Eternal PR Wisdom from Baltimore Spokesman Bill Toohey

The family of longtime and beloved Baltimore County Police Spokesman William “Bill” Toohey shared a photo on Facebook of the headstone displaying “Bill’s Basics.”

Etched in stone for eternity, the media relations tips from decades in high-profile PR roles are as follows:

Talk for 30 second and shut-up.
If you don’t say it, they can’t print it…usually.
Tough questions are not the problem. Stupid ones are.
We’re not wrong – you just don’t know the whole story.
Better to eat a little crow now, than choke on a lot of lies later.

Toohey died on March 26, 2015, at age 69 following the discovery of late-stage intravascular lymphoma. See Capitol Communicator’s previous story for more information about the life of the “Gentleman Communicator.”

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