Charlottesville: Addressing the Crisis in Social Media

2018-01-10T14:03:12-05:00By |

When choosing a topic of discussion for this week, it’s hard to stray away from the narrative that has dominated our news reels all week: Charlottesville. In a matter of days, we saw white nationalists storm the University of Virginia, counter protestors meeting them in defiance, terrorism, fear, anger—all at what ‘started’ with the removal of [...]

Mining Hidden News Gems in Small Town USA

2018-01-10T14:03:24-05:00By |

Summer’s road trip time for much of America. Families, cars, beaches, mountains, lakes, drive-ins, roadside joints. One of the things I absolutely adore about being on the road (other than force-feeding my children a diet of great rock music) is picking up the local newspaper wherever we stop. There’s typically a great nugget of local news [...]

Stopping Modern-Day Yellow Journalism

2018-01-10T14:03:42-05:00By |

At a time when facts and mutual respect are needed more than ever, some political donors are drafting a blueprint to expand echo chambers. On Sunday, The New York Times reported that the donor class is funneling its cash to partisan organizations with a reputation for designing viral-worthy social media content. You’ve likely seen the posts [...]

Is the White House Hurting PR? The Jury is Still Out.

2018-01-10T14:04:21-05:00By |

The White House communications staff is arguably the most visible set of communications professionals in the country. And, according to a recent study, they could be damaging the industry. This study, published by the USC Center for PR, says a majority of the industry believes the White House communications staff, currently led by Sean Spicer and Sarah [...]

The Element of Surprise as a PR Tactic

2018-01-10T14:04:39-05:00By |

Planning a surprise is difficult. Take, for example, a recent surprise party I planned for a friend turning 30—there was an added layer of secrecy to our conversations, as we tried to cover our tracks and avoid any suspicions. We were, after all, relying on that moment of surprise to take an ordinary celebration and make [...]

I Am Not a Crook: How to Message Tough Situations

2018-01-10T14:05:09-05:00By |

“I am not a crook,” Richard Nixon said in relation to the Watergate scandal in 1973. It was a short, declarative sentence – perfect for a sound byte. The only problem was that it was perceived as so disingenuous that the sentence began to represent exactly what Nixon was purporting not to be: a crook. As [...]

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