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Interns can contribute to your PR effort, hurt it or be inconsequential. The key to a successful internship program, argues PR pro Michelle Mekky, is to treat interns with respect, have enough work and guidance for them and avoid viewing interns as cheap labor.

With the continual introduction of new platforms and instant response, management and moderation becomes a key skill for any brand. Contrary to popular belief, the titles social media manager and community manager are not interchangeable. Both work towards the positive promotion of a brand underneath the direction of the marketing department, but the similarities really stop there.

The M.I.T. Media Lab’s long, underreported history of recieving donations from the late convicted sex offender and philanthropist Jeffrey Epstein contains several lessons for those working in industries that have recurring moral and ethical crises, most noticeably around acknowledging roles, calling out patterns of bad behavior and scrutinizing philanthropic relationships.

The 100th season of the National Football League got underway earlier this week, with the sort of pomp and circumstance this television behemoth is known for generating. Yet professional football, America’s most popular sport, is showing more than a few cracks. You’d not know it, however, to listen to the vague responses to real issues that emanate from the league office in NY.

Dr. Julie Albright will join us for a fireside chat at PRNEWS’ Digital PR Awards breakfast on October 18 in NY. We’ll discuss her provocative research, what this shift away from old, “nuclear family” models of the American Dream means for communicators, and the role we play in adjusting to these seismically shifting cultural behaviors.

The PRSA chair argues that the Business Roundtable’s new definition of a corporation is well suited to what communicators already do each day. They build and protect the brand, forging alliances with stakeholders. For this effort to work, though, CEOs must have full confidence in communicators and in the importance of communication.

Trying to plan out or refurbish a social strategy can seem overwhelming. Gone are the days where brands can set and forget a strategy for a year. A social plan evolves with not only brand changes and promotions, but also platform innovations and announcements. Before you sit down and decide on content and where to post that content, you need to take a look at the intended audience and goals.

Instagram is growing like a social media mushroom, doubling its monthly active users in two years and eclipsing the 1 billion mark last year. The picture-centered channel also is constantly adding features. We asked several Instagram users about some of their favorite new features. In addition, we asked about features they’d like to see on Instagram in the future. Three of the speakers will be featured on the Sept. 19 PRNEWS webinar, “How to Use Visual Storytelling on Instagram to Build New Audiences.”

Two more brands stepped into the gun control debate. Walmart, which sells arms, said it would halt sales of handguns, though it will continue offering hunting rifles and ammunition. Grocery chain Kroger, which, as far as we know, doesn’t sell guns, joined Walmart in asking customers not to carry arms in its stores. Did these brands make the right call?

Demand for public relations agencies continues to grow. But with the entire concept of strategic communications quickly evolving, the business model of the agency needs to be reassessed and, often, modernized and right-sized. Here are some considerations as a jumping off point.