If you haven’t heard anything about actor Charlie Sheen, I applaud you. That means you know how to effectively tune out the “noise” the media tends to bring in order to increase its ratings.

Like it or not, Charlie Sheen has gotten tons of publicity lately—some say for the wrong reasons but, nonetheless, he is a media darling in a weird kind or way.

Even a good publicist like Stan Rosenfield couldn’t put the brakes on Sheen so he did what any good and respectable Publicist would do—he resigned.

Now one might argue that negative publicity can have a damaging affect on your reputation and yes, that’s true. But if you’re a celebrity like Sheen, Lindsay Lohan or Brittany Spears—it’s as if you get a “free pass” because we, as a society, have become a glutton for wanting to get the “dirt” on people. We want to know the secrets. We thrive on knowing the so-called reality of other peoples’ lives. Why do you think reality shows are as popular as they are?

Someone once asked me if bad publicity was better than no publicity at all. Here’s what I say: Bad publicity has people talking about you. Bad publicity for authors (in a book review) piques curiousity and may, in fact, increase book sales. Yes, bad publicity puts your name out there—but a negative impression is hard to shake.