A great many people are responsible for helping prepare this book. My coauthor Jeff Leeson brought clarity and structure to the project and I am grateful for his talent and involvement. Jossey-Bass editor Kathe Sweeney was supportive from the start, as were Natasha Nicholson and Heather Turbeville of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC).

I thank my cousin Jeffrey Chernoff for lighting the initial spark that triggered my fascination with the world of news. As youngsters, Jeffrey and I would pretend we were newscasters and record ourselves on his tape machine as we read the daily paper aloud. We still have a hearty laugh when we recall announcing one story from the front page of the Montreal Star about "ruptured belly cockpits."

My dear friend Renee Kaminski gave me tremendous encouragement along the way and is in fact responsible for me getting my foot in the door of a major radio station. When we were fifteen years old, Renee and I would stand outside the local rock station hoping to meet disc jockeys, and one day, Earl Jive, a popular deejay, walked out the front door. "Show him your radio voice, Jeffrey, show him your radio voice," Renee said to me. So I did. Earl took a liking to me and let me volunteer at the station every afternoon after school, emptying ashtrays and taping ripped album jackets. Thank you, Earl.

I am eternally grateful to the late Casimir Stancyzkowski, who owned CFMB Radio in Montreal. After dropping out of high school at age seventeen, I worked in a men's clothing factory and, every day on my lunch hour, I would call the owners of different radio stations begging for an audition. Mr. Stancyzkowski offered me an audition if I promised to stop calling him. This was the opportunity I had been hoping for. Though I was convinced I blew the audition, Mr. Stancyzkowski called me the next day to tell me I was hired as morning news announcer. I thank him for believing in me and helping me leave my life at the factory.

It was Bob Holiday, news director of CFTR Radio in Toronto, who taught me to be a news reporter. Bob was a surly and hardnosed boss, who would threaten me daily. "I'll kick your ass down Yonge Street," he would say if I ever screwed up reporting a story. My gratitude also goes out to radio colleagues Brian Thomas, Tim Laing, Ben Steinfeld, and to CITY TV founder Moses Znaimer.

My entry into the world of media training is thanks to former CBC broadcaster Yvonne Burgess, who invited me to play the role of probing reporter in a media training program. I never properly thanked Yvonne, but I hope she knows how appreciative I am to her for opening a whole new world to me. My teachers in the world of public relations include Brian Hemming, president of Hill and Knowlton Canada, who brought me onboard to create a communications training division for the company. I also thank Jan Waterous, who succeeded Brian as president.

I have learned much from clients of Jeff Ansell & Associates as well. They include Sheila Frame, Kirsten Evraire, Natasha Bond, and Geoff Sprang, each of whom provided insight into the fictional Biojax scenario presented in the book. My appreciation is also extended to Greg Pruett of PG&E Corporation, who invited me to provide counsel in the company's handling of the Erin Brockovich case. A number of public relations professionals played a helpful role in editing the book. They include Karen Mortfield, Roy Thomas, Judith John, Peter Mueller, David Bauer, Bob Pickard, and Jordan Berman. I am grateful to each of them. Bert Goldstein played a role in the review process and my associate Shoana Prasad provided her insight as well. Thanks also to office colleagues Michelle Walker and Ariella Heskin.

In my research for the book, lawyer Jim Golden, Professor Kurt Dirks, and communications adviser Nick Morgan were kind enough to share their unique perspectives and it is much appreciated. My gratitude goes out as well to communications professionals Karen Rugen and Gary Gerdemann, who took the time to critique and edit an earlier, unpublished book. Very special thanks go to Larry Susskind and Michael Wheeler, who are both responsible for an important turning point in my career. In 1995, Larry and Mike kindly invited me to help teach the MIT-Harvard program, Dealing with an Angry Public. Their support and tremendous encouragement opened a great many doors for me and I thank them for making that possible. I am also grateful to Mike for my annual invitation to Harvard Business School, where I meet with his MBA students in the course Negotiating Complex Deals & Disputes. My role in the course is to help students appreciate the impacts of values and emotion on the negotiation process.

Adam and Joshua, my sons, played a role as well. Adam helped edit the book, and Josh, who studied radio in college, provided research assistance. Finally, this book and in fact, my career as a communications adviser would not have been possible without the faith, love, and support of my wife Annie. When the world of media training initially presented itself, Annie encouraged me to take the chance and go for it. Through every step of our friendship and marriage, she has been by my side and I could not have asked for a more wonderful life partner. Thank you, Annie.