Topic: Public Relations

Adam Curry recalls a 1980s interview with TV Guide where he honestly stated that Madonna was "not that nice." This breach of the expected promotional protocol caused significant friction with MTV management, who preferred their VJs to act as purely positive "talking heads."

The hosts critique the poor public relations efforts of data center companies, comparing them to the coordinated messaging of "Operation Lockstep." They revisit the COVID-19 vaccine rollout, playing a clip of Dolly Parton singing a modified version of "Jolene" to encourage vaccination. They argue that the data center industry failed to hire the right firms to manufacture similar public consent.