Salon | Letters to the editor

_______________SPIN SISTERS BY JANELLE BROWN (12/03/98)

In school and work I was encouraged toward PR, but I was also encouraged toward math and finance. I'm sorry to say I never had a strong female mentor in the area of finance, but I have had strong male mentors who encouraged, developed, supported and promoted my work in finance.
With a lot of hard work and the support of my mentors along the way, I made my way into the executive ranks as a woman. I'm proud to say, as of October, I am the director of finance and administration for a technology start-up that is on the rise.
Women may be directed more toward PR and marketing, but there is encouragement toward other areas too. If you look and listen hard enough, it can be found. In my experience, for every person who leads you to believe you can't, there is at least one person who will help you see you can. The good guys are just more difficult to spot.
-- Anne-Michele Neunsinger
One major reason, not mentioned in Brown's article, that women are dominant and continually effective in PR is because they can live in a "behind the scenes" atmosphere. Any good PR agency is making constant "strategy" recommendations. Some companies (clients) apply those strategies and some do not. If counsel is heeded, it is very rarely credited to the agency. Just like a successful PR program is rarely credited to the agency either. The big-brain ideas are fed to companies or executives who are not typically recognized for their contribution. A large ego usually cannot withstand such an oversight. But most PR professionals realize that their role is a support to other functions within the organization out of the limelight.
Also, there are myriad subtleties and nuances in this kind of communication that require tact, intuition, strategy, timing, persistence, listening, quick wit, market analysis and good old smarts. It's a unique set of qualities that often is attributed to women.
It will be a fine day when people applaud the careers that empower and put those "global" qualities possessed by many women to good use rather than see them as the demise of value and status. People often pondered where the world would be today with more women leaders who embrace cooperation, communication and support as a way of life vs. domination.
-- Ariana Walker
Emeryville, Calif.
Under the guise of promoting gender equality in the workplace, Janelle Brown's article instead reinforces a damaging socially constructed hierarchy. By implying that high-tech and financial jobs are universally "better" than jobs that traditionally employ more women, the article conforms to an old-school male conception of career success. Should I be less proud of myself as a happy, financially successful writer and advertising executive than I would be as a miserable investment banker? I disdain the fact that women interested in science and math feel "ghettoized" at work, but please don't show disdain for me because my interests lie on the other side of the tracks.
-- Carolyn Gratzer
Another reason that top-flight PR firms are veering away from dropping a load of news releases and calling it good is that it doesn't work. I just quit my job after six years as editor in chief of Oregon Business magazine and started my own PR firm here in Portland. I've watched the demise of media that was truly interested in news and events. In its place is something I hardly recognize. If you want to place a story today as a PR professional, hope it has children, pets or blood in it. (The trade press that technology firms depend on is an exception.) I am constantly looking at better ways my clients can reach their stakeholders. I try to reduce the distance between a company and its audience to an unfiltered one-on-one relationship. I'm seeing this trend throughout the PR world too. Firms that crank out news releases like dime novels are destined to fade away.
-- Kathy Dimond
Portland, Ore.

_______________A MAN TO MATCH HIS MOUNTAIN BY DON GEORGE (12/01/98)

Don George has written a great piece on a truly great individual -- and he's right, Sir Edmund Hillary has kept the humility and humanity that so many lose when they become famous. The best example of this is probably the fact that Hillary still has his phone number listed in the Auckland phone book. I saw an interview with him recently in which he said he still gets calls from school children who want to know if he's THE Ed Hillary and he's more than happy to answer questions about the event that should have completely taken over his life forever, but which he has managed (who knows how?) to put to good use.
Thanks for the article.
-- Paul Brislen
New Zealand
As a New Zealander temporarily living in the United States, I was filled with pride and delight at your recognition of one of the true greats of my country. In addition to his service to the Sherpa people, Hillary has also contributed much time and energy to public service in his home land, culminating in his term as New Zealand High Commissioner (that is Ambassador) to India. In all three countries Nepal, India and New Zealand, Ed -- as we like to refer to him -- is admired, loved and revered. Thank you again for your recognition of the man and his spirit.
-- Dominic Lane
Don George's article on Sir Edmund Hillary was a great tribute. We New Zealanders are very proud of our countryman, both for his achievements and his embodiment of the ideal of "getting on with it," which is part of our national culture. Interestingly he is the only living person portrayed on our bank notes.
I have, however, one small quibble. George states that "Hillary's first climb was up 7,500-foot Mount Oliver in southern New Zealand" as preparation for his epic climb. Personally I have never heard of this mountain, nor has my atlas.
Thanks for the Salon magazine, it's great to find such a cultural oasis amongst some of the pap on the Web.
-- W. Lennie
New Zealand
It appears that Salon believes the "most interesting and influential people of our time" to be exclusively male. Certainly the careers of Phil Spector, Pete Townshend, Richard Pryor and Sir Edmund Hillary are deserving of the label "brilliant." Still, I wonder how long it will take Salon to notice that there are women whose careers are equally worthy of our attention.
-- Carolyn Johanson
N E X T+P A G E+| Horowitz responds to criticism of Michael Bérubé and Ishmael Reed; plus, Exon-Mobil merger

