Add public relations degrees to those in gender studies, dance, sociology, anthropology, drama, etc. that will never realize a return on investment.
During my time in corporate communications I hired people to work in media relations, speech writing, internal communications, etc. Not once did I hire a person with a degree in public relations. I preferred folks with proven writing experience, not babbling back slappers. I have no idea what is taught by those who teach public relations.
I tossed their resumes in the trash as fast as Human Resources could send them to me.
I preferred applicants with newspaper, wire service, or magazine back grounds, people who provided proven examples of their writing skills, who could handle the pressure of hourly and daily deadlines. They understood how news organizations worked, were familiar with news gathering organizations, respected a reporter’s time and deadlines.
I wanted people who could write with clarity, simplicity, and understood the rules of English grammar. I had no use for grinning glad-handers who spoke and wrote marketing gibberish they were taught in a classroom by someone who never worked in a news environment. If their instructors were any good at what they taught they wouldn’t be babbling nonsense at kids in a classroom, they’d be working at what they were teaching, earning a lot more money.
Marketing communications and PR graduates are the ones to blame for the instructions on the Christmas toy that took all night to assemble, the brochures explaining your new medical benefits, your cellular phone and cable TV agreements, the corporate report attempting to explain the reasons revenue and profits nosedived, and why your 401(k) tanked.
Listening to them prattle on brings to mind the line from Monty Python’s “Search for the Holy Grail,” when Arthur asked the supercilious French knight: “Is there someone else up there we can talk to?” Think Target, Bud Light, Jaguar and Cracker Barrel, which may all be victims of these degree program graduates.
It’s not just bad judgement by students selecting a college major, but also the fact that today’s university environment is a wreck. There is no requirement for students to work on their education, as they’re too busy beclowning themselves with campus protests, etc., nothing designed to further their academic or professional advancement. Arrest records don’t impress potential employers as productive extracurricular activities.
These students never learned the art of writing a sentence for simplicity and clarity. They think they have to clutter their sentences with laborious phases and words to appear educated or persuasive. They come across as pompous, unintelligible, and ludicrous.
These kids need to take journalism and English courses. Then as soon as possible go to work for a small weekly newspaper, online or print. Maybe even take a year or two off before going to college and interning. Learning to write clearly and concisely will serve them well in any field they choose. They’ll look like stars.
They need to read “On Writing Well” by William Zinsser and “The Elements of Style” by William Strunk. Then reread them and use them as references during their work lives.
I was a daily newspaper reporter prior to joining IBM’s Corporate Communications function in New York. My experience writing the what, when, where, why, and how served me well.
The best editor I ever worked for was my first one at the Tampa Tribune, the late Tom McEwen. He would rip copy directly from my manual typewriter, grab a pencil, and edit out every unnecessary word that served no function.
Tom, who won multiple journalism awards, explained to me that our readers had short attention spans and had many things competing for their time. “You have about as much time to grab a reader’s attention as a quarterback dropping back in the pocket does to release the ball,” he said. He was not gruff or preachy, but instructive and educational.
Some of the best advice I heard in a corporation was directed at a group of executives by a former newspaper business editor turned lecturer and consultant. He told them that the main reason they would fail in their careers was their inability to clearly express themselves in writing. “You may have excellent ideas, but if you don’t know how to effectively deliver them you won’t succeed,” he explained.
To demonstrate his point he displayed a variety of memos he had solicited from the group prior to the class. He asked each of them to send him a memo of which they were most proud.
He projected the memos on a screen and dissected them while being careful to eliminate any material that would identify the writer.
The majority of them were word jumbles, a mix of self-promotion and unintelligible gibberish. Some went on for several mind-numbing paragraphs leaving the reader baffled at the purpose of the author.
All of the memos had two things in common. First, they wanted the reader to act on an issue they claimed needed immediate attention and secondly they didn’t say what action they wanted until they very end if then. The purpose of most of their memos was lost amid a sea of claptrap that was not essential to the topic. The writer instantly lost the reader
“Immediately tell readers what you want them to do and why,” the consultant told the group. “Keep it short, punchy, and simple. You’ll get results and respect.”
Instead of writing “price point” write “price.” Instead of “core competency” use “skill.” Instead of “in real time” write “now” Instead of “implement’ use “do” and don’t “interface” and “dialogue” with people “talk” to them.
Many times during my corporate career and as a consultant I was handed several pages of indecipherable technical and corporate gobbledygook by a proud project manager who would demand that was exactly what he wanted in the press release announcing his team’s product, product enhancement, or service.
I had to convince them that readers have short attention spans. They don’t read articles, they skim them, read the headline, and the first sentence, then maybe the rest of the article. What appeals to readers are short sentences, active verbs, strong words, that answer the question: “Why should I care?”
