Hello From Brooklyn: Here's What Aly Is Working On Today!

Greetings from humid NYC, where the world is once again on fire and my insomnia remains off the charts. Hope you are doing well this week!

Wham bam, thank you ma'am?!

Sometimes, in my best friend Bryce Gruber and my Mastering Media club on Clubhouse, the topic of the sadly transactional relationships we find in media has sometimes arisen. What we are talking about when that happens if that we’ll discover that a publicist or a brand we thought were our friends may stop engaging in a relationship with us once we’ve used up our so-called value - perhaps our outlets change, our beats change, etc.

Human relationships always matter, and you never know where a person will be or what they will be doing next week or next month. But the reason I bring this up is because I experienced another form of said transactional relationships recently and I’d love to use this a cautionary tale to those planning events, dinners, and press trips in this “new” version of normal.

As everyone is aware, last week I was on my first post-lockdown press trip. Everything, as far as COVID-precautions was really great from the start of the trip and for the length of it. I was pretty impressed! (And it takes a lot to impress me in this area. I sanitize my bottle of sanitizer.)

However, the night before the final day, I was told via a late night text that they (those hosting us) were no longer were going to be able to make sure we had a car ride to the airport - and instead asked me to take a bus.

“We’ll drop you off at the station, of course!” - Now, it’s no secret that up until this point, I haven’t taken public transportation at all, even at home, and have been VERY conservative about what I feel comfortable doing. So, this final send off felt like…my personal safety and health stopped mattering when this group was…no longer going to be interacting with me? So was it all about their safety, not ours, all along?

Please keep this in mind when planning trips and events and even dinners. For example, make sure that there’s a safe mode of transportation other than a public subway or bus, available for all your guests, so that they don’t have to risk their health and safety because of your event. Be honest about the parameters, and try to engage in communication at all points so there’s no last minute bait and switch, regardless of the issue. It’s part of hosting. And it’s part of us all keeping each other safe. Everyone has different levels of precautions they are personally comfortable with, and what one of us is good with may not work for someone else. That’s totally fine. We all get to choose the invitations we’ll accept or not accept. But that’s where communication comes in, and why it’s so important.

PS: It worked out fine for us because a friend - a publicist who had NOTHING to do with the trip or the clients, ended up taking us to the airport herself. We’re OK!

Enough with all that. Here's what I'm working on right now:

1 - For Pawp, I'm working on: Dog Ate A Grape? What To Do If Your Dog Eats Grapes. I would love vets and other credible animal health experts to answer some questions via email. By EOD tomorrow please. emails only! alywalansky@gmail.com

2 - For Merriam-Webster's The Usage, I'm working on roundups of best laundry detergents, and best pulse oximeters. I'm totally open to experts weighing in on how to choose for each, and things to consider, but also am eager for products to be pitched to me from major online retailers. Deadline...EOD tomorrow.

Here's some stories that were published so far this week.

Eat This, Not That

https://www.eatthis.com/news-everyday-bad-health-habits/

Merriam-Webster’s The Usage

https://www.merriam-webster.com/theusage/best-single-serve-coffee-maker

https://www.merriam-webster.com/theusage/best-beverage-cooler

https://www.merriam-webster.com/theusage/best-dog-beds

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I’m so grateful that so many people have decided to sign on for this newsletter. It’s absolutely helped to streamline my responses to queries, and I hope it’s been helpful to you. If you have PR friends or colleagues who you think may find use from these emails, please feel free to share this with your friends and in your office. The more the merrier!

Thanks for taking the time to read this! Have a great day!