Editor-in-Chief, Fortune
1. Fake News. Not. It’s always special to attend the first of anything. So it was a treat to attend the Arthur W. Page Center’s initial Larry G. Foster Award for Integrity in Public Communication Feb. 22 in New York. It was very good, too, to see the industry respond with a packed room at The Grand Hyatt. After all, the lead time for the dinner’s revised agenda—honoring careers of integrity in communications—was just months old ( PRNP, Dec. 12, 2016) and its honorees—Ann Barkelew, founding GM, senior partner, FleishmanHillard; Dick Martin, EVP, PR, AT&T (retired) and author; and Alan Murray, chief content officer, Time Inc., editor-in-chief, Fortune magazine—were revealed a bit more than one month ago ( PRNP, Jan 9). Despite that, it was a grand affair all the way around and one with purpose: to recognize that communication in a free society is a privilege not to be taken lightly, as Page Center board chair Bill Nielsen, former Johnson & Johnson chief communicator, said. Even the small touches were done right: The Wi-Fi password for the evening was “Integrity.” Perhaps the most meaningful touch—besides having the family of Page Center co-founder the late Larry Foster in attendance—was that in a room full of communicators it was decided to give the first Foster award to a lifelong journalist, Alan Murray. That olive branch was augmented with Nielsen saying, “We share a duty with journalists to inform the public…[and] fact-based reporting should be the standard.” It was the first of the many criticisms lobbed toward the White House. Nielsen also mentioned Larry Foster began his career as a journalist.
Arthur W. Page Society president Roger Bolton, former SVP of communications, Aetna, took it from there, introducing Murray with a not-too-oblique reference to the White House: “[In my dealings in PR with Alan] I didn’t think he was a liar and I didn’t think he was the enemy…if there ever was a time to revere journalism, it’s now.”
Murray returned the compliment, noting, “I always felt [PR people] and I traded in the same currency: facts…the facts are the facts.” After reinforcing her belief in integrity, former English teacher Barkelew bemoaned the necessity that today’s high school students are being taught to recognize fake news. Martin went further, noting, “Without a free press we all lose.” He then challenged the industry to stand up for integrity with an Ad Council-style effort to teach media literacy to the public. He urged PR firms, clients and the media to collaborate on such an initiative. “It won’t happen by itself…we can’t stand by [at a time of fake news].” Jon Iwata, SVP, marketing and communications, IBM, noted “the silver thread” that runs through Martin’s books “is not PR or AT&T…it’s ethics.” The same could be said about the first Larry Foster awards.
2. Platform Prater: Offering an alternative to Facebook as a platform for posting albums of photos, Instagram will allow users to “combine up to 10 photos and videos in one post and swipe through to see them all.” “It’s been possible to combine photos into a collage post, but since each additional photo means making all photos smaller…this is not an ideal solution for all purposes,” writes PR News’ Ian James Wright. Instagram’s Snapchat-copycat Stories feature is similar to the carousel, although its series of photos or videos disappear after 24 hours. Also of note for brands, Instagram users will get in the habit of swiping left and right to see more content, and so become more comfortable with carousel ads.
3. People: IBM VP/communications officer Andy Whitehouse has left after fewer than 12 months on the job. He reported to SVP, marketing and communications Jon Iwata (see item 1). – The Buffalo Bills said 28-year veteran Scott Berchtold will transition from SVP, communications to special assistant. Derek Boyko becomes VP, communications. – MWWPR named Heather Wilson EVP/MD to lead crisis and issues management. While at Weber Shandwick, Wilson led communications around “The Miracle on the Hudson” crash landing of US Airways1549. – Former Apple and Twitter communicator Natalie Kerris is joining Edelmanas chair of its global technology practice. She begins next Monday. – A huge congrats to one of our favorites, PR News Hall of Famer Anne Cowan, named CCO at CTAM, cable TV’s communication and marketing association. Anne’s been at CTAM for nearly 20 years. One of her first jobs as CCO will be to help oversee the consolidation of the Association of Cable Communicators into CTAM. – Finn Partners named Geralyn LaNeve group VP in the agency’s global health practice. Prior to Finn, LaNeve was SVP at Alembic Unlimited. – PR recently lost two well-liked communicators to breast cancer: Catherine Martin, former chief communicator for the Hamilton (Ontario) Police,and NY-based publicist/actor Patty Freedman, co-owner of Andrew E. Freedman PR.