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Pulling the media's strings to make sure the all-powerful public likes their clients (or at the very least, is aware of them), a publicist's work is never done -- especially considering the bipolar behavior of many of their clients. One minute they're offering to help clean up an oil spill, the next they're trashing their hotel room. Nobody said covering the butts of the rich and famous was easy. So what do publicists do exactly? In short, they accentuate the positive and downplay the negative. Ever come across a fluff piece in a magazine touting how much so-and-so gave to charity? How about a five-minute "news" segment on some star's swanky
house? That's what a publicist does. Similarly, whenever a celebrity suffers an unfortunate bout of bad judgment, gets caught lip-syncing, or has a very public breakup, it's the publicist to the rescue, putting a positive spin on the event. That old adage about there being no such thing as bad press isn't exactly true. While not all celebrities have publicists, it's pretty difficult to read the gossip pages without feeling their influence. One of the great films of all time, "Sweet Smell of Success," covers the down and dirty business, painting the main
characters in a rather cold light. Perhaps the publicists themselves could use some help with their image.
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