Publicity

Publicity has always been a bit of a bittersweet process. The big question, is there a such thing as bad publicity or is publicity inner twined as a whole to be good and bad at the same time ? We must ask ourselves this because everything in the media is based on perception and how we see people. For some publicity can be a great tool used for an individual's stardom or  spreading awareness of a product or event. The actual publicity that exist in our society tends to be positive at first , but lapses in character and bad decision making , lead to publicity breaking down a person. 

Take for example the young and talented Candiadian star Justin Bieber. At first not many knew who or what he'd be, but the YouTube sensation became a hit due publicity. The funny thing about publicity is that it has it's way of bringing the worst out of people because it goes hand in hand with fame. Over night Justin Bieber turned into a pop star, grew a worldwide following , gained a net worth of an estimated 160 millon and a household name. Yet again though a few character issues and bad influences , Bieber has grown into the tattoo covered , paparazzi attacking , weed smoking , spitting on fans , attention driven bad boy. In my opinion publicity is publicity , there's no definite good or bad. 

I say this because you can flip the process and use the iconic Kim Kardashian fame story as either or. 

From Kim's entry into the media, she was known as the daughter of late Robert Kardashian, whom was one of the head lawyers on the OJ Simpson Case. So in her case , she really wasn't a popular woman at the time , but in 2007 her life drastically changed due to what some may call "bad publicity". Ray J, her boyfriend at the time made a sex tape with her and somehow it leaked and Vivid Adult Entertainment got their hands on it. Kim immediately field a lawsuit and the company settled with her for millons. As a result Kim Kardashian and get whole famy burst onto the scene. Their hit tv shown"Keeping Up with the Kardashians" became a smash because everyone and their moms wanted to see the life of the new star. Right away doors began to open for her family and Kim. So in this case ,although she'll have to explain to her child when she's older how the Kardashian fortune was built, Kim used her bad descion making and media frenzy to her advantage to put her name out there and generate buzz. 

In all to me there's no such thing as bad or good publicity. In our lives we choose to make decisions, people in the spotlight however use publicity to become who they are. An individual can use publicity and spin it in either way. When it's all said and done you can use the phrase "any publicity is good publicity " because you can be a no one and become someone but at the same time you can be someone and be brought down to a no one because of publicity. 

LS

What's Happening In Other Countries

On the western border where Ivory Coast and Liberia meet Ivory Coast army took over the border and killed 13 innocent people. The bloody attack took place in the village of Fetai. Close to 40 armed men led an attack on the village.  The attack was led by refugee soldiers. This wasn't the first attack on the village of Fetai. 

These Gunmen were  from Liberia. They have staged several assaults on towns near the border in recent years that the government and United Nations have blamed on Liberian mercenaries and Gbagbo allies. The village of Fetai was last attacked in February. Locals near the village said these were politically driven raids. These attacks were developed by former Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept his defeat in the election race against Alassane Ouattara. His rebels teamed up and have been attacking villages on the border of Libeira and Ivory Coast. Many Liberian soldiers and villagers were taken hostage. Of the 13 killed , 3 were soldiers and 10 villagers. 

After reading about this attack that took place yesterday morning, I was very nervous because my family planned to go back to Liberia , my parents homeland , like we do each summer. Consequently , we decided to delay the trip until we heard from family meme re that are near the border that it's safe enough to return for vacation. The UN and the country's defense minister are holding former president  Gbagbo for his suspected ties to these attacks and past attacks in 2011. As security tightens around the country the safety for villagers and locals will progress and improve. 

LS

Seriously ?

The recent scandal involving Donald Sterling, the now former owner of the LA Clippers, has proven that racism is still very present. Over the past years, Sterling has been a part of his fair share of controversies. The real estate guru owns many apartment complexes in the city of LA and had been charged in the past for not permitting families to have housing because of their race. A few weeks ago though, the owner really put his foot down his mouth. Sterling's mistress released audio from a phone conversation where he scolded her for posting pictures with black people on social media, and went on to say that she was not allowed to bring black friends to games as it was a bad representation of him. As this wasn't Sterling's first run in with the media and law dealing with this issue, many people now have similar opinions that the LA owner shouldn't be allowed to partake in ownership of any sports organization.

From a PR perspective, Donald Sterling handled this situation poorly. With this type of incident, he should have gotten ahead of the situation and issued a statement to the NBA if he was sincerely sorry. Instead he waited weeks to come forth with his side of the story. At first he came with the intent of saying sorry but then felt disrespected and attacked so he went to opposite route and put his foot in his mouth by bringing NBA legend Magic Johnson into the conversation. He went about brining up the fact that he's not a good example for the youth , and does nothing for minorities in the LA metropolitan area.  For Sterling this was a bad move because Magic Johnson  has helped dozens of young black teens receive college educations. , and he does many programs year round to spread awareness of unsafe sex and dangers of STDS. For a person like Donald Sterling in his time of a dilemma he really sparked another fire by attacking a person of Magic's stature. Donald Sterling thought he was above all because of his money and assets but his problems have just begun.   


LS