Archive for October, 2009
Station Coffee: A Promotion for All
Let me share some thoughts about an original promotion for Starbucks or Caribou. I’m giving you this promotion because I like what the concept of coffee shops brings to our communities. More than that, I greatly respect the authentic and personal dedication of women and men across our country who are professional firefighters and EMS technicians.
Huge PR Firm Has Bunch of Kids Digital PR Strategists
As Hamilton Nolan writes for Gawker.com: Here is just the latest example of how a large PR agency can be a huge, huge, huge, hustle, staffed by hustlers, who will charge you too much money to do dumb, simple things, on the internet. Edelman!
PR at Cross Purposes
While doing research for my new book, Making News in the Digital Era, I was struck by the fact that most large PR agencies seemingly have created two different and competing agencies under the same roof that I believe will lead to competitive growth problems in the near and long term – a traditional agency competing against a digital agency.
Northwest Airlines: A Communications Nightmare
Northwest Airlines has had problems with its pilots, flight attendants and medieval company policies for some time now. Can you imagine trying to handle corporate communications/PR for such an outfit?!
Look at Where the Eyeballs Are
I was sitting in a cafe with the respected social media expert and practitioner Chris Abraham recently in Clarendon, just outside Washington, D.C., and we were purposefully people watching. Nearly everyone who walked by had their eyes down, checking something on an iPhone, Blackberry or some other type of wireless PDA.
Chris Abraham Reviews “Making News in the Digital Era”
In a world in which everyone seems to be a chicken little speaking of the end of traditional journalism, PR and advertising, there are very few people who are working toward guiding the industry toward success in new new media.
Is Social Media a Mile Wide, Inch Deep?
I have a concern that today’s frenzy over social media might be leading us down a slippery slope of communications shallowness. While a proponent of the 140-character concept of such things as Twitter, if it’s embraced as a primary tool for communications, as some suggest, its lack of depth can have adverse impact on a corporation’s image and reputation.
The King of Late Night Talk Radio
I like radio talk show host Jim Bohannon. Always have. He’s one of the classiest people on radio today, and Jim’s been on radio for years … with a large and loyal following, coast-to-coast.
What Works, What Doesn’t Online
I would like to write a few reflections on what I learned by while researching and writing my new book, Making News in the Digital Era. The book was published in September. Making News is a compendium to my 2006 work, Making News: A Straight-Shooting Guide to Media Relations that continues to be a favorite, especially among university communications classes.
The Washington Post’s Lack of Transparency
The Washington Post – the once-legendary newspaper in the nation’s capital – continues to stumble and crumble along, the victim of an increasing number of self-inflicted ethical mistakes. A few months ago, it was about the egregious attempt by publisher Katharine Weymouth to sell her paper’s editorial influence to Washington lobbyists.
