As brands look for marketshare, ROI and media placement, it would be worthy to look back to some of those who were the pioneers in the field…as press agents. On Friday one of those pioneers, Joey Goldstein, passed away at age 81 in Florida. Goldstein's spin work was the stuff of legend, and he worked with some of the greatest in the business, but most importantly he was a networker for the ages in a time when the only “network” that most knew were ABC, CBS or NBC. The New York Daily News Mike Lupica had a great look back on Goldstein's career, but one of the best chronicles of a man and a business remains Doug Looney's 1987 profile of Goldstein in Sports Illustrated. Now although many believe that the role of the traditional publicist is to never make him or herself the story, these two pieces captured the man who had a flair for delivery, an impeccable network, an ability to deliver for clients big and small and a great sense of theater. Maybe today some of those qualities have been lost in strategic communications, but the old school know-how of pitching and placing a story, solid writing skills, and the ability to know the media and the client remain and should be continued to be taught. Our book of last summer, Sports Publicity, took a look at some of the legends of the business, including Joe Goldstein and the late Mike Cohen, along with current senior leaders like Roger Valdiserri and Mary Appel. Hopefully the passing of a legend like Goldstein will give those in and entering the business pause to see what they can learn and apply those lessons to their current work. They are lessons worth learning.
