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Posted on December 31st, 2014 by admin
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PR without people can run amok. Consider this example from Facebook. An algorithm reprising the year continuously reminds a person of his dead daughter. Humans are fallible, more so than machines, and they can be unthinking and cruel, but a mistake like this might have been caught if there were human review instead of machine […]
Posted on December 31st, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 191 Comments »
Iraq is climbing a steep mountain to re-establish public relations with its own citizenry. PR is what one does and not what one says, and Iraq can do little now that it is a tri-partite country with ethnic factions warring against one another. The central government is weak and vacillating. Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has […]
Posted on December 29th, 2014 by admin
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It has long been known that dictators to legitimize their control must have an enemy. There needs to be an external force that threatens the country, even if the dictator has to invent one — such as here. It is an irony that to sustain public relations one must find a public with whom there […]
Posted on December 26th, 2014 by admin
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Prosecutors have learned a powerful way to gain convictions — PowerPoint visuals. They are using — and abusing — PowerPoint in courtrooms across the US and in the process have set judges’ teeth on edge. Convictions are getting thrown out because prosecutors have been too enthusiastic in reaching for verdicts. Slapping guilty in red across […]
Posted on December 24th, 2014 by admin
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UPS knows what happens when it fails to deliver packages on time for Christmas. It is a PR debacle, such as happened last year with the bad weather. This year the company has spent hundreds of millions to redo its package sorting systems so workers can go faster without having to memorize zip codes. Yesterday, […]
Posted on December 23rd, 2014 by admin
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The mayor of New York is facing a PR challenge — getting along with his police force. It isn’t happening now. There is no guarantee of accommodation in the future. The head of the policeman’s union is openly criticizing the mayor and shows no sign of backing off. The death of two policemen, ambushed in […]
Posted on December 22nd, 2014 by admin
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This doctor thinks stomach-churning images of lower limb amputations should be placed on prepared foods that lend to Type 2 diabetes. He points to anti-smoking campaigns as a model. The problem is that no one knows whether it would work. The doctor is right about Type 2 diabetes. It is at epidemic levels in the […]
Posted on December 19th, 2014 by admin
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How do you discuss a subject that is taboo but essential? For example, the cost effectiveness of health care. In the US, the idea that someone’s life might not be worth the cost of restoring to health is anathema. Americans consider it outrageous that they might not get care they need even though it runs […]
Posted on December 16th, 2014 by admin
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This qualifies as a dumb publicity stunt, and Greenpeace ought to be ashamed. The site where the ancients scratched lines in the earth to signify different plants and creatures, including a hummingbird is easily damaged. The Peruvian government has placed the Nazca site off-limits yet Greenpeace went in anyway and laid a huge sign on […]
Posted on December 15th, 2014 by admin
Filed under: Uncategorized | 209 Comments »
