IN MEMORIAM

Theodore Klein

Theodore Klein died in June at the age of 73 from a rare form of lymphoma of the blood vessel walls. He had been an NASW member since 1962.

Ted's professional focus, through his company, Ted Klein and Company, of New York City, was pharmaceutical public relations. His interests and concerns were universal.

Ted was a kind and calm man. He was never heard to shout or curse. He didn't drink or smoke. Having suffered from asthma as a youth, in Cleveland, he was drawn to publicizing drugs and other methods that facilitated breathing. Anti-smoking efforts were Ted's passion, and he was proud to have represented the first specific anti-smoking drug, the nicotine chewing gum Nicorette.

When a drug maker sought Ted's professional help, his first question was: What is the science? If the science behind the product was faulty or nonexistent, Ted declined the account. He was skillful enough in his business to be able to pick and choose his clients in this way.

Ted had the ability to hobnob with high-powered pharmaceutical executives, research doctors, and reporters--all of whom trusted him and his judgment. He hired daily reporters and freelancers for public relations projects, and won himself a special place in writers' paradise by always paying his contractors by the tenth of the month.

Ted was the author or co-author of five books, including Nine Months to Go, The Father's Book, How To Be Heard, Publicity, and A User's Guide to Bypass Surgery. He was completing a new book when he died, The Role of Public Relations in Pharmaceutical Marketing.

Ted provided a bridge between several conflicting and competing forces. He summed up his professional success in these Ten Commandments for Successful Media Relations:

1. Thou shalt never lie to the media.
2. Thou shalt never hide facts from the media.
3. When thou knowest not thou sayest nothing.
4. Thou shalt always tell bad news as soon as possible after it happens.
5. Thou shalt make the client available to the media--and then leave.
6. Thou shalt always be available for interviews-especially on Sundays.
7. Thou shalt write no notes that thou wouldst not like to see in print.
8. Thou shalt find and then fix the weakest link in the client's communication chain--even if that link is the CEO.
9. Thou shalt never retouch photographs or edit audio or videotape.
10. Thou shalt not take reporters out for drinks, dinners, or on dates.

(Contributed by David Zimmerman, PROBE)

NASW has also learned of the deaths of James Ehmann (freelance, Skaneateles, NY), and John Mahoney (freelance, Greenport, NY).

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