Jim Michaels

Gretchen Morgenson's affectionate recantation of the greatest abuse lines of the late, long-time Forbes editor Jim Michaels is educational reading for all good flacks, or anybody who reads business news, for that matter.

Of all the zippy barbs Michaels scribbled on copy, two jumped out as particularly instructive for both readers and flacks.

# 1 -- "This is the kind of sentence that drives readers to stop reading."

For the reader, if you have to attempt the sentence three times before you come to the conclusion that it doesn't say anything, note the byline. If you notice a pattern from that reporter, look elsewhere for your news on that particular subject. For flacks, the word "readers" should be replaced with "reporters," and then applied as a filter to every sentence in every written statement, particularly the quotes of the principles.

# 2 -- "I can't make head nor tail of this. There's a story buried in all this confusion, but I can't find it. Fix it or kill it."

For the reader, you can usually tell by the second paragraph whether the story is actually a story. For flacks, it's critical to understand the most reasonable story you should target, and then go hard and bold to make that story happen.

Morgenson's story is a fun read, though characters like Michaels often are more fun in memory than in the day-to-day.