Media Relations

The experiences of Penn State and Rutgers show how cultures with lax oversight, athletic-department hubris and the failures of effective university leadership can sink well-cultivated reputations for learning and integrity.

In the immediate aftermath of the tragic plane crash on July 6, Asiana Airlines has been forthcoming with its findings, regardless of how the facts will reflect on the company.

Ashley Callahan, who manages content development for Coca-Cola Journey and who will be leading an online storytelling session at PR News’ Aug. 5 Writing Boot Camp in San Francisco, notes that her company prizes storytelling skills, deeming them essential to building audiences in the crowded digital landscape.

Media relations can be a real challenge for your brand when there is no real news to offer—no new product or service, no upgrade, no high-profile hire, no acquisition, no new financials to report.

OK, I stole the idea for this headline from Abbie Hoffman, author of “Steal This Book.” But let’s call it an homage instead of outright theft. My headline was inspired by WFMU radio host Tom Scharpling,… Continued

Peruse any journalist’s Twitter account and you’re bound to find a tweet about a terrible pitch they’ve received. Media relations is one of the most important skills for PR professionals to master, and email pitches are a crucial piece of the puzzle.

There are countless communications takeaways from the recent celebrity gaffes. Whether it’s Paula Deen dealing with allegations of being a racist and then dropped like a buttered sweet potato by every brand partner, or Jennifer… Continued

On Saturday, Jennifer Lopez sang Happy Birthday to Turkmenistan’s president, Gurbanguly M. Berdimuhamedov. Today, there’s PR hell to pay.

For the last several years PR agency Peppercomm has worked with Nikon to promote the Nikon Small World photomicrography contest, which features up-close-and-personal views of everything from algae and bugs to beautiful landscapes. Previously, Peppercomm deployed its PR efforts around the winning entries, which offered a relatively small window—perhaps a few weeks or so—to get the word out and pitch the media to cover the contest and the results.

It’s been a little more than a week since we learned about Paula Deen’s damning deposition, in which the food queen uttered the ‘N’ word. But in that time Deen’s “sweet grandmother” image has suffered irreparable damage