June 9, 2016—With the recent relaunch of the Dillon Communications website, I’m also reviving my blog. In the process, I’m updating some of the old blog posts from Beneath the Peak about media, media relations, writing, presentations and communications, and writing new posts about these topics. I will also highlight resources—including books, websites and software—that […]
I have a soft spot for radio. I grew up listening to clear channel radio stations at night in Canada, worked for a time as a DJ, and there’s usually an internet radio station like KEXP, KUVO or the BBC (or one of a dozen more) playing rock, jazz, ambient or news in the background […]
May 25, 2016 — On Tuesday night, I had a pleasant surprise when I received the following email from the letters editor of the South China Morning Post. I’ve redacted the author’s name, but the letter is otherwise complete. Dear letter writers, I am writing to tell you that this is my last week as […]
May 25, 2016 — Yesterday’s South China Morning Post featured a front-page story about passengers on the Queen Mary 2 being shown a video by British archaeologist John Reich. In the video, Reich reportedly described Hong Kong as an “extremely polluted city,” with “inferior museums” where there was no point in dining-out because passengers, “would […]
May 24, 2016 — Communications problems—including a failure to manage expectations—is one reason for the growing sense of disappointment in Hong Kong’s government. 1. We’re spoiled. Compared to the kleptocratic thugs in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, the bureaucracy of India, or the brutal repression of North Korea, we have it good. But it’s easy to lose sight […]
May 24, 2016 — I spent Christmas 1990 in Ho Chi Minh City. One of the trip’s highlights was an afternoon at what was then known as The Museum of Imperialist Aggressive American War Crimes, which also cataloged the Vietnamese experience under the French. It’s now known as the War Remnants Museum The museum was, […]
April 28, 2016—On Monday, I moderated an event about real estate and technology that was organized by the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong and sponsored by KPMG. Several interesting things came out of the presentations and discussions, which featured representatives from a management consulting company and technology company and two businesses selling overseas […]
In a recent interview with Germany’s Welt Am Sonntag newspaper, singer Bryan Ferry praised the Nazis’ iconography saying, “The way that the Nazis staged themselves and presented themselves, my Lord! I’m talking about the films of Leni Riefenstahl and the buildings of Albert Speer and the mass marches and the flags — just fantastic. Really […]
March 25, 2007 — In junior high school, I had a music teacher named Norman “Duke” McGuirl, who was a versatile, accomplished musician. His first love was the saxophone, but he could coax music from a bassoon or even a French horn. In a class that ranged from the offspring of professional musicians to the […]
February 27, 2007 — Here are 10 tips for getting the best from your copywriter when you produce brochures, newsletters, annual reports and other corporate communications materials. 1. Know your audience Good writing speaks to the interests and concerns of the reader. That means you and your copywriter need a clear understanding of the audience: […]