PR is what PR does – a question of ethics

Not surprisingly there’s been a great deal of discussion of ethics in relation to the News Corp phone-hacking scandal.  Although journalism and corporate governance are facing the real ethical questions, public relations has been brought into the mix by many commentators.  Indeed, the Vancouver Sun attributes any ethical lapses in journalism to the practice of [...]

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PR lessons from 2010 – the year of the mega crisis

Undoubtedly 2010 has been the year of the mega crisis, which as the Guardian’s City editor, Richard Wachman recently commented [when talking about BP's reaction to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill] provide ‘a textbook example of how not to do things and will be studied by students of PR for years to come’.
Not suprisingly, [...]

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An international view of crisis management of the Chile mine disaster

On the face of it, the handling of international media relations following the Chilean mining disaster has been a triumph.  It appeared to strike the perfect balance between control and lightness of touch.
The open communications approach that was evident from initial reports of the collapse of the mine reflected the leadership style of the Chilean [...]

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OOPS! Gordon Brown’s recent debacle leads public relators to think this one out, with some care….

If a subject to be trusted is ‘one who does what he says….walk the talk and, when useful, talk the walk…’ then we must discipline ourselves to think, speak privately and publicly as if our thoughts and words were to appear on the front page of the New York Times.

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Public Relations before, during, after acquisitions and mergers. Fascinating lessons from Poznan, Poland!

Ok… it took me more than 20 hours by van to return to Italy, while an Icelandic dust closed all of Europe’s airports… courtesy of two young polish drivers (found via the Internet the evening before by one of my benefactors Monika Bogdal from Poznan’s University of Economics… the power of social media…)… yet I [...]

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PR crisis case studies in real time

Open any public relations textbook and the section on crisis management will include examples of how organisations have demonstrated “best” or “worst” practice. And, it’s not just the textbooks, as recent incidents have seen plenty of advice from PR “experts” through online and social media.

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Arresting consequences of life with the Thought Police

The story concerning the man who joked on Twitter and subsequently found himself under arrest caught my eye yesterday, particularly after the story a couple of months ago involving the US police officer who ordered a showbiz agent to send a tweet.

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The Communication Initiative and Haiti: how we, public relators, can hope to add real value

My good friend Warren Feek, from the Communication Initiative, has sent the following message…very relevant in general, but even more specifically for our professional community. Please read and, where possible, participate. Thank you.

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2010: Battle begins for “real-time” relationships

Read the paper? Nah – that’s old news. Watched the broadcast? No need, we were there when it happened. Tracked Twitter trends to spot what’s unfolding? Didn’t bother, we saw it coming because we know and work directly with the community. How did you tell people? We operated a Living Story.

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On Berlusconi again: when advertising and information find a synthesis and fiction becomes the only reality

Some of my international friends and colleagues have been probing me in these weeks to try and rationalise, from a communicational perspective, what is going on in my country.
A country which sees a priapist Premier, I wouldn’t say merrily… but certainly successfully, thrive through a national as well as global, ongoing now for months day-in-day-out [...]

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