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The news release found at  http://www.myprgenie.com/view-publication/pillsincartcom-stands-out-as-a-trusted-generic-online-drugstore  should give chills to anyone who purports to write for a living. It's poorly written ("online pharmacies on the internet" -- where else would an online pharmacy be found?). Verbs and nouns don't agree. Its dateline sounds like an apartment complex address, rather than a city. And when the release diverts from talking about drug safety of sorts to the commissions available for resellers, it just becomes an utter mess. Who's at fault? The author of the release is an easy target. But MyPRGenie.com should shoulder much of the blame. They promise to get your news release to thousands of editors -- most of whom will laugh at the poor writing. MyPRGenie.com should provide some editorial counsel. Writing an effective news release takes skill, and Pillsincart.com's writer clearly needs help.   English can be tricky. That's why hiring

It would be too easy to judge Justine Sacco's Dec. 20 hara-kiri on Twitter. It would also be premature, because as of this writing, she's still an employee of IAC and its boss, Barry Diller. Memo to Justine: ask friends to round up empty copier paper boxes for when you're back in the office.You'll need 'em. Justine Sacco, via NY Daily News Details on Justine Sacco's self-inflicted PR disaster are here, along with the preposterous Gogo tie-in. Calling this the internet equivalent of drunk dialing is an understatement. There's plenty of stupid to go around: For a PR person, Sacco's now-deleted Twitter account contained a wealth of borderline coarse comments that were stunning in their stupidity. Teachable moment: just because you have only 400 followers on Twitter doesn't mean the whole world can't see you be stupid. Diller has owned and sold more media properties than almost everyone, including Rupert Murdoch. He's not a shy pe

This afternoon, Rochester's police chief shuttered a downtown nightclub called Plush. The club -- scene of a recent shooting -- had taken its battle to stay open to the people via social media. And lost. The last time I saw a nightclub win a battle with city hall was .... well, never. I'm no nightclub expert, but I can rattle off names of saloons gone by that enjoyed their 15 minutes of media fame. Studio 54 in New York City. Bachelors III, a Queens, NY establishment best remembered for one of its high-profile co-owners, Jets quarterback Joe Namath. They're all long gone. No nightclub wins a battle waged in the news media. And that adage now extends to social media. The "public service announcement" on Plush Lounge & Night Club's Facebook page berates the media for negative coverage of the recent shootings at the night spot. Could these events have taken place at Target or Toys R Us, as the writer suggests? Sure, if Target or TRU served alcohol an