Comprehension

Refer closely to Text 1 and answer the questions:

1. What does H.Rogers think of press agentry?

2. What are the spheres where press agentry plays a major role?

3. What examples of successful press agentry are given in the text?

4. What is the aim of press agentry?

5. What is press agentry based on?

Vocabulary

1. Find in Text 1 equivalents for the following Russian words and phrases:

сущность; гардероб; продлить контракт; киностудия; партийный съезд; всемирно известный курорт; снисходить до чего-либо; окупаться; дань; обслуживание.

2. Give Russian equivalents for the following words and phrases:

to get somebody’s name in the paper; to become the talk of...; building name recognition; attracting audience; give somebody a legend; to attract public notice; object of coverage; candid words; earning power; to build the right contacts; “in place” club.

3. Match 1 – 7 with a – g to form expressions from Text 1. Give their Russian equivalents.

1) cover 2) publicity vacation business press talk tourist

agent attraction enterprise show destination page business

4. Mach the words on the left with the definitions on the right.

press-agentry promoter stardom publicist agenda entertainment career-launching appearance

the act of taking part in a film, a play, a concert, show etc. to start a career; things that amuse or interest people; a business that supplies photographs, provides information about a particular actor, musician etc. to newspapers, radio and television; someone who arranges and advertises concerts or sport events; someone whose job is to make sure that people find out about a new product, film, book etc. or about what a famous person is doing; subjects that everyone has heard of and is talking about; the situation of being a famous performer.

Text Discussion

Comment on the quotation from Text 1:

“My job was to get the client’s name in the paper.”

“We stoop to anything, but our stuff gets printed.”

Over to you

1. Is press-agentry developed in Russia?

Give examples that show the importance of press-agentry:

1. in entertainment

2. in politics

3. in sports

4. in religion

5. in businesses headed by famous people

2. Would you like to specialize in press-agentry? Why?

3. Pair work. Take an interview from a press-agent of a very popular person.

Ask him/her about his/her job, his/her achievements, the importance of agentry for launching stars.

Complete Text 2 using the words in the box.

business practitioner facts example practitioners entertainment part media news coverage

text 2

Press Agentry

Press-agentry is ink. It is a sales-driven approach that does whatever it takes to get exposure for clients in the (1)…... without resorting to paid advertising. Press-agentry is not above truth-bending or lying to reach its pragmatic objective. It will make up (2)…... if it needs to do so. Press-agentry is a long-standing (3)…... of PR, and it won't go away. Press-agentry has transformed over the decades into "ink with ethics," that is getting exposure while maintaining respect for facts, but if all else fails, getting exposure is more important than facts.

(4)…... of press agentry have included so-called fathers of modern PR - Ivy Lee and Edward Bernays. In the early 20th Century, both were Broadway press agents, when Broadway was the capital of the (5)…... world, before moving on. Bernays' move into constructed news that accounts for audience perceptions and biases is a sophisticated form of press agentry. His 1915 80-page press packet for the Diaghilev Ballet Russe American tour was an early (6)…..., and his work in 1932 publicizing autos for General Motors with testimonials from (7)…... and academic leaders was more elaborate.

Press-agentry relies on spin-interpreting facts to fit one's view and to get media (8)…... . Christopher Buckley's hilarious novel, "Thank You for Smoking" lampoons this type of (9)…... brilliantly, and post-presidential debate commentary from Democrats and Republicans is a quadrennial example of spinning. Press-agentry includes any technique that manufactures (10)…... – publicity stunts, faux surveys, fake committees, constructed events and other tactics practitioners continue to use.

Read Text 3. A famous columnist Catherine Seipp writes about Michael Levine, a Hollywood press-agent.

Text 3

The Freudian Flack

Deeply psychotherapized publicist Michael Levine is one of Hollywood’s grand eccentrics – and his media dinners are the hottest ticket in town.

Not that I like to pigeonhole people, but these days the vast bulk of Hollywood publicists do seem to fall into the following categories:

1. Snarling Micromanagers – the legendary Pat Kingsley of PMK is queen of the pack here – who now orchestrate pretty much every aspect of magazine cover stories, and who have managed to make "access" one of the more hideous journalism buzzwords of the '90s.

2. Grumpy Old Machers, like press agentry veterans Lee Solters and Warren Cowan, whose favorite phrases (at least when I've talked to them) are "No!" and "I'm going to call your boss!"

3. Clueless Young Things, easily identified by their favorite phrase, the lilting "... and where can I get a copy of your magazine?"

Then there's Michael Levine. I've never been able to categorize Michael Levine, even though in the '80s he was for a while needled monthly in the old Spy magazine as the – quintessential Hollywood flack. In the past couple of years, however, he's managed to make his monthly Los Angeles Media Roundtable dinners a prized invitation among journalists, who are normally dismissive of invitations from press agents.

Tall, with silvery blond hair, the stepson of gossip columnist Marilyn Beck, Levine cultivates the slick demeanor of a Hollywood man-about-town.

Levine Communications Office of Beverly Hills is known for its high-volume, regularly changing roster of up-and-coming personalities, anchored by the loyal, rocklike presence of Charlton Heston, a client for 15 years. Thus it occupies a unique niche in the world of Hollywood press agentry, which tends to focus on cultivating a few high-profile cash cows.

But unlike many of his fellows, Levine is not known for being nasty. His method of dealing with calls from the press could perhaps best be described as deeply psychotherapized.

He makes a point of returning all calls the same day. "Mr. Solters, in his wisdom, decided that being belligerent to the media was the way to go," Levine says. "I don't happen to feel there's ever any reason for being impolite. I feel the tunnel between the publicist and the media should be clean, well-lit and well-traveled."

Which brings us back to his Los Angeles Media Roundtable.

At these dinners, journalists (mixed with a smattering of lawyers, politicians, business leaders and, for some reason, the odd plastic surgeon or dermatologist) get together and, off the record, complain loudly to each other about the state of things in general.

Still, in the beginning, "No one wanted to come - not even my own staff," says Levine. Now there are three or four people hoping to be invited for every seat that's available. Of course, the popularity of any given dinner depends on the guest of honor. Sometimes it's just an editor from a local publication, which can be a tough sell.

But in the past two years, guests of honor have included movie producer Robert Evans, Variety editor-in-chief Peter Bart, Los Angeles District Attorney Gil Garcetti, ousted Los Angeles Police Chief Willie Williams, good old Charlton Heston and - at last week's dinner – O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden.

Finally, to get back to my publicist categories, maybe that's what kind of a publicist Michael Levine is: a Sidney Falco for the 2000s.

1. Match 1 – 7 with a – g to form expressions from Text 3. Give their Russian equivalents:

to make to pigeonhole to change to return to cultivate to occupy to orchestrate

a call an aspect people a point roster a niche demeanor