Stories by Sophie Maerowitz

A trio of women has come forward with sexual harassment allegations against New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a PR nightmare for his office to say the least. For someone who was hailed as a great communicator during the early months of the pandemic, the governor has responded ineffectively. We asked PR pros what they would have done differently.

We hear from Payal Patel, communications director at Chicago’s Navy Pier on her communications philosophy, building a crisis communications war room and PR’s role in the tourism industry’s recovery.

Nigel Glennie, VP, global communications at Hilton, offers insight into the communication side of the hard-hit travel and tourism industry and a preview of what he’ll be sharing during PRNEWS’ Crisis Management Virtual Event next month.

On January 6 at 2:55 p.m.—about 20 minutes after insurrectionists breached the Capitol building—beauty influencer Amanda Ensing tweeted, “There’s not enough popcorn in the world for what’s about to happen.” Ensing has long been vocal about her political and religious views on social media. Sephora, partnered with the influencer on a skincare campaign, was forced to answer for its choice of brand ambassador.

There are many lessons from the violence on Capitol Hill January 6. For PR pros, one of the biggest takeaways is the need for prompt and transparent communication during a crisis. DC Police, Capitol Police and federal law enforcement remained relatively silent initially, allowing others to create narratives.

Podcast host and musician John Roderick, now known to the Twitterverse as “Bean Dad,” found his parenting philosophy under fire over the weekend, following a viral Jan. 2 (now-deleted) 23-tweet thread. Here are some PR takeaways from Roderick’s and podcast co-host Ken Jennings’ responses to the viral blowback.

Given the breadth of the recent SolarWinds hack, PR pros’ 2021 crisis plans would do well to include a cybersecurity response. To file away for your reference when (not if) that day comes, here are some communications takeaways from organizations responding to the hack to date, including Microsoft and CISA.

PRNEWS asks the PR community for their take on standout social media developments in 2020, from TikTok to LinkedIn Live.

As hiring freezes are (hopefully) lifted amid the COVID vaccine’s arrival and (hopefully) economic rebound, the Biden team’s latest cabinet announcements raise a timely question for PR pros: How should brands announce new or incoming leadership?

As quarantine stretched on, virtual happy hours and video-call dinners with family and friends tended to become less exciting. Similarly, as work-from-home continues, the push is on for internal communicators to keep things fresh at the virtual office. Here are tips for a fresh approach to internal communication months into the pandemic.