Your PR Architect

In mid-August, the U.S.'s premier auto racing sport will compete at a road racing course in Watkins Glen, NY. NASCAR's brutish Cup series cars will race in this rural community Aug. 20.  May 2023, Charlotte Motor Speedway. (c) DKassnoff, 2023. But, don't expect  The New York Times  to cover NASCAR before then. The newspaper's sports section -- now outsourced to The Athletic, its sportsbook subsidiary -- hasn't covered NASCAR since July 2. That's when NASCAR's drivers competed on the rain-soaked streets of Chicago. The Times provided no coverage of their July 30 race in Richmond, VA, or any NASCAR race since early July. The Times  has focused its motorsports coverage on Formula 1 racing. These are the expensive, open-wheeled, high performance racing teams once called Grand Prix. This class of racing is controlled by another media company: John Malone's Liberty Media, which purchased Formula 1 in 2017 and returned it to profitability. Visit the Times ...

The New York Times dropped the axe on its legendary sports department in early July. Sports reporting we read in the Times henceforth will originate with The Athletic, a younger (and perhaps more agile) sportswriting website purchased by the NYT Corp.  You'll find a good assessment of the move here .  As a Times subscriber, I have automatic access to any sports reporting it produces. I won't call it "free access," however, because my ever-increasing monthly rate for a three-day Times subscription surely will include a tithe to cover the Athletic.  But ditching the Times ' sports desk and dispersing its fine sports journalists and photographers to other NYT jobs? That's a loss. Here's why: Conflict of interest: The Athletic allows its staff to report on sports gambling, while some are paid contractors of the sportsbook companies. Is there a Pete Rose-style conflict here? I'd expect so. The Times allowed no double-dipping within its sports staff. The s...

I use an ad blocker, and probably you do, too. Every day, even on websites where I pay a monthly subscription fee, I see a pop-up that say: "We Notice You Are Using an Ad Blocker." And they ask me to turn it off. I don't. I'm already paying for that news website's reporting. Their hands are already in my pocket. And, truth is, I don't mind digital ads that are somewhat relevant to my tastes. Show me an ad for a guitar deal or Ford car parts, and I'll probably read it. Screen shot, unnamed Gannett publication, Sept. 2018 But I don't care about Patrick Swayze's secret son. Or what forgotten 1970s actress Loni Anderson looks like today. (I was more of a Howard Hesseman /Dr. Johnny Fever fan, anyway.) When newspapers relied on print ad revenue, I'd glance at those ads -- and sometimes, I'd bite -- because those ads were for local or regional merchants. They wanted to build a relationship with me.  They didn't try ...

This week, I received a message alerting me that the digital sky is falling. It read, in part: The entire digital ecosystem is in crisis — a crisis of trust.  Ecosystem Backyard, by Cedrick May from Wikimedia Commons From issues of brand safety, to growing cries of "fake news," to a slew of personal data breaches across the web, it's clear that trust in the digital industry has eroded considerably, affecting every marketer at brands, agencies, social platforms and beyond.  Do you feel prepared to combat the challenges of trust facing the digital industry? If you're unsure, let's talk about ...  You get the idea. The research sales rep who sent this dire warning is promoting his "insights, forecasts and data they can trust on digital marketing, media and commerce." And perhaps there's value in such an offering. Truth is, I'm disenchanted at the assumption that there's a digital ecosystem.  It's one of those biological phras...

It's hard to know what last week's Facebook announcements will mean to consumers of news. But, that's largely because Facebook isn't entirely clear where news content will emerge on users' news feeds. (Which now must be called something else.) For a few years, I've asked undergraduates where they get their news. The top response: from social media. (For a while, many said they got their news from Jon Stewart until he departed from The Daily Show faux news desk.) Now that's changing. Last week, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg told consumers that the social medium's algorithm would now serve up "friends and family"-generated content ahead of news stories from publishers. The goal, he suggested, is more meaningful interactions -- and, by omission, fewer firestorms erupting from fake news generated by purveyors of pretend news. Why change? Zuckerberg wants no more to do with a cascade of political propagandists. The angry disputes they gen...

I don't want to talk about Matt, Harvey, Kevin, Charlie, or Bill. Recent headlines have created a Sargasso Sea of sexual misdeeds and dismissed journalists. It's not a great climate in which to send news releases about vague "solutions" and nude cooking. But if you need a break from the misadventures of fallen media giants, the PR world can offer a brief respite. If you're willing to wade through some challenging prose. After reading this one from Gold Stream Solutions -- an agency that includes PR among its areas of expertise -- I'm starting to understand what's killing news releases. Lousy writing. News-free copy. Vague information. Quoting a CEO with no last name. I didn't realize CEOs qualified for the federal witness protection program. If that's not sufficiently amusing, consider this release, received by my friend Tracy Schuhmacher, who writes about food and drink for the Rochester (NY) Democrat & Chronicle. It's from th...

