This Sunday finds me away from my desk, and it occurred to me that this might be a good time to say something nice about our publisher. William D. Marler, managing partner of the well-known food safety law firm of Marler Clark, is the one figure in the world of food safety about whom few are neutral. Bill and I have what they call history. Sometime back when Jimmy Carter was president, the Lewiston Morning Tribune sent me up to Pullman, WA, to cover the first Washington State University undergraduate to be elected to the city council. Bill was a reporter’s dream because he was sitting at the big kid’s table and had both opinions and a mouth.

Bill Marler
Bill Marler
This was in the old days when journalists generally did not hang out socially with newsmakers, especially the elected ones. However, if you are one of the small number of people who “summer” in Pullman, it’s virtually impossible not to come into contact with others sharing the same space. WSU not in session turns the small city of Pullman into a very small town. Bill had promised to be a year-round council member, and he did not leave town for the summer, and of course nor did I as a full-time newspaper reporter. And with so few people around town, it was inevitable that we kept running into each other. Then we’d find ourselves having lunch or dinner and maybe an occasional adult beverage. When Bill, Bruce Clark, Denis Sterns  and Andy Weisbecker founded Marler Clark in 1998, the new law firm engaged my public affairs business to help with marketing and communications strategies. It was in doing work for the law firm over the next decade that Bill really began to expose me to his world of food safety. It was also during that time that I came to understand just how effective he has become as a communicator. I used to say that I taught him everything he knows, but I came to acknowledge that he had created his own space and brand through an interesting evolution. One of his trademarks is to “flood the zone” when he gets on a roll. That’s what he’s been up to in recent days with his new contributor’s space at Forbes. Since I am away, I thought I would direct my dedicated Sunday readers to some of his latest articles so you can also experience the Marler treatment. Here’s where to go:

And, it is not like other publications and media haven’t been noticing too: New Yorker – A Bug in the System – Why last night’s chicken made you sick. Lucky Peach – Profile in Obsession: Bill Marler New York Times https://youtu.be/yfGOJKbqrWk PBS Frontline https://youtu.be/DunJEu9uuu8 And, there is that book which you still can get on Amazon: https://vimeo.com/41457296