PR Ethics Concerns: Pay for Play Journalism

Everybody wants to get on the good side of the media, but what lengths will some people go to be on the right side of the fence? One insidious trend has been causing major waves in the journalism world for quite a while now. It’s called “pay for play,” and it has many people crying foul. (Read more…)

The Dos and Don’ts of Using YouTube for Your PR Campaign

YouTube is more than just sleeping kittens and “jackasses” performing insane motorcycle stunts. So how do you, as a PR pro, own YouTube? Here’s how other PR pros have made good with the popular video sharing service: (Read more…)

Is it Time to Fire Your PR Agency?

When’s the last time you graded your PR firm? If it’s been a while, the time to reassess their performance is now. See, too many companies blindly trust their PR agency to always do the right thing for their business. They assume the PR people are the pros, so they give them all the room they need to do their jobs. (Read more…)

Public Relations and Blogs: A “How to Deal” Primer

PR giant Edelman and market research firm Inteliseek released a white paper entitled “Trust MEdia: How Real People Are Finally Being Heard — The 1.0 Guide to the Blogosphere for Marketers & Company Stakeholders” (Read more…)

Disaster Preparation Tips for PR Firms

On the eve of the year 2000, I was working for an internet company which hosted over 1,000 websites. I was lucky enough not to draw the short straw, which would have meant spending New Year’s Eve 1999/2000 at our hosting center. Back then we were worried about Y2K glitches. These days, terrorist attacks and natural disasters are more likely culprits for causing a company-wide crisis. The following list of disaster preparation tips should ensure your public relations firm can handle a wide range of possible disasters. From computer security to employee security, keeping your PR firm up and running in the wake of disaster could be the difference between having a business and having to look for a new job once the disaster has passed. (Read more…)

Gossip at Your Own Risk

Another week, and another fun journalism scandal. This one, however, contains an interesting public relations element.

Late last week, news broke that Jared Paul Stern, a freelancer for the New York Post’s infamous Page Six gossip column, has been accused of trying to extort money from billionaire Ron Burkle. According to press reports, Stern promised Burkle “protection” from scurrilous gossip items in exchange for cold, hard cash. (Read more…)

Helter Skelter in the Summer Swelter

The looming launch of the Fox Business News channel should be a boon for anyone who wants to get on financial television. CNBC will now have a major competitor, and Bloomberg TV may have to rethink its strategy in order to compete. (Read more…)

Cast a Positive Spell with Your PR Magic

Twenty teachers in Hoboken, New Jersey could be out of jobs if the city’s Board of Education doesn’t find a way to pay their salaries out of a $56.3 million annual budget. At least one of those teachers could be spared the unemployment line if the Board wised up, took the $75,000 allocated for public relations spending and put it back into the general budget. (Read more…)

Dealing With Terror, Badly

AR PR Marketing, a Los Angeles-based PR firm that has handled campaigns for Miramax Films, the Tennessee Titans football team and Foot Action, among others, has a problem. (Read more…)

Catching Up with Jeremy Pepper and Blogs

Back in May 2003, I sat down – ok, instant-messaged – with Jeremy Pepper to talk about what it’s like to start your own PR firm. Pepper had just launched his own firm, POP! Public Relations, and was beginning to get settled.

Since our first interview, Pepper has been busy not just practicing PR, but writing about it. His Musings from POP! Public Relations weblog has become a leading online destination for people looking for insight into the PR industry, and Pepper has become an outspoken advocate for and critic of the industry. I caught up with Pepper this week and we spoke – ok, instant-messaged – about the challenges an independent PR practitioner faces, the role of weblogs in PR, good and bad PR campaigns, and a number of other issues. (Read more…)