Need a very special, belated gift for that PR executive in your life?

Ebay has an auction for a first edition copy of “Biography of an idea” by Edward Bernays, considered by most to be the father of public relations.

Bernays is known for applying the theories of his uncle Sigmund Freud to shaping public perception and essentially creating the public relations industry. The price of history is $76 bucks (reserve not met) with about 33 hours to go.

Read the wikipedia entry. It’s astonishing and darkly ironic to learn that his ideas were so revolutionary they influenced Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.

An added bonus, the first edition copy is signed by Bernays to Hal Stebbins, an advertising expert in the 1960s.

(signed to advertising expert Hal Stebbins)

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The alternative weekly Buffalo Beast has a classic on its hands with its annual “Most Loathsome People” list. The 2007 list (“now 30% more subjective”) includes many you’d expect with a decent dose of equal opportunity hate including Hillary, The Troops, David Gregory from NBC News, and YOU.

If you like searingly brutal end-of-the-year lists complete with art featuring Larry Craig crawling out of a toilet, Michael Vick choking a dog, and Rudy Guiliani emerging from a smokestack like Vodermort from Hell, this is the list for you.

White House Spokesperson Dana Perino came in at #31, a little lower than Tony Snow at #17 last year. The Beast explains why Ms. Perino did so well in her first year on the list:

Charges: In a nation weary of White House press secretaries who feign ignorance, the Bush administration took an innovative step this year, appointing one who genuinely doesn’t know anything. No more lies, America — Dana Perino really can’t answer your questions, honest! This slightly comely, over-promoted office wench not only didn’t know what the Cuban missile crisis or the Bay of Pigs even were; she actually thought it was a funny story to tell on NPR.

Exhibit A: ‘This is an issue where I’m sure lots of people would love to ridicule me when I say this, but it is true that many people die from cold-related deaths every winter. And there are studies that say that climate change in certain areas of the world would help those individuals.’”

Sentence: Sent back in time to ’62; Strapped to bottom of U2 spy plane for extreme history lesson.

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(Roger Clemens, unlikely to file suit over his ‘roid use, or throw a broken bat at a PR person)

When we solicited New Year’s predictions and resolutions for 2008, a couple of PR people, and even one coach couldn’t help themselves and weighed in with predictions on their favorite teams, and what’s next in drug scandals. We’ll leave it to you to sort out Vegas odds:

The Patriots will lose before Isiah Thomas will be fired as both Coach and President of the Knicks

I’ll ask Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte for leftover HGH or Steroids to help me heal my torn rotator cuff and will be turned down

Clemens will make a lot of noise but not follow through about filing suit over his steroid use

Clemens will not throw a broken bat at me.

–Douglas Simon, President & CEO of D S Simon Productions. You can find Simon’s vlog at DSSimonVlogViews.com.

Oakland Raiders’ owner Al Davis resigns under doctor’s orders that rampant Alzheimer’s is no way to run a football team

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Naturally when we asked the PR industry to submit predictions for 2008, we received several about the future of the media. Here are a few choice ones for your enjoyment:

Participating in popular news will continue to make us all collectively more stupid as a nation. From Fox News to GQ, news bites will gloss over, or ignore, what’s really important in life. Man’s search for meaning takes another gut punch.

Gravy will make a comeback at holiday tables across this great nation, healthy hearts be damned. It’s not that hard people – drippings, butter, flour, stir. Related: Rachael Ray will continue her march toward world dominance unless someone stops her. Someone, please stop her!

–Vince Bank, online PR specialist, Optiem

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(art from UnLtd Blogs)

New Year’s Resolutions are more fun than predictions–you sometimes get a glimpse through the hairline crack of peoples’ ego. We heard from some very serious business people, and felt the frustration of others expecting another year of the same old crap.

For those of you who resolve to make this your final day of Media Snacking, we’ve alternated the funny and the serious to help you speed read:

We all decided to make our one business resolution: To Make Our Clients Brag About Us! If we can do that across the board, 2008 will be a breeze…

–Jeff Cannon, TheCannonGroup

I resolve to not miss one more f*@^ing editorial calendar opportunity… doesn’t that sound nice?

–One of those small tech PR firms in NYC

Land a few larger accounts and hope they last at least one year before they get acquired.

Help our industry move the needle forward by redefining and reinventing PR through integrated communications.

Stay fresh, be alert, no rest for the weary (is there ever?)

Never stop asking, “Why?”

Keep a sense of humor.

Believe.

–Sabrina Horn, CEO, Horn Group
(Disclosure: Horn Group is my co-editor’s employer)

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That sound you hear? It’s the sound of thousands of publicists scurrying about the office, making sure those business cards, product demos and other swag is ready to go for the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the annual tech orgy, which this year takes place January 7-10 in Las Vegas.

We can only imagine the many tactics journalists take to stay off the press list for this event, and therefore spare themselves of inbox sabotage.

The Seattle Times reports:

With less than a week to go before the Consumer Electronics Show throws open its doors to the tech world, the PR pitches have passed their peak. They came like a deluge earlier this month.

One of the most extravagant pitches we received came from Goldmund Media Room, a high-end Swiss home-theater company that took a different course to separating its products from the crowd: It offered to fly reporters on a private jet from Las Vegas to Los Angeles, where they would get a look at a $300,000 home-theater setup.

Are you going to CES? Let us know who stole the show, who flopped and who had the best “booth babes.” Send in your news, before, during or after the show to prnewser at mediabistro.com, or via our anonymous tips box.

