the more modern hyphenation of the name, Perry-Brand.  This may just be my opinion though.

The news came out after Ellen DeGeneres asked Perry the question on Wednesday’s episode of her talk show.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2010/12/08/2010-12-08_katy_perry_in_the_process_of_taking_husband_russell_brands_last_name.html#ixzz17a7HysfW

Although we never like to hear that a legendary artist has been arrested, are we really surprised about this?  Nelson has long been known for his avocation for the legalization of marijuana.  Nelson’s publicist had no comment on the matter that had occurred, but could this lead to bad public relations for the well known Willie Nelson?

Nelson himself is 77 and his band members are in their mid sixties. He has been in the music industry for quite some time.  If you consider the fact that he is a music legend and has a very stable fan base, it is doubtful that this indiscretion will hinder Nelson’s career.  He is famous partial for his known support of marijuana.  Most people would assume that Nelson is not only frequently in possession of pot, but also under the influence of it.

In my opinion, this will not have a negative effect on the perception people have on Willie Nelson; in many ways this could increase his popularity.

After Jay Leno had decided that he wasn’t ready to retire from Late Night, Conan got the boot from NBC.  Soon after the Turner Broadcast Station saw an opportunity to bring Conan to TBS and give him his own series.”Conan has been the comedic voice for a generation. TBS already has a huge audience of young  comedy lovers, and Conan’s show will give these fans even more reasons to watch our network,” Steve Koonin — president of Turner Entertainment Networks — remarked. “For decades, late-night TV has been dominated by broadcast television. Now, with a young audience and a growing late-night lineup, TBS is set to be the choice of comedy fans for years to come.”

“Four Loko, made with guarana, taurine and caffeine, is said to contain 12 percent alcohol volume, which is almost three times the amount of a regular beer, and is being marketed as a ‘caffeinated alcoholic beverage’. “

Basically, Four Loko is the equivalent of 3 beers and a Red Bull or two.  It’s growing in popularity because it is allowing people to get drunk faster for cheaper, and as college students we are all on a tight budget.

However, is this bad PR for Four Loko?  Yes, for people who do not drink on a regular basis, two or three Four Lokos could make one intoxicated to the point that he or she blacks out.  However, this isn’t always the case; every person’s body has different levels of alcohol tolerance.

What about all other kinds of alcohol?  Anyone has the ability to drink to a high enough intoxication point that causes him or her to black out. Therefore, why is Four Loko being scrutinized?    If people such as Reverend William Rocky Brown are going to fight to take Four Loko off the shelves, why not fight to go back to the days of Prohibition?  If other alcoholic energy beverages, such as Sparks, continue to be sold, is this not being discriminatory towards  Four Loko?  If it’s the alcohol content of 12 percent that people are worried about, then this country should take over 50 percent of wines and spirits off the shelves too.

In the end, the wide spread word of Four Loko and the effect it can have on a person will doubtfully cause this products sales or other alcoholic beverages for that matter, to discontinue.  If anything, most people, especially broke college students, will be drawn to this; if for no other reason than the fact that they are now intrigued by the way they will react to it.

http://www.nowpublic.com/style/four-loko-alcohol-energy-drink-causing-young-people-black-out-2630373.html

Although I have not personally seen the movie, but have heard only good things about the film itself, could it in turn cause a bit of bad PR for Facebook? Many have heard rumors of the controversy that surrounds the birth of Facebook and the people involved in it, but the truth is a little gray. Could the story line of this film effect or offend Facebook users, and in turn make them cancel their accounts?
Although there is a chance this could cause bad PR for Facebook, there is equally as good of chance it could produce positive PR for the prominent social networking site.

Peter Travers, movie critic for Rolling Stone Magazine, has stated about “The Social Network” that he “is not only confident that The Social Network, director David Fincher’s retelling of Facebook’s beginnings, will prove to be the best movie of the year, but that it’s the film to define the last decade.” As Travers states, this film will truly resonate with our generation. We are the generation that has made social networks such as Facebook what they are today. I am not sure if there is a single person these days who does not know what Facebook is, but I can bet that they will after “The Social Network.” Along with the film bringing more widespread knowledge about Facebook, it could also draw more users in, and make facebook a staple of our generation’s history. This social network alone will go down in the books right next to the light bulb, television, and the internet.

This could turn out to be a public relations disaster for the Wisconsin Deptment of Natural Resources (WDNR).  The fact that the levee could break due to natural causes is one thing, but the fact that it is 120 years old and hasn’t been reenforced by anything else in it’s time is a disatster waiting to happen.  Today, most levees are engineered out of concrete or steel.  The Caledonia-Lewiston levee system was built mostly out of sand.  Why hasn’t the WDNR thought about this yet, and taken the precations to prevent this possible disatrous outcome.

