As we’ve seen in recent weeks, a tumultuous news cycle—compounded by an online community rattled by recent violent events—can be a breeding ground for rumors, hoaxes and false reports. In the last few days alone, the San Antonio shooter was misidentified as a member of both the alt-right and alt-left movements, Twitter swirled with rumors of Snapchat’s demise and Facebook pulled a failed fake-news curtailing experiment.
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Disney, LA Times Media Relations War Escalates
November 7th, 2017 by Jerry AsciertoDisney recently barred a Los Angeles Times film critic from pre-screening its movies in retaliation for unfavorable coverage, and many critics and critics associations are showing solidarity by refusing to review or give awards to Disney movies. The feud calls into question Disney’s media relations strategy—rather than defuse an issue it had with one media outlet, it poured fuel on the fire and in the process, the story it disputes has been amplified.
Cutting Through the Communications Data Wilderness: Moving From Data to Insights
November 7th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinIn this first article of a five-part series produced with partner PublicRelay, a media monitoring and analytics firm, we will examine the common challenges of measuring communications data so it can be turned into useful insights that will help not only communicators but the business overall.
The Week in PR
November 7th, 2017 by Seth ArensteinOur weekly roundup of news, trends and personnel moves in PR and communications. This week’s stories include Papa John’s deflection onto the NFL; a judge tells Wells Fargo’s board and senior executives they should have known; and IBM’s Jon Iwata is getting set to retire.
Woman Who Flipped Off Trump’s Motorcade Fired for Violating Social Media Policy
November 6th, 2017 by Samantha WoodJuli Briskman, who worked in marketing and communications, was fired from Akima LLC for using the photo of her flipping-off President Trump’s motorcade as her profile photo. While we don’t know Akima’s exact social media policy, many companies have taken similar actions—in the eyes of employers, an employee’s personal social media pages reflect on a company.
After Texas Church Shooting, NRA Blunders on Twitter
November 6th, 2017 by Ian James WrightScheduling tweets and recycling old content are best practices, but the NRA failed to take into account that it is an extremely crisis-prone brand and scheduled a tweet that looked insensitive in the context of the Texas church shooting. This should be addressed in every brand’s crisis plan.
Pizza Wars: Attack of the Papa John’s Competitors
November 3rd, 2017 by Samantha WoodWhen Papa John’s blamed its declining sales on the issue of NFL players kneeling during the national anthem, many found the correlation hard to believe. DiGiorno Pizza saw the opportunity to call them out for it on Twitter and did not hold back, while Pizza Hut subtly thrust itself into the spotlight.
Another Flap for Twitter After Trump Account Blackout
November 3rd, 2017 by Sophie MaerowitzA difficult week for Twitter continued with an 11-minute shutdown of President Trump’s Twitter account. What steps Twitter plans to take to prevent another hijacking of the most influential Twitter account in the U.S. remain to be seen.
Walmart, Uber, Home Depot Caught in the Crossfire of a Violent Week
November 2nd, 2017 by Ian James WrightAs so often happens when a violent tragedy strikes and claims human lives, brands were taken along for the sad and sobering ride this week. As the usual questions about gun control and immigration arise for America, questions arise as well for Walmart, The Home Depot and Uber about what and how they should communicate to their stakeholders to reassure and to help.
PR Advice for Hillary Clinton After Brazile Report in Politico
November 2nd, 2017 by Seth ArensteinBy now, nearly everyone in Washington, D.C., has heard about the seemingly damaging article in this morning’s Politico. Former DNC chair Donna Brazile writes that she has solid proof that the Hillary Clinton campaign rigged the party’s nomination. The question for PR pros, of course, is what advice would you offer to Hillary Clinton now? Should she contest the article, hold a press conference, release a statement or remain silent?