Stories by Lucia Davis

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

As PR pros, it’s important to be on the cutting edge of technology. Here’s what’s percolating in the world of tech today.

As the courts finally begin to catch up with the way that attitudes in our culture are changing, this is a chance for brands to get ahead of the curve and reach out to all kinds of consumers and families.

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

On Monday, the National Zoo alerted its more than 45,000 Twitter followers that Rusty the red panda was missing. What ensued was a social media search party that eventually led to his safe return.

Carnival Corp. announced today that CEO Mickey Arison will be stepping down. It’s been a tough year for the company—though passengers on February’s Carnival #cruisefromhell might argue they’ve suffered worse.

Content marketing is an essential skill in the PR professional’s tool kit. From Red Bull’s “extreme content marketing” to Old Spice’s numerous viral videos about the way a man should smell, content marketing is a superb way to define your brand’s personality, engage consumers and even garner media coverage. But where should you start?

For this week’s video pick, PR News chose “Bodyform Responds :: The Truth.” In the spot, Maxipad’s fictional CEO Caroline Williams addresses a man named Richard Neill who penned a tongue-in-cheek Facebook rant decrying the brand’s false depiction of a woman’s “wonderful time of the month.”

Celebrity chef and butter aficionado Paula Deen is losing in the court of public opinion as revelations of her racist remarks and behavior continue to unfurl in a lawsuit brought against her by a former manager. Deen’s actions are undeniably inexcusable and begs the question: Has anyone dared to suggest to her that perhaps she needs some media training?

Journalists get dozens of emails a day (if not more—depends on the journalist). Cutting through the clutter is a constant challenge for PR pros trying to get their pitches seen, let alone accepted.