What-were-they-thinking Moments
All of us have run across examples of communications that are so inept or so risky that we are tempted to quote Tony Blair in the movie The Queen, when…
Ukrainian Elections Aftermath: PR Needs Massive Cleaning
Yesterday, the people of Ukraine cast their ballots in national elections for the third time in three years. In just a few days, Ukrainians will know who will run this…
Can PR convert Rugby World Cup sponsorship?
Like other global sponsorship opportunities, the Rugby World Cup (RWC), currently taking place in France, has a long list of sponsors each aiming to exploit the millions spent on linking…
Communicating Justice in Portugal: the Madeleine case
Of the many possible angles to approach the terrible case of Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, a tremendous shock to everyone in Portugal, the UK and arround the world, I decided to…
What is ‘the public interest’?
A run on the Northern Rock bank in the UK this week got me thinking about ‘the public interest’ again, especially after Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England…
Web info sessions on new master of communications management degree program
Back in May my post Stamp of approval on (distinctly Canadian) master’s of communication management degree program generated some great discussion and interest; this DeGroote School of Business program at…
Public relations needs a clean up
Wikipedia is probably the starting point for anyone wanting to know something about anything – so why does its entry on public relations need a clean up? Is this an…
Does increased professionalism challenge ethical practice?
Brian Kilgore recently asked about the financial arrangements between editorial content and car makers in the context of a competition offerered by CAR magazine. He wondered if this might the…
PR jobs of the future
Thinking about the recent conversation regarding the merits or otherwise of studying public relations, I am reminded of Karl Fisch’s statement in his fascinating Shift Happens presentation (now available at…
How Philip Morris uses public relations to change the regulatory environment of the tobacco industry… Ann Landman exposes an apparently effective plan
Recently, an articulate and highly informative article by Ann Landman appeared on pr watch. Although quite critical and explicitly biased, it details Philip Morris’s current public relations activities to modify…