Last week, colleagues and former students encouraged me to write about the colossal PR blunders of April: Pepsi's misguided TV commercial in which a rich white woman ends a street protest by handing a cop a soft drink Press Secretary Sean Spicer's gross stupidity in using Hitler and the Holocaust in describing Syria's use of chemical warfare United Airlines' ghastly mishandling of "re-accommodating" a passenger on a commercial jet -- and bloodying both passenger and senior management in the process. These tragic blunders didn't need my commentary. News media pundits and late-night comedians carried the ball far across the goal line. They pointed out the universal tone-deafness of Pepsi, United, and Spicer. They didn't need me to spike the ball. Businesses and government officials have been saying dumb things for decades. There's nothing new about these errors. Each reflects an acute case of self-absorption, and a total disregard for ...

This week, United Airlines proved that it has learned nothing about social media in nine years. By now, you may have seen the tale of United's removing two teenage girls from a flight for wearing leggings. United explained that its policy for users of employee-provided travel passes came with a dress code. Leggings and spandex are forbidden. This episode, as silly as it sounds, triggered a Twitter onslaught of criticism for the airline. It amused me, at first, because what passes for travel attire on most U.S. air carriers ranges from business suits to rumpled pajamas to cosplay outfits. But then, as the United story tumbled across Twitter, involving celebrities including Chrissy Teigen, Patricia Arquette, and even octogenarian William Shatner (at left, in tights from his '60s Star Trek era), I remembered: United's been down this road of embarrassment before. In 2008, Canadian musician Dave Carroll created a mini-sensation when the airline's baggage crew smas...

If you're a PR professional, you may disagree with me. And I'd love to hear your viewpoint. Six months ago, a local acquaintance asked me to help promote his book on business leadership. Most news media I contacted were enthusiastic, interviewing him on air, including his book in a newspaper column, or running op-ed essays he'd written about business conduct. By Holger.Ellgaard (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],  via Wikimedia Commons Except one. An experienced news/public affairs broadcaster who initially expressed interest, asked to read a copy of the client's book, and then went silent. Didn't respond to emails or phone calls. Even when I asked co-workers at the broadcaster's station, who first said they'd been busy, and told me he'd get back to me. Except he didn't. Nor did his producer.  I hate giving up. But, after six months of unresponsiveness from the broadcaster, I decided to ce...

By Dan Altuz (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (http://creativecommons.org/ licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons An old magician's trick -- "look closely, nothing up my sleeve" -- threatens to alter our perception of what constitutes real news. Unless we wise up, and fast. In stage parlance, the word was legerdemain . Derived from a French expression for "sleight of hand," it describes a magic trick, or some other deceit. Screenwriters and journalists don't use the word much anymore.  But, in an era of false news, dusting it off would be a fine idea. Because we're looking at a year or more of childish sniping and Tweets whose true purpose is to distract editors and too-lean reporting staffs from digging at harder stories. Legerdemain isn't limited to the next occupants of the White House. In some cases, PR people have performed their own version of "here's an oversized check to charity" to obscure the less-than-charitable d...

(c) DKassnoff, 2014. Cranking out PR for a legendary rock musician should be pretty straightforward. I'm all but certain Billy Joel has no daily involvement in his website or the Facebook page that updates his new tour dates. Nor should he. Someone's minding those tasks, though. And doing a mediocre job. On Oct. 14, a headline on Billy's web site announced:  Billy Joel Sells Out The New Coliseum’s Opening Show In Less Than Four Minutes. Read the details here . A sellout sure sounds impressive, doesn't it? Maybe, if your time-travelling Delorean is tooling through 1985. Internet ticket sales today have made swift concert sellouts an everyday occurance. And, few would-be ticket buyers are happy about it. They know that concert tickets are scarfed up by ticket bots and scalpers before fans ever get through the lethargic Ticketmaster website. The problem's so severe that several states are enacting legislation to outlaw the bots . But the person ...

Public relations pros may no longer need consider certain commercial radio stations as viable media outlets. Radio studio, [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Visiting a dental hygienist on a September Saturday, I was treated to a broadcast from a station owned by the Stephens Media Group . The programming -- a purportedly kid-friendly block called "Morning Car-tunes" -- was far more painful than anything the hygienist served up. The music wasn't bad. The in-between banter involved a young DJ and a co-host whom I'll call "Harry the Pirate." It quickly became clear no one had told them this program was actually intended for parents and kids to enjoy. Harry spent a few minutes regaling listeners about a recent visit to a local college, where he said he told communications students that "there are no jobs in media."* Harry, was that the most uplifting thing to tell aspiring broadcasters? Or did you think "media" didn't inc...

After having written about Chipotle restaurants' PR crises several times in the past year, I pledged I wouldn'tgo back to that trough again.  Yet, there's more negative news today about the beleaguered eatery. So, I'll just let the New York Daily News do the talking. This calls for more than a simple re-branding. How do you say "Leadership Change" in Spanish?