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We decided to take industry tool Profnet out for a spin to collect our PR industry predictions for 2008. We heard from a couple of usual sources promising continued dominance, and received thoughtful, fun, and even offensive ones from a gaggle of others.

We chose a number of them to inspire and rankle, and saved others about the media, sports, and social media for further posts. Not knowing how to categorize the ones about jet packs robots, we’ll leave those to your imagination. Let’s start with a hot one:

I predict that idiotic PR people will continue to mass email pitches to reporters with little thought as to what effect it has on both them and the entire industry.

–Bob Zeitlinger, Managing Director, B To Z Communications

Special thanks to Kevin at the BadPitch Blog for getting the ball rolling with his post about our Profnet request, and his own prediction:

In 2008, hard-earned advice, well-written books and forward-thinking conferences will be heaped upon the PR industry. AGAIN. And most PR people will continue to ignore it. AGAIN.

–Kevin Dugan, Director of Marketing Communications at FRCH Design Worldwide, and BadPitch blogger

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B.L. Ochman: PR People Please Take This Quiz Before Sending Another Pitch or Press Release

Scobleizer: “What’s your audience size?” is wrong question

John Battelle: Why No One Comments on Google News

Seth Godin: First Marketer to Have His Own Action Figure?

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

The Philadelphia Inquirer published an interview today with Linda Rosanio, head of the Star Group of Cherry Hill, NJ. According to the Inquirer, Star Group is, “one of the largest advertising and public relations agencies in the Philadelphia region.”

The integrated agency hired 100 people in 2007. A few excerpts from the interview:

Q: Is it a good time to be in the advertising and PR business when there is uncertainty about the economy?

A: Some people will cut marketing back or they will become a lot less aggressive in that area. . . . It only hurts their business more. I couldn’t say we are seeing a downturn at all. If anything, things are holding or increasing.

Q: Do you have an advantage competing against larger firms or global advertising and PR companies?

A: We really just answer to ourselves. We can turn on a dime. We can make decisions faster. We have people knocking on our door every day who want to get out of multinational agencies.

Read the full version here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

A quick look at the wires shows – gasp – up to 20 minute breaks in between press releases, in contrast to the several a minute volume on a normal day.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

In this special edition of FIRF, we look at last-minute attempts to get in those New Year’s stories likely to run this weekend and on Monday:

CareerBuilder expects slower but steady hiring

CheapTickets.com lists ten possible cities to visit for New Year’s eve, and 10 alternative ‘hoods in each to save money on hotels

Free e-book promises to show you how to keep your resolutions

The Times Square ball drop is a 100 year-old tradition, powered this year by Philips LED lights:

And in shameless keywording news, a company called Shimmering Resumes offers to write Paris Hilton’s resume, for free! In case you missed it, Barron Hilton pledged to give his billion-dollar fortune to charity, and grandgurl Paris still stole the headlines.

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NYTimes (via Romenesko): Stars & Stripes still seeking info about military PR program

Marketwatch: Fed’s failure to communicate adds to risks

Strategic Public Relations: 50% of Agency Relationships Last Less Than 2 Years

Reuters: Americans more wired, new-media survey finds

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(FEMA’s staged press conference, October 2007)

Beginning 12/31, FEMA will have a new Director of External Affairs to replace John “Pat” Philbin, two months after the press conference scandal that cost Philbin a position at ODNI.

We again contacted Philbin for comment. Philbin wished Jonathan Thompson luck, and reiterated his feelings on the situation:

“The continued reference by the media to the FEMA press briefing as ‘staged’ is simply not accurate because it is not what I authorized or condoned, and this was affirmed in the DHS-led inquiry. Anyone who knows me will attest to how I do business. I understand the appearance that resulted; however, I was the person in charge of the staff–not the one who orchestrated it.

I would liken it to a CEO of an organization or captain of a ship who delegates authority but retains responsibility–often with devastating consequences. This is a fundamental tenet of leadership.”

Stay tuned for more on FEMA as we learn more from our sources.

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The San Francisco Bay Guardian’s G.W. Schulz lists some of the big moves:

Chronicle City Hall reporter Charlie Goodyear is now working for the high-powered SF flack firm Singer Associates.

Former Chronicle reporter from the paper’s Sacramento bureau, Lynda Gledhill, is now a spokesperson for State Senate.

San Jose Mercury News capitol reporter, Kate Folmar, is working for the press office of Secretary of State Debra Bowen.

Chris Lopez, an editor of the Contra Costa Times who was laid off by parent company MediaNews Group last year, took a job as a communications director for the Denver host committee of the Democratic Party’s 2008 convention.

Paul Feist, formerly the Sacramento bureau chief for the San Francisco Chronicle, was appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger earlier this year to serve as a communications secretary for the California Labor and Workforce Development Agency.

Tom Honig, who recently departed as the longtime editor of the Santa Cruz Sentinel, accepted a job with Armanasco Public Relations, an affiliate of Hill and Knowlton, which represents such illustrious clients as McDonald’s, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., and Starbucks.

Read the full article here. The San Francisco Peninsula Press Club gives their take here.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

It can be a PR person’s worst nightmare. You email a reporter or blogger, somehow thinking the conversation is off the record, only to find, “Company spokesperson John Smith said – insert damaging quote here” in an big story the next day.

These days, it seems everything is on the record.

Have you considered adding something like this to your e-mail signature?

“this email is: [ ] bloggable [x] ask first [ ] private”

I’ve seen this on more and more e-mails lately, and it makes sense to me.

Hat tip to Ross Mayfield for starting the trend, and yes, Julia Allison for reminding me to post something about it.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.