Some are born great, some achieve greatness and some hire PR officers.

Boorstin’s quip riffs on Shakespeare’s famous triad (“Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon ’em”) to satirize modern, media-driven celebrity. By substituting “hire PR officers” for “have greatness thrust upon them,” the line suggests that in contemporary public life, “greatness” can be manufactured through publicity, image management, and strategic messaging rather than earned through substantive achievement. The joke aligns with Boorstin’s broader critique of a culture of “pseudo-events,” where attention and reputation are produced by staged narratives and professional promotion. It implies skepticism toward fame as a reliable indicator of merit.