At the Core of PR: People to People Relationships

I've always said that on any given day, the right meeting with the right person beats a news release that is published in media far and wide. Reason: for all its bells and whistles, nor to mention exploitation of new technology, public relations is about building bridges from one person (a client, we hope) to another. Information that persuades people travels across the bridge. Feedback and reaction and news of positive action flows across the bridge the other way back,

I mention this because Leonard Saffir, who served as press secretary for former U.S. Senator James Buckley of New York, made waves in Washington when he arranged a lunch in which Buckley would meet Jack Anderson, the legendary muckracking columnist who just recently died.

Saffir wrote about the experience Jan. 13 in the Daily 'Dog newsletter about public relations.

He says he was warned that he was throwing his senator to the lions. But Buckley and Anderson found -- as people usually do -- that they had a lot in common. Anderson made friends with Buckley, who received positive notices in Anderson's column every so often, but never was slammed or slimed.

Saffir portrays the results with Anderson as stemming from the lunch, and that may be true. But Anderson had his eye on everyone in his "Washington Merry-go-Round" column. Part of the reason Buckley was never cited for a fault was -- besides the relationship-building lunch -- that Buckley must have walked his talk. Surely the mention of his name today doesn't bnring up any negative associations to this writer, who grew up in the shadow of New York City.

Saffir, who went on to become executive vice president of the p.r. giant Porter Novelli, now lives in Lake Worth, Fla., and heads his own p.r. firm.

Comments

[Leonard Saffir]

I just read an item about me and my former boss Senator Jim Buckley and the late muckraker Jack Anderson. It was an interesting piece.

I'm still kicking here in Lake Worth, Florida.

My 3rd book on PR will be out this month. It's called PR on a Budget: Free, Cheap, and Worth the Money Strategies for Getting Noticed.

Leonard Saffir