Remembering The PR Legend Dan Edelman

Daniel Edelman's death has made this a sad week for public relations. A true pioneer in the field, Edelman built a small public relations firm in 1952 that rose to the 4,500, 65 city industry it is today. As the PR world mourns his death, this is also a time to celebrate all his achievements and the important contributions he made to building this profession. 

Dan died of heart failure early Tuesday morning at the age of 92. His agency, which was founded 60 years ago, helped to make many famous brands household names. Dan's creativity, independence, hard work, ethics and attention to detail are great examples to follow for any aspiring PR pro or veterans within the field.   

Here is a Daniel Edelman quote I live by:

 "If you're not enthusiastic, how can you expect the client to be enthusiastic about what you're doing?" 

Check out Edelman's company website here.

Whitney Houston's Death: Did the Media Cross a Line?

We all witnessed the tragic end of a legend on Friday, February 11th. Songstress Whitney Houston was found dead in her bathroom at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, cause of death still unknown. Media outlets took to every social media website imaginable to project the news. Media followed every member of Houston's family; watching Houston's teenage daughter break down over her mother's death, stalking ex-husband Bobby Brown for news of his reaction, etc. But was this too much?

In an age where social media gives us the privilege to keep up with news at lightning speed, do we always have the right in the private lives of those in the public eye?

Yesterday, Whitney Houston's family held her funeral at their local Baptist church in Newark, New Jersey. Unlike Michael Jackson, Houston's family wanted to keep the ceremony at the family church to ensure privacy. However, camera's were allowed into the church and the entire homegoing was live streamed across the internet. Celebrity news shows like E! News created a hashtag for fans to chime in their thoughts on Houston's death, and even put together a special tribute program, "Whitney Houston: The Funeral."

CNN took to the streets to break the news of the musician's death. A correspondent wandered around the street, breaking the news to random strangers and filming their reactions to be broadcast on the news. Jon Stewart, host of the popular satirical show "The Daily Show" quipped, "you don't have to go with the news town crier style, door-to-door...because that's the point of Candid Camera."

Do you feel like the media covered Whitney Houston's death appropriately? What would you have done differently? Let us know!