Stories by Seth Arenstein

With PR pros outnumbering journalists 6 to 1 and myriad ways to reach journalists, media relations should be easier than ever. Not necessarily, according to a new report. It finds the media relations pro must understand an increasingly complicated landscape. The average number of journalists creating content for smaller publications is rising. Meanwhile, there are fewer journalists at tier 1 outlets.

Your company has had a data breach. No, it’s potentially had a breach. What’s your counsel to the C-suite? Should the brand reveal this information to the public or wait until you have perfect knowledge? These questions are at the crux of the communicator’s dilemma in the age of cybercrime.

In gauging the pulse of industry, PRNEWS found that one area of major interest at the Social Shake-Up Show in Atlanta last month was influencers: whether or not to use them, how to use them, where to find them. PRNEWS and partner Buztubr surveyed some 150 PR pros for their insight.

We asked our data partner Shareablee to look at blockchain influencers and see who the most active was during Q1 2019.

As readers of this publication know, we like to gauge the mood of the industry at frequent intervals. So after returning from The Social Shake-Up last month in Atlanta, we examined how communicators are assessing the bevy of data that social media generates. PRNEWS and partner InfoVision Social surveyed 150 PR executives to discover trends and pain points.

Last month we told you about a report from the U.S. Department of Labor shows that there are 6 PR pros to every one journalist Who are those journalists? What do they cover? And where do they write. A new study provides insight.

IHOp is at it again. During the Memorial Day Weekend, a traditionally slow news period, it tweeted that the p in its name soon will stand for something other than pancakes. Of course, last year it raised its blue roof when it announced the letter b would replace the p. That short-lived stunt left the brand seeming inauthentic to some, though sales rose and IHOp was a topic of conversation for at least seven days. Has the brand learned from last year?

Earlier this month we asked questions of communicators who were honored as PR Professionals of the Year during 2018’s PRNEWS Platinum Awards luncheon in NY. We asked about improving relations with journalists, how brands can maintain a human touch in a tech-driven world and several other topics.

Is there ever a good time to break bad news? Perhaps not, but letting it sit for awhile is unlikely to make it more palatable. Part of the communicator’s job is communicating news that might anger employees. A group of PR pros offers tips and best practices on how to communicate difficult news.

We can speculate about why Wells Fargo created bogus credit cards or the motivation other brands had for doing things they knew were wrong or even illegal. Tobacco giant Philip Morris International is trying to remake itself into a purveyor of smoke-less product. It says it wants to discourage teen smoking. Then why was it flouting its own rules and using young, attractive influencers to tout its cigarette alternative?