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Marvel’s long-awaited “Black Panther” has already shattered box-office pre-sale records and is shaping up to be the most successful movie with an almost all-black cast ever released. But the source comic book was not always as infused with such resonant ideas about racial identity, class and power. Here’s a look at the influencers who helped reframe Black Panther’s brand and identity as a powerful avatar for black representation on the big screen.

Increasingly media members expect PR pros to use data, charts and graphs to bolster their pitches. As a result, a data-filled pitch no longer equates to guaranteed coverage. Here are a few simple tips that can help you make better use of the data in your pitches and raise the chances that your story will receive media attention.

The horrific events in South Florida that left 17 people dead and roughly twice that number wounded was the 25th fatal, active school shooting since Columbine in April 1999. While the shootings share many characteristics, they differed in a number of the ways communications figured into the equation.

About nine months ago, sisters Alison Goldstein Lebovitz and Amanda Goldstein Marks were on the phone, cracking each other up, when they realized their conversations might make a good podcast. The ensuing Sis & Tell podcast has won a lot of fans—and grown the sisters’ personal brands—in a short time due to its intimacy, authenticity and humor. Here, the sisters provide a few tips they’ve learned along the way for brands and individuals looking to launch a podcast.

Each year, PR News honors the top corporate social responsibility campaigns—and the brands and communicators behind them—at its CSR & Nonprofit Awards Luncheon at Washington, D.C.’s historic National Press Club. From environmental protection to disaster relief to gender equality, these campaigns and communicators have enacted positive change that will be felt for years to come.

“Honestly, I’m here to talk about the Olympics, not gossip,” gold medal winner Shaun White said in response to a reporter’s inconvenient question about a sexual harassment accusation that eventually was settled out of court. But reporters aren’t paid to stick to a star’s script, usually—the Olympic champion knows that now.

Influencer marketing is a young discipline and the rules of play are still in flux. While it can be a challenge just to identify the right brand ambassadors, the importance of the vetting process—and the involvement of your brand’s legal department—can’t be overstated. We recently sat down with Kara Hendrick, manager of global digital strategy for Velcro Companies, to let us in the “loop” about how she handles influencers—and why her company’s legal department is an essential partner.

Our weekly roundup of news, trends and personnel moves in communications and marketing. This week’s stories include PRSA’s chief challenging the LA Times, another wrinkle in the Nassar/gymnastics scandal and new tools coming March 1 for publishers on Facebook’s News Feed.

Facebook woke up this morning to see another gray hair in the mirror. While Facebook’s popularity with younger users has been on the decline for some time, a new report from market-research firm eMarketer quantifies just how bad this year’s exodus will be. Facebook is set to shed about 2 million users under the age of 24 this year.

Unilever is threatening to pull ads from the likes of Facebook, Twitter and Google—but the way the consumer goods giant conveyed that message has been as powerful as the message itself. The company’s CMO Keith Weed planned to use his keynote at the IAB Annual Leadership Meeting today to call for improved transparency, accountability and consumer trust in digital platforms. But in a masterstroke of messaging, the company managed to humanize itself and score earned media, while also positioning Unilever as a thought leader, by releasing the speech strategically.