Stories by Seth Arenstein

There’s an adage in aviation that safety begins at the top. If so, how does the chief executive of Boeing still have a job? For months Dennis Muilenberg insisted that the 737 Max 8 aircraft was not to blame for a pair of crashes that killed hundreds of people? There are many questions here. Did the company put profits above safety? Did Muilenberg refuse to accept the possibility that Boeing was at fault? Where was Boeing’s board during the past few months? Or was it a cover-up?

Strong relationships are founded, in part, on good communication. If that’s so, then why aren’t more relationships between brands and their PR agencies described in glowing terms? After all, professional communicators should be adept at communicating with each other, right? In the case of brand-PR agency relationships, there’s a bit more to it than communications. Here are five tips that will enhance this sometimes volatile partnership.

More, more, more seems the catchphrase of the digital way of life. Perhaps, though, we’ve reached an inflection point. Several social media and digital thinkers lately have started to espouse the need for a less-is-more viewpoint. The latest is John Shehata, a Condé Nast VP, who argues that instead of creating more and more content that few will read, a path to success is to use SEO analysis to pick evergreen content that can be strategically refreshed and re-published.

Nearly all communicators use technology in their daily work. In healthcare, though, technology surrounds communicators and the practitioners they work with each day. Ahead of next week’s PRNEWS Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon in NY, we asked several awards finalists to discuss communications, technology and how to maintain a human touch.

Companies may expend tremendous energy and time to find the right influencer for their brand. Unfortunately, they often fail to look deeply into an influencer’s past for clues of potential future behavior. Although many details surrounding a recent incident in Denmark remain unclear, it reminds us of the need for companies to research the reputation of influencers before going into business with them.

Companies frequently look for images to help convey ideas internally. For KFC, the image of a basketball team is applied to crisis management. Ahead of the PRNEWS webinar, “Crisis Management Tips to Keep You Cool in the Hot Seat,” July 25, KFC’s global public affairs manager Tori Carter explains basketball’s application to crisis. She also discusses the element of surprise in crisis simulation.

Transparency just might be the buzzword of the decade. You wouldn’t know it, though, if you had to decipher a hospital bill or translate the mumbo jumbo of a health-insurance policy. Ahead of PRNEWS’ Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon next week in NYC, we asked several awards finalists to discuss the tricky subject of getting closer to clarity in healthcare communications.

Digital technology has changed nearly every aspect of media. There are fewer major media outlets, though niche publications and online news sites have grown. And PR pros now greatly outnumber content creators (formerly known as writers, editors or reporters). What does all this mean for those PR pros engaged in media relations? A trio of senior PR professionals addressed this question during a recent PRNEWS webinar. A summary of their ideas follows.

Communicators take pride in the messages they craft. They consider their work important. For Dr. Jennifer Mieres, a cardiologist and the keynote speaker at PRNEWS’ Top Women in Healthcare Communications awards luncheon later this month, communicating health information to the public is vital. Her goal is to ensure people have a sound understanding of their role in preventing disease. From there, they can become empowered partners in their healthcare, she says.

It’s critical to keep a vigilant eye on your audience and frequently take its temperature. For example, based on the negative media coverage of big tech, you’d expect the industry’s reputation would be abysmal. Instead of assuming, a researcher used data to test that assumption. Some of the results were surprising.