The audience is tough. To get directly to targeted readers press releases have to be even more informative and interesting enough to get through skeptical editors and convince them to use them, maybe assign a reporter to look into it. When I was a reporter and a PR guy approached me my first reaction was: “Tell me something I don’t know, make it interesting and make it quick.”
That is not a job for grinning, back-slapping, glad-handers with degrees in public relations. How are these poor saps going to pay back their enormous student loans with those worthless diplomas?
***
City Leaves Trail Of Blunders: The city of Fernandina botched an opportunity to compromise with a valued corporate citizen and check an item off its lengthy wish list of pricey projects at the same time.
A very wise and perplexed long-time city resident deduced that Fernandina likely could have negotiated with RYAM over its ethanol facility and probably been offered significant “compensation” for the “inconvenience” of operating their new facility – maybe even paying for the sea wall or rebuilding the marina, or remodeling Centre Street or some other large civic improvement. They have been city residents for 80 years – these folks live here too.
Instead it’s facing a multimillion dollar suit that will come out of taxpayer pockets.
“We are our own worst enemies says,” says this fellow.
Frenzied opponents screech that there will be no chemical manufacturing in Fernandina Beach—at all, ever!
Really? As this local observer points out Lignotech has been producing lignin right smack in the city limits since 2018.
My source explains that Lignin production is a type of chemical manufacturing because it involves isolating, processing, and converting a natural polymer into other valuable chemicals and materials through various chemical and physical processes. This includes isolating the lignin from biomass using processes like the Kraft or organosolv method, and then chemically modifying it to create products like adhesives, biopolymers, and other chemicals that can replace petroleum-based products.
“So why the big fuss?” he asks, “the proverbial cat is out of the bag.”
Likely RYAM will point this out in due time he explains and win their Bert Harris claim.
In fact, everything is chemical manufacturing of some sort—breathing, eating—even just living.
So how can the city pick and choose what is or is not “chemical manufacturing”? Lignin production is ok, but alcohol fermentation is not? Will all the mini breweries and the distillery on South 8th Street in the city have to close?
The specific language that prohibits “chemical manufacturing or refining” was introduced into the LDC by ORDINANCE 2016 -03 – and two years later in 2018 lignin manufacturing was an allowed use—how do you thread that needle? Answer: make it up as you go along.
Fernandina does this over and over and over – rashly condemning Brett’s, misusing the Board of Adjustment, overcharging impact fees, and misusing them, etc.
Sadly, the city, spurred on by fist waving crazies, is now on the road to economic catastrophe when it could have agreed to negotiate and compromise.
Residents will suffer.
Great comment on “chemical” production. Rayonier is a great member of our community. I am sure that they would have been happy to provide civic project help.
Time to drive out the current city council and put in pro-business common sense people.
I also blame the City Attorney here for not advising how to stay out of lawsuits. As the City Attorney, they get paid more the more the City is sued.
Perhaps “deduced” and not “deducted”.
Understand your point about PR folks, but it is much more than being a good writer. It is understanding the lay of the land as to public sentiment and trying to position the client in the best possible light whether sharing positive or negative news. It today’s world, the written word often takes a back seat to the video world.
Good seeing you grocery shopping at Harris Teeter. Clean store with a lot to offer. I do remember reading columns from your former editor at the Tampa Tribune in Tom McEwen. I was an undergraduate student at the University of Tampa and Tom often highlighted the glory days of Spartan football back when they actually played football in the late 60’s into the early 1970’s. They were ranked #1 for a few years playing small college football. Working my way through college I wrote part-time (as a “stringer”) for the St. Pete Evening Independent for editor Bob Chick covering high school football games across the bay in Pinellas County. Memories…
On the northern end of RYAM’s property, adjacent to Cook ‘s, is a perfect place to relocate the boat ramp. There is deep water, an existing road, and it would relieve congestion at the foot of Ash Street. Why doesn’t the City broach this subject,?
and ..
RYAM’s attorneys have to be laughing when they hear the City mention “Comp Plan” – the City ignored it when they voted to move forward with the, Waterfront Park.
Your experience in newsrooms and corporate communications clearly shaped your expectations for strong writing, and on that point we fully agree: clarity, accuracy, and respect for readers’ time are the foundation of good communication. But that foundation is exactly what journalism programs are designed to teach—and why dismissing journalism and related communication degrees as “worthless” misses the mark.
Modern journalism curricula still emphasize the very skills you champion: concise writing, reporting under deadline, fact-checking, interviewing, and understanding how newsrooms work. Students learn not only to write with precision but also to navigate complex information, verify sources, and communicate in ways that build public trust. Those abilities remain essential far beyond the newsroom—in corporate communications, public affairs, nonprofit advocacy, crisis response, and any field where clear thinking and clear writing matter.
