Podcasts for PR Peeps

It’s no secret that podcasting, once left for dead, has a new lease on life now that our mobile devices serve as the primary vehicles through which we acquire news and information. One NYU student writer recently extolled the podcast as “the future of journalism.” The buzzworthy “Missing Richard Simmons,” Buzzfeed’s “Another Round,” and the #1-rated “S-Town”…… Continue reading Podcasts for PR Peeps

Omnicom-Publicis: A PR Scorecard

Now that the dust has settled from the biggest ad industry merger announcement ever, let’s take a moment to reflect on the net takeaway from the news. First, I should say that the announcement, IMHO, was mischaracterized. It was universally described as the creation of the world’s biggest advertising company, when in fact, both Omnicom…… Continue reading Omnicom-Publicis: A PR Scorecard

The Journalist & the PR Pro: A Broken Marriage?

Last week my former Associated Press client Tori Ekstrand invited me to speak at the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. After a two–hour snow delay in New York, I finally made my way to the Freedom Forum Center on campus where Tori, now an assistant…… Continue reading The Journalist & the PR Pro: A Broken Marriage?

Apple’s Tech Tease

Perhaps New York Times tech editor Damon Darlin’s post on the Gadgetwise blog also deserved inclusion on the Times’s MediaDecoder blog. It reported on the cryptic email his office and other tech journos received today from Apple’s PR machine.Keeping with the company’s fabled adherence to communications secrecy, the note simply announced that Apple planned an…… Continue reading Apple’s Tech Tease

The Bad Pitch Wiki

As the long-time, but recently retired editor of the Gawker-owned A-list blog Lifehacker, Gina Trapani has moved effortlessly in tech and social media’s rarefied circles. In her editorial gatekeeper role, she also received more than a fair share of inane or misguided story pitches from lazy or vendor-reliant PR people.Now that she’s out of her…… Continue reading The Bad Pitch Wiki

Apple Voice

If one were to guess which of the world’s most-watched corporations had the most command-and-control approach to its communications, invariably that Cupertino, CA company would rank right up there.Apple Inc.’s PR is legendary, less for its embrace of the new tools of the trade — and the transparency that comes with it — and more…… Continue reading Apple Voice

POTUS PR

“I’m really perplexed. It’s unbelievable,” said [B-M’s] Karen Hughes, Mr. Bush’s White House counselor. “They’ve taken his greatest political asset — his gifts as a communicator — and totally diluted them. It’s been especially notable in the last couple weeks.” “It’s a risk of overexposure,” said Joe Trippi, a political consultant. “If you use it…… Continue reading POTUS PR

Micro-engaging

It was inevitable. Some enterprising person figured out — sort of — how to monetize (exploit) PR peeps’ burning desire to engage journalists via Twitter.Not only that, the means of engagement is a press release — reduced to a single line. The cost: $1 per character with a $50 minimum. Yikes! Here’s the tweeted announcement:…… Continue reading Micro-engaging