Reviews for Complementing Latin American Borders

The average rating for Complementing Latin American Borders based on 2 reviews is 2 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-10-15 00:00:00 Peter-yves Thynne Mathis knows media Media maven Mark Mathis (I couldn't resist) not only knows media and how to toot his own horn, but he can show you how to toot yours. He knows that big corporations typically have a fleet of PR people scurrying about trying to manage the media. He notes that in 1996 Microsoft had an estimated 500 PR people, Time Warner had 300. (p. 112) Although it would seem that Time Warner ought to be more media savvy than Microsoft, Mathis's point is, who has more money and how do you think they got it? According to Mathis, part of the reason that Windows 95 swamped IBM's OS/2 is that Bill Gates and company did a much better job of managing the media (p. 113) Mathis also knows that CEOs lie awake nights dreaming of schemes to seduce the media, to get some of that FREE publicity that is better than any kind of advertising. In this book he tells them how. Mathis's formula caricatures the media into a dumb beast that can be controlled (the clever cartoons by Eric Garcia of the "beast" nicely augment the text), and presents sound-byte advice in twelve chapters each with a media "rule": keep it "simple"; make it "easy"; infuse it with "emotion"; make it "different"; be "prepared" (anticipate obvious questions and have snappy quips at the ready); "repeat," etc. He peppers his prose with lively examples, funny asides, and pithy illustrations. He recalls such media coups as the brilliant "planned " of US soccer star Brandi Chastain who stripped to her black sports bra after kicking the winning goal against China at the 1999 World Cup championship. And he notes lost opportunities as when Dan Quayle got ambushed by Lloyd Bensen in a debate with the memorable, "Senator Quayle, I knew Jack Kennedy...and you, sir, are no Jack Kennedy." Mathis suggests that had Quayle been better prepared he might have come back with, "You're right, Mr. Benson. I've been faithful to my wife." (p. 96) This is a media book lively enough to keep a tired CEO awake during an all-nighter to Singapore and uplifting enough to give encouragement to the depressed PR director of a sewage company. The Beast, according to Mathis in the opening chapter is "Handicapped, Hungry, Harried, and Human" In Chapter Six we find that the beast also has "Heartburn." And how does he spell relief: "E-a-s-y," as in, make things easy for the beast. (pp. 113-114) Reporters are characterized as underpaid, under-educated (p. 11), overworked, and not entirely bright, particularly with numbers and complex stories (see pages 73 and 76). Indeed, Mathis, an ex-reporter himself, does a little reporter bashing along the way just to make those CEOs and PR guys he's addressing feel confident. He warns against the liberal bias of the media, noting that reporters "tend to think they are smarter, more worldly, and, in general, more enlightened than the rest of us." (p. 21) I guess Mathis ought to know. But what he doesn't say is that the liberal bias of the reporters is overshadowed by the conservative bias of the owners. (Guess which slant wins out.) He doesn't mention this because he believes that it doesn't matter. The people you need to get to are the reporters. You need to know their prejudices, their needs. And Mathis knows them well. Here's his take on the need for simplicity: "News reporters have one primary function--to simplify. A reporter can be brilliant. He can be a proficient grammarian and a dogged investigator. He can be a master of eloquence and wit. But if he cannot simplify, he might as well become a veterinarian." (p. 67) Your job, as Mathis sees it, however, is to make sure the reporter simplifies it in a way that makes you look good. Therefore you simplify your message for the reporter! I see this as an example of something I've always stressed: you have to guide the experts. They may be experts--doctors, lawyers, reporters, etc.--but you're the one who really cares, so you have to guide them. Although this is a fine piece of work, I do have a couple of suggestions. One, Mathis needs a chapter on "the rule of entertainment." The beast likes to be entertained and more to the point, the beast needs to be entertaining to stay in business. Also Mathis's take on why we so often "hear and see bland, boring comments" in the media (p. 57) despite his injunction to make it emotional, is not quite right. He recalls Crash Davis from the baseball movie Bull Durham (1988) telling Nuke LaLoosh to "learn your clichés." Mathis's position is that ball players should avoid the clichés and say something lively and emotive instead. He laments that politicians are particularly guilty of saying the bland and ordinary. But the reason politicians typically speak as vacuously as possible is that they don't dare say anything lively that can be used against them or be vividly recalled later on when they change their mind. And Crash had it right because ball players have a higher loyalty than gaining publicity for themselves. (Or at least they need to pretend they have.) They need to NOT stand out. They need to be part of a TEAM that cares not for personal glory but just wants to take them "one at a time" and get a "W." I have no doubt that this book will be valuable to everyone from small business owners to the top execs at Fortune 500 companies who want to improve their ability to manage media. If I had the wherewithal and the need, I'd hire Mathis on the spot. His "recipe" is easy once you understand it, and rest assured, by the time you finish this well presented, eminently readable, entertaining and timely book, you will understand the beast, at least publicity wise. --Dennis Littrell, author of “The World Is Not as We Think It Is”

Review # 2 was written on 2015-12-30 00:00:00 Thomas Kolar Yes, I had to read this for my Psych 3120 class, but I found it an interesting read and well worth my time. I