It is an interesting dilemma when a company’s reputation is hanging on the meaning of a word. That may be what is happening to Goldman Sachs. It comes down to the obligation the company had — or didn’t have — to tell clients that a third party was involved in helping to structure a portfolio of […]
Posted on April 20th, 2010 by admin
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This story, if true, is a risky position for an airline company to take. Let there be one jet that loses its engines because of volcanic ash and the airlines will be put into an untenable position. Yes, the airline companies have said security is “non-negotiable”, and they won’t fly if there is a risk, but […]
Posted on April 19th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 186 Comments »
Persuasion, the kind that PR uses anyway, depends on free will, the deliberate choice of the listener to accept and act upon a message. That is why a prevailing attitude in neuroscience is disturbing. That attitude is determinism. That is, man is a captive to his neurons. There are scientists who fight that notion but […]
Posted on April 16th, 2010 by admin
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This is an interesting article asking if entrepreneurs should lie while establishing their companies. The author provides several examples of when they have done so. I have said many times that in PR one cannot afford to lie because journalists think we have a slippery hold on the truth. On the other hand, I’ve witnessed […]
Posted on April 15th, 2010 by admin
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This story raises a point that is difficult for PR. How do you deal with uncertainty? PR’s messages should convey a direction, a stance toward the world, but when the environment shifts constantly, it becomes difficult to say anything. It is as if one is in a football game that suddenly becomes basketball. There is […]
Posted on April 14th, 2010 by admin
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What kind of PR is needed to turn around a city sliding into oblivion? This is an urgent question for Detroit. There needs to be a new relationship between the city and its citizens and the city and business, which has fled the decaying town. That relationship needs to be action-oriented with specific tasks implemented […]
Posted on April 13th, 2010 by admin
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When a press release riles a reporter rather than being thrown away, it has something special. At least, this one does. It may not be the “worst release ever.” There are many contenders, but it is an example of ill-use of acronyms. One wonders what the writer was thinking — or whether he or she […]
Posted on April 12th, 2010 by admin
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Here is a PR flap that could have been avoided. The governor of Virginia puts out a proclamation honoring Confederate History month and forgets to mention slavery, the failure that doomed the Confederacy. It is as if the Confederacy was a golden ante-bellum era of ladies with parasols and gents with cutaway coats. Of course, […]
Posted on April 9th, 2010 by admin
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The US Federal Court’s ruling against the FCC over control of the internet exposed two colliding assumptions about the internet that will become a PR battle for the next year or so. The first assumption is that the internet is a utility to be used by all in any way they wish to employ it. […]
Posted on April 8th, 2010 by admin
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Airlines seemed determined to test the limit of customers’ patience. Consider this story, for example, in which a low-cost carrier is charging people for carry-on bags. I’ve just spent time in regional jets in which overhead bins are so small that it is difficult to take anything on board. I’ve had to learn how to […]
Posted on April 7th, 2010 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 182 Comments »
