Here's the news release Microsoft issued Thursday — Valentine's Day — with this headline: Fourteen leaders promoted as company matches leadership talent to expanding business priorities. Sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

The headline gets paid off in the first sentence of the first paragraph: Microsoft Corp. today announced a series of executive promotions — seven new senior vice presidents and seven new corporate vice presidents — reflective of the company's commitment to build and maintain a strong and dynamic management team across its unique portfolio of businesses. Now how can you argue with that, right?

Well, because it's a reorg, that's why. But you'd never know it from this news release. Instead, you'd have to figure that out on your own — which admittedly seems pretty easy — or you could rely on The New York Times. The headline on their piece calls it an Executive Shuffle, but writer Saul Hansell doesn't take very long to get to the point. He uses the dreaded "r" word right in the first paragraph:

If there was apprehension at Yahoo already about the prospect of a takeover by Microsoft, the fear will no doubt increase as those in Sunnyvale study the details of Microsoft’s reorganization announced Thursday.

This post isn't about Microsoft, per se. It's about traditional PR's ability to ignore the elephant in the room while thinking you're stupid enough to go along with that charade.

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More and more new media advocates of late have been saying that establishment corporate types, the over 40 crowd let's say, and traditional PR firms and practitioners, are responsible for the lag in social media adoption among businesses. Earlier this week, for example, Hollis Thomases, the President and Founder of Web Ad.vantage, Inc. sent me this item. By Mike Grehan, it is about his astonishment upon learning, after checking around, that a lot of traditional PR firms aren't up to speed with social media. Responding to a reader comment to an earlier column he wrote, Mr. Grehan says:

What struck me particularly was her comment: "I think traditional PR firms may be on their way out as well."

How many traditional PR firms are embracing new style strategies such as the ones Mettler describes? I started looking at how many PR firms are up to speed… I was stunned at how few I came across that actually had search and social media in the mix.

Then just yesterday I came across this piece. By Janet Driscoll Miller, and entitled, "Can We Close the Marketing Generational Gap," I found it a rather astute assessment of why reluctance to social media still runs high in established corporations principally run by establishment, older middle and upper management types. I hasten to add there are exceptions. We have clients who are exceptions, in fact. Age isn'talways the defining factor, of course. But speaking generally…

Ms. Miller writes: I’m 36, and I can tell you that with a few noted exceptions, most of the marketers I know over the age of 40 don’t really seem to understand the cutting edge of online marketing, much less the basics.

You'll really want to read both of these posts.

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Seems to me when PR people have nothing really important to say or do, many of them can't shut up. When they are needed to clarify a situation, they can't find their voice… and they apparently don't hear the phone.

Here's a story from The New York Times via Gregg Keizer of Computerworld about Best Buy's problem with infected digital picture frames it sold during the holiday season. The story has more questions than answers. What kind of virus was it, how many customers were affected, how did it happen?

So naturally, the writer called the public relations team at Best Buy seeking comment. Given this chance to defend Best Buy's pre- and post-sale behavior or to clarify the current or past situation and to otherwise generally put Best Buy's best foot forward, what did the team have to say? Nothing. I guess that Best Buy's best foot forward got lodged in their mouths instead and they were unable to speak? Reports the writer:

Best Buy's public relations team did not respond to a call for comment.

Best practice? Well, let's see? The public has a concern related to your business. You're in public relations to relate things like your company's position on things to the public. Best Buy? It seems as far as the PR team goes, it's more like Good Bye. 

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