It’s also worth noting that the best journalism programs require experiential learning: campus newspapers, internships, multimedia reporting, and real-world deadlines. Many of today’s journalism graduates arrive in the workforce with portfolios and professional experience that rival (and sometimes exceed) what small weeklies once provided.
Strong journalism education isn’t the enemy of good writing—it’s one of its most important pipelines. And while there will always be programs with weaker standards (as in any discipline), it’s inaccurate to lump journalism together with every other major you personally don’t value. A rigorous journalism degree is not a barrier to effective communication; for many students, it’s the most direct route to mastering it.
If anything, we should be arguing for more journalism-style training across all communication disciplines: more editing, more real deadlines, more clarity, more accountability. Those are the habits that produce the skilled communicators you say you sought—and they are exactly what good journalism programs still deliver.
Dave,
Loved the article on “Wasting Time.” Great tips!
Honestly, learning to shoot a gun and protecting your own freedom is a far better investment than wasting time and money on a liberal college degree in journalism. College these days just brainwashes you into leftist ideologies. Real-world skills—like self-defense, securing your property, and standing up for your rights—are what truly matter. Working at a small newspaper or corporate job might teach you some skills, but it’s the ability to protect yourself and your family that really counts in today’s America
The proposed lignin-based chemical manufacturing facility on Amelia Island is a prime example of greenwashing, where corporations disguise harmful industrial processes as environmentally friendly solutions. While lignin extraction may be billed as a “biobased” alternative to petroleum products, the reality is that it still involves chemical processing, emissions, waste, and resource extraction that could disrupt our local ecosystems. Amelia Island, with its delicate beaches, wetlands, and wildlife habitats, cannot afford to be the site of another extractive industry. This project could lead to increased pollution, air and water contamination, and the further degradation of the environment. We must remember that environmental justice means ensuring that no community—especially marginalized communities—should bear the disproportionate burden of industrial harm. The false promises of jobs and economic benefits should not blind us to the long-term risks, especially when we know from history that industries like these often prioritize profit over the well-being of the people who live here.
Amelia Island is already vulnerable to climate change, with rising sea levels and increasing storm activity threatening our way of life. Building an industrial plant in a region that is already at risk is an irresponsible decision that prioritizes short-term economic gains over the long-term health and resilience of our community. We should not sacrifice our environment, or the future of our children, for an industrial facility that will only benefit out-of-state investors and corporate interests. We deserve a future where sustainable, locally-driven economies thrive, based on clean energy, regenerative agriculture, and good jobs that don’t come at the expense of our air, water, and land.
Instead of expanding industrialization in our community, we need to focus on investing in green jobs, renewable industries, and environmentally restorative practices that protect our ecosystems and provide long-term, equitable opportunities for everyone. It’s time for us to move away from extractive industries that harm the environment and the people who live here, and instead, build a future that is truly sustainable—one where community voices are heard, and corporate greed no longer dictates the fate of our land. Amelia Island is not for sale—and neither is its future.
The time has come to admit that our liberal arts colleges have become hotbeds of radical leftist ideology. These institutions, often funded by taxpayers, have become more about indoctrinating students into “woke” culture than preparing them for the real world. Instead of teaching students practical skills, many of these colleges focus on pushing divisive politics, rewriting history, and brainwashing young Americans into believing America is inherently racist, oppressive, and broken. It’s time to put an end to this nonsense and redirect our education system towards what actually benefits the nation.
A mandatory two-year stint at a trade school before attending any college would be a game-changer. Trade schools teach practical, in-demand skills that are essential to keeping this country running. Electricians, plumbers, welders, carpenters—these are the people who build our infrastructure and keep our economy moving. We don’t need more students majoring in gender studies or radical environmentalism—we need workers who know how to fix things, build things, and contribute directly to the economy. By mandating trade school first, we ensure that students aren’t burdened with massive debt for degrees that lead nowhere. They’d be prepared for the workforce, learn responsibility, and only later, if they choose, could they pursue more specialized academic interests.
It’s time to stop coddling students with politically correct nonsense and push them toward real education—one that equips them with skills that make them productive citizens and hardworking members of society. If we want to save America, we need to put an end to these liberal colleges and get back to basics: hard work, common sense, and pride in our country.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Is a traitor! Anything that Trump did many years ago is far outweighed by the GREAT things he has done for the MAGA movement. Y’all agree, right?
Y’all oughta check this out for when the libs takeover Ferdinand Beach.
Whites only’: Eric Orwoll is developing a private community on roughly 160 acres near the Ozark Mountains in Arkansas. The application to join asks potential members about their views on immigration, transgenderism and segregation.