Burnout is sometimes motivated by internal factors, Dr. Ballard says, and sometimes it really is a symptom of external ones.

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Mr. Ballard says he always ensures conservative audience members are fully aware of a show's content by sending out emails with descriptions of the plot and printing warnings in the theater's literature.

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Kaplinsky of Ballard Spahr says this one should be an easy victory for Amex.

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"Our strategy hasn't changed much over the past year, " says Ballard.

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"I was thrilled when they contacted me, " says Kaye Ballard, on the phone from her home in Rancho Mirage, Calif.

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"Ballard has a great public relations machine, " Redstone says.

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