Hopefully the levee holds and no body is injured, but if it breaks it can only be blamed on the fact that it was so old and frail.  This whole situation could possibly harm hundreds of people and their homes.

As a variety of dance, hip-hop, electro and techno songs pumped over the sound system prior to the M.I.A. concert, the bulky security guard, leaning against the stage and standing right before me, curiously asked, “What type of music is this?,” wondering what exactly he was in for. It’s a simple enough question, but where the genre-bending, musically bridging, nomadically inclined artist M.I.A. is concerned, I had trouble succinctly responding.

This is an example of an anti-climatic lead.  It doesn’t go straight into the main point of the story until the next paragraph or two. Unnecessary attempt at drama.

This lead can be rewritten as an anacdotal lead.

“Is it good?,” I had only one answer: a resounding “yes,” and M.I.A.’s performance Thursday, April 10, proved that point.

Maya Arulpragasam, also known as the artist M.I.A, conveys her music with meaning and political context.  Her mix of hip-hop, techno, electro, and dance makes her music enjoyable to a range of audiences.

Students lay down their arms, and their bodies

Twenty students laid down for three minutes on the sidewalks outside Luther Bonney last Wednesday in a silent protest against handgun violence and U.S. gun laws. It happened on Wednesday because that was the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre; it lasted three minutes because that’s the amount of time it took the shooter, Seung-Hui Cho, to purchase his handgun.

This lead is too long and repetitive.   It could have been condenced or split into two paragraphs.

This can be rewritten as an anecdotal lead.

Lael Bolduc is a  senior and one of the protest organizers of the silent protest against handgun violence and U.S. gun laws.

“Handgun violence is really a prevalent issue at this time,” said Bolduc.

The silent protest happened on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech massacre.  20 students laid down on the sidewalk outside of Luther Bonney for three minuets, which is the amount of time it took for Seung-Hui Cho, the VT shooter, to purchase the handgun he used in the massacre.

“A sunset session is probably one of the best things about surfing. There are few things in the world as peaceful and exhilarating as watching this spectacular artwork of nature while waiting for a set in the lineup. It’s almost so romantic that you could fall in love with the surfer next to you.”

This is an example of the “anti-climatic lead”.  The lead by it self sounds good, but once you read the rest of your story, you see that the lead is just an unnecessary attempt to try to add drama to the story.  To improve this lead I would simply state the main issue of the story, which is “what’s happening in the atmosphere during sunset.”

Making Spring Break Last

“Oh! Spring Break, how I love thee! Let me count the ways! You are the best time of year because you bring about some of the greatest things this world has to offer: Hot girls and, of course, wet t-shirts! Well, no. Okay, yes, but that is neither here nor there. Don’t get me wrong, I love a chick in a wet t-shirt, but that is not how to make Spring Break last. So what does make Spring Break what it is? What are some of the greatest things about Spring Break that make it so wonderful and so seemingly long?”

This lead has many things wrong with it, but I’d say Sexism is at the top of the list.  To improve this lead I would lay off the spring break stereotypes and focus more on the main idea making your spring break as relaxing as possible.

Kids can make art too, ya know

“Some kids can make a lot of noise and even big messes. But the kids at the San Diego State Children’s Center can also make pieces of art.”

This is an example of the “some people” lead.  They generalized kids and made an assumption about them.  To improve this lead i would take out the first sentence and mention something about the “A” is for Art Gala.

Sex and the Sun

“Virginity is synonymous with purity, the untouched. It is innocent young people, untroddern show, unploughed land. It is also someone who has not had sexual intercourse. At least that’s what it used to mean.”

This could be known as a synonym lead or a “definition lead”.  I would hope that the college students reading this article would know what virginity is “synonymous with.”  It also gives todays definition of virginity. To improve this lead a statement could be made about the confusion today’s youth has   on what’s acceptable and what’s not to be considered a virgin.

Finding summer employment

“Even though it seems like summer is far away, it’s almost here! Have you started thinking about what to do during your four months of no homework and no studying? Well, why not make some money to pay for those books you’ll need to buy next fall? Here are some ideas for jobs this summer, but sorry seniors, you’ll have to find a permanent job!”

This may be considered as a “that time of year” lead.  The story itself just gives some example of some summer jobs college students should consider. There are also traces of “many people” throughout the story.  It was lazily written and I’m sure there was a lack of actual reporting.  The lead could be improved by leaving out the fact that summers almost here… Duh, we know that.  Another idea would be to leave out all the questions, all we need is the main idea about the issue the writer is going to talk about, in this case it’s summer jobs.