Tuesday October 8, 2024

Bad News, Good News

 The seemingly bad news that two COVID vaccine trials have been put on hold is actually good news, or so say medical experts who do drug development.  They say no trial runs completely smoothly.  There is always a glitch that might be due to a new drug and might not, but a pharma company needs […]

Bad Good News

A story like this should make a CEO shudder.  A Teflon reputation can disappear in a second.  It only takes one article that captures the public interest and one’s credibility can be threatened.  CEOs should resist reporters who want to write about a company’s enduring esteem in the eyes of the public.  They should emphasize […]

Fighting Fake News

This is a skill PR practitioners might need in months to come.  Exposing fake news is more urgent than ever.  One can’t simply go to Google and check because Google itself is subject to inaccurate reports.   Fake news already damaged a presidential candidate, and there is nothing to stop it from maligning individuals and organizations.  It […]

Fake News

A lie repeated often enough becomes fact.  That is the tactic of the White House administration.  Calling the traditional media “fake news” will convince some of the public that reporters lie regularly and should be discredited. The White House wants the media to report positively on its actions and will attack anyone who doesn’t. Journalists should be […]

PR And Fake News

Facebook is undertaking a campaign to combat fake news.  It is a belated recognition that false stories on its web site were influencing people in negative ways.  Some commentators accused Facebook of throwing the election to Donald Trump because it had not policed fake news to that point.  Facebook understandably rejected that claim but it […]

Fake News And PR

This news story shows that anyone can be a victim of fake news circulating the internet.  PR practitioners should be concerned.  What they need is comprehensive monitoring of both legitimate and fake news sites.  Much of this can be done through search engines, but the goal is to stop fake news before it goes viral. […]

PR And The News

Facebook has a problem with fake news.  False stories keep appearing on its web site news and Trend feeds.  Since a majority of Americans now get their news from social media, there is a premium on authenticity.  Facebook understands its PR problem but it hasn’t yet defined algorithms that capture fake news before it is […]

Bad News

A company under pressure has enough of a hard time.  A company whose employees are mouthing off in social media about its impending demise has a PR crisis.  That is the situation facing Nest, the smart thermostat business.  An engineer or someone posing as one, has written a scathing commentary on the future of the […]

Millennials And The News

 A new study is out discussing Millennials and news consumption.  It turns out for pop culture and other less urgent forms of media reporting that Facebook is the more important source for them.  Not that they are seeking it there.  They read what Facebook has to offer.  And what about other media sources?  They find […]

When Satire Is News

Two studies have shown that TV satire shows are better in informing the public than the news media.  Certainly, the John Oliver take-down of the Miss America pageant is a brilliant piece of reportage deserving a news award.  What does this say to PR practitioners?  Not much unfortunately.  The satire shows are designed to plunge a […]