Jane Albright, a credit to her profession
 t's not often that a letter from a public-relations type makes my day (or
week or month, or even my year). Let's see . . . there was the letter from
Wham-O telling me that it's not a Frisbee, it's a FRISBEE™ Brand
flying disc. (Those fine folks were nice enough to include a disc for my
flying pleasure, but the idiots in the mailroom stole it.)
Then there was the letter from the Books on Tape people complaining that
somebody at The Washington Times, where I was copy chief at the time (it wasn't me -- honest!), had used "books on tape" in a generic
reference to audio books. I'm willing to accept the BOT dudes' trademark on
this, but that got me to thinking: They're books, and they're
on tape, so how in the world do you get away with a
trademark on something like that? What's next, Brown Pants™?
But I digress. I can't digress as well as Nicholson Baker, but I try.
Anyway, I should have known this letter was special when I saw that it
was addressed to "Copy Desk Chief, The Washington Times." Here,
obviously, was that rare person who actually knows how a newspaper works.
Most PR types spend their days sending off news release after news
release to the "News Editor," not realizing that the news editor at most
papers is a page designer, not a news-release digester.
It gets better. Here's what the letter said:
Dear Copy Desk Chief:
Just a reminder that we are Inova Health System, not INOVA. Inova isn't
an acronym. Inova is just a name, with roots in the words "Northern
Virginia," where we were born and raised, and "innovative," which is what
we try to be.
Much of the confusion comes from our logo (see above). In the logo, all
the letters are capitalized for stylistic reasons. But I've yet to see an
article where INOVA HEALTH SYSTEM appears. That looks ridiculous to
everyone.
By the way, Inova is pronounced inn-NO-va. Your reporters may refer to
Inova Health System when they report on Fairfax Hospital, Fair Oaks
Hospital or Mount Vernon Hospital, to mention only the most visible
facilities in the system.
Call me if you have any questions or if I can help you in any way.
Sincerely,
Jane Albright, manager
Inova Marketing Communications
Amazing!
Here I am lambasting PR types who want their precious names in ALL CAPS,
and along comes Jane to make a plea for common sense. I wish they could
all be like you, Janester.
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