Double-dipping exposes reputation risk in blurred boundaries of PR and journalism

When it comes to reputation, there is little distinction between a real conflict and a perceived one Op-Ed by Daniel Tisch, APR, FCPRS As media scandals go, it was a big one for Canada: The revelation that for the past two years one of the nation’s better-known TV news anchors was a part owner of a small public relations firm. Even more unnerving was that the anchor—and, on occasion, other journalists affiliated with the TV...

The endless fight for the (PR) power

By Sean Williams Who owns corporate messaging? This is navel gazing of the first order, and the fact that I’m writing this post is testament to how we can start arguments with all the seriousness of Lindsay Lohan’s newest brace of public shenanigans. Judy Gombita’s recent Social sniff test post skewers the idea that “everyone is an employee brand” advocate; its associated comments by some smart thinkers covers some, but not all, of this ground....

Challenges and risk mitigation for PR when the crisis root is social

When reviewing case studies in recent years regarding problems or issues that held the attention of the general public and media caused by or on social media, most can be attributed to internal company errors in human judgment (many associated with social inexperience or marketing miscues). Although I’d opine very few things relate to the type of true corporate crisis as detailed in Part I, this type of “social media based event” can or does...

Communication without borders…or marketplace competition

When it comes to sharing information about global public relations, standards and best practices, it’s great that typical marketplace “competition” borders can be put aside. Welcome to an atypical PR Conversations tête-à-tête. One conversant is John Paluszek of Ketchum (USA) and immediate past chair of the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management, a featured speaker at this year’s World Public Relations Forum (WPRF). The individual who piloted the interview and formulated the questions...

Grunig PR Masterclass: Insight into diversity and excellence

This post offers a video recording of a recent lecture given by Larissa and James Grunig at New York University – courtesy of Toni Muzi Falconi, who kindly introduces the video below. In addition, Heather Yaxley provides a brief overview of the highlights of the lecture. We extend our thanks to James, Larissa and Toni for offering the video to PR Conversations.   Introduction by Toni Muzi Falconi A few years ago, PR Conversations published...

A defining moment for public relations

By Terry Flynn, PhD, APR, FCPRS Setting the stage for a defining moment for public relations Over the past few weeks, hundreds of public relations professionals were engaged in the Public Relations Society of America-led initiative to “redefine” public relations. This program, which includes the support of various public relations organizations—such as the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC), the UK’s Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) and the Global Alliance for Public Relations and...

Arthur Yann: public relations in a fishbowl

An in-depth interview with the gent practising PR for the world’s largest organization of public relations professionals There’s an irony that public relations as a discipline struggles to manage the industry’s reputation. Why do you think this is the case? There’s some truth to the “shoemaker’s children” analogy, but the root causes go well beyond that. For one thing, the profession hasn’t done itself any favors when it comes to managing its own reputation. High-profile...

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.