_______________SPIN SISTERS BY JANELLE BROWN (12/03/98)
	In school and work I was encouraged toward PR, but I was also encouraged toward math and finance. I'm sorry to say I never had a strong female mentor in the area of finance, but I have had strong male mentors who encouraged, developed, supported and promoted my work in finance. With a lot of hard work and the support of my mentors along the way, I made my way into the executive ranks as a woman. I'm proud to say, as of October, I am the director of finance and administration for a technology start-up that is on the rise. Women may be directed more toward PR and marketing, but there is encouragement toward other areas too. If you look and listen hard enough, it can be found. In my experience, for every person who leads you to believe you can't, there is at least one person who will help you see you can. The good guys are just more difficult to spot. -- Anne-Michele Neunsinger One major reason, not mentioned in Brown's article, that women are dominant and continually effective in PR is because they can live in a "behind the scenes" atmosphere. Any good PR agency is making constant "strategy" recommendations. Some companies (clients) apply those strategies and some do not. If counsel is heeded, it is very rarely credited to the agency. Just like a successful PR program is rarely credited to the agency either. The big-brain ideas are fed to companies or executives who are not typically recognized for their contribution. A large ego usually cannot withstand such an oversight. But most PR professionals realize that their role is a support to other functions within the organization out of the limelight. Also, there are myriad subtleties and nuances in this kind of communication that require tact, intuition, strategy, timing, persistence, listening, quick wit, market analysis and good old smarts. It's a unique set of qualities that often is attributed to women. It will be a fine day when people applaud the careers that empower and put those "global" qualities possessed by many women to good use rather than see them as the demise of value and status. People often pondered where the world would be today with more women leaders who embrace cooperation, communication and support as a way of life vs. domination. -- Ariana Walker Emeryville, Calif. Under the guise of promoting gender equality in the workplace, Janelle Brown's article instead reinforces a damaging socially constructed hierarchy. By implying that high-tech and financial jobs are universally "better" than jobs that traditionally employ more women, the article conforms to an old-school male conception of career success. Should I be less proud of myself as a happy, financially successful writer and advertising executive than I would be as a miserable investment banker? I disdain the fact that women interested in science and math feel "ghettoized" at work, but please don't show disdain for me because my interests lie on the other side of the tracks. -- Carolyn Gratzer Another reason that top-flight PR firms are veering away from dropping a load of news releases and calling it good is that it doesn't work. I just quit my job after six years as editor in chief of Oregon Business magazine and started my own PR firm here in Portland. I've watched the demise of media that was truly interested in news and events. In its place is something I hardly recognize. If you want to place a story today as a PR professional, hope it has children, pets or blood in it. (The trade press that technology firms depend on is an exception.) I am constantly looking at better ways my clients can reach their stakeholders. I try to reduce the distance between a company and its audience to an unfiltered one-on-one relationship. I'm seeing this trend throughout the PR world too. Firms that crank out news releases like dime novels are destined to fade away. -- Kathy Dimond Portland, Ore.
_______________A MAN TO MATCH HIS MOUNTAIN BY DON GEORGE (12/01/98)
	Don George has written a great piece on a truly great individual -- and he's right, Sir Edmund Hillary has kept the humility and humanity that so many lose when they become famous. The best example of this is probably the fact that Hillary still has his phone number listed in the Auckland phone book. I saw an interview with him recently in which he said he still gets calls from school children who want to know if he's THE Ed Hillary and he's more than happy to answer questions about the event that should have completely taken over his life forever, but which he has managed (who knows how?) to put to good use. Thanks for the article. -- Paul Brislen New Zealand As a New Zealander temporarily living in the United States, I was filled with pride and delight at your recognition of one of the true greats of my country. In addition to his service to the Sherpa people, Hillary has also contributed much time and energy to public service in his home land, culminating in his term as New Zealand High Commissioner (that is Ambassador) to India. In all three countries Nepal, India and New Zealand, Ed -- as we like to refer to him -- is admired, loved and revered. Thank you again for your recognition of the man and his spirit. -- Dominic Lane Don George's article on Sir Edmund Hillary was a great tribute. We New Zealanders are very proud of our countryman, both for his achievements and his embodiment of the ideal of "getting on with it," which is part of our national culture. Interestingly he is the only living person portrayed on our bank notes. I have, however, one small quibble. George states that "Hillary's first climb was up 7,500-foot Mount Oliver in southern New Zealand" as preparation for his epic climb. Personally I have never heard of this mountain, nor has my atlas. Thanks for the Salon magazine, it's great to find such a cultural oasis amongst some of the pap on the Web. -- W. Lennie New Zealand It appears that Salon believes the "most interesting and influential people of our time" to be exclusively male. Certainly the careers of Phil Spector, Pete Townshend, Richard Pryor and Sir Edmund Hillary are deserving of the label "brilliant." Still, I wonder how long it will take Salon to notice that there are women whose careers are equally worthy of our attention. -- Carolyn Johanson N E X T+P A G E+\| Horowitz responds to criticism of Michael Bérubé and Ishmael Reed; plus, Exon-Mobil merger