I'm completely aware that this article is paid for. It touts a Rochester, NY automobile dealership, and one employee's love of an heirloom Pontiac. Which we never actually see, because the dealer sponsoring the copy sells Chevrolets. 1966 Catalina, by Tino Rossini (Flickr: Catalina) [CC BY 2.0 ] via Wikimedia Commons Nonetheless, I have a quibble or two with it. Veteran PR practitioners will recognize this ode to Chevrolets as "advertorial." The new term is "sponsored content." If you want to know the price range of a new Corvette, that's about the only newsworthy aspect of the story. Whatever we call it, I made a good living writing it for a spectrum of clients. Sponsored content, well presented, demonstrates subject matter expertise that creates a halo effect for a client and/or his/her brand. To be fair, the Gannett Rochester operation labeled this honestly: "This story is produced and presented by our sponsor." Sponsored edito...

Lethal Weapon -- a bromance ? FOX Broadcasting recently barraged Twitter users with paid Tweets to promote its TV re-boot of the 1980s “Lethal Weapon” films. You’ll need to be a superb Twitter surfer to avoid them. PR practitioners run a risk in carpet-bombing social media audiences with overhyped promotions. They can alienate as many potential viewers as they attract. Actor Danny Glover, not in the new Lethal Weapon TV series, Photo credit: Georges Biard [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons In fact, FOX got dusted by Twitter users, many of whom weren’t old enough to see the 1987-1998 Danny Glover-Mel Gibson buddy pictures. The TV studio – largely bankrupt of original ideas since “Glee” – positioned the new series as a bromance . That word didn’t exist in run of the original films, which leaned heavily on gunplay, banter, and exploding toilets. Is bromance anything more than a piece of forced marketing-speak? (Not counting the short-lived MTV reality series o...

By U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Aaron Peterson. [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons As communicators, words are our currency. And lately, it feels as if we've been using counterfeit currency to grab readers and viewers. It's time for news writers and video pundits to change the way they use metaphors borrowed from authentic disasters and conflict. PR copywriters, too, although if we're at all sensitive, we won't describe a new product "exploding" across the marketplace. I hope. Last week, one of the presidential candidates flailed in the week's news coverage. Countless newsreaders said he had ignited a "firestorm" by lashing out at a Gold Star family that criticized him. A few days later, another story talked about a controversy "exploding" across the nation's newspapers. Firestorm? Get serious. A real fire storm is a wild fire of great intensity. It's something to be fought, and firefighters'...

Chipotle, the Mexican-ish restaurant rocked by a series of food safety scandals, needs a life-line. Actually, several of them. Paris Chipotle by Maxlöh (Own work) [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0],  via Wikimedia Commons A few days ago, its chief creative and development officer, Mark Crumpacker , was charged with drug possession and ties to a cocaine delivery service. This isn't helpful for a nationwide chain that's struggling to rebuild trust with consumers after tainted food caused the chain to close several restaurants. Chipotle's comeback strategy seemed to be going well. The stock only dropped 0.68% when Crumpacker got his mugshot. And, to be fair, Chipotle's spokesperson handled the boss' away-message as well as any PR person I've seen. (I wrote about Chipotle's issues in late 2015 , and again in January. Three's my limit. Honest.) To mend its reputation, the company closed all its restaurants for a day to shock-train e...

Public relations is often about building relationships. Some smart PR people get this. Others don't. For example: "I know you're the special kind of person who wants to help other people." I'm not sure if Steve Harrison really knows that. Or knows much about public relations, beyond providing all sorts of advice on how to get the attention of TV segment booking producers. That's what he sells on his website. What I do know about Steve Harrison: he hasn't Clue One about respecting his potential customers. The five come-on emails he sent me over a two-hour period told me all I need to know about Steve's mastery of public relations. (I signed up for a webinar, recommended by a colleague. Not spam that rivals the barrage I got from FTD around Mother's Day.) In a five-day span: 10 emails from Steve. Each as relentless and self-promoting as the last. A TV studio control room. By Wing1990hk (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Com...

Last week, I attended the Public Relations Society of America's North East chapter regional conference ( PRXNE 2016, if you like acronyms) in Boston. This created an opportunity to revert to Road Warrior driving mode, visit a Samuel Adams brewery on Germania Street, and explore the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum on the University of Massachusetts campus. (Free beer. Great Kennedy stuff, with a little Hemingway, too. No collisions. End of travelogue.) Field research at the Samuel Adams Brewery, Boston. Photo (c) DKassnoff, 2016. At the conference, I learned about data-driven PR, information foraging, mobile PR, and -- my favorite -- harnessing the untapped power of belonging. (Kudos to Mike McDougall of McDougall Communications for a terrific presentation.) You can watch a  presentation here, if you sign in. Professionals should attend at least one PR conference a year. The industry evolves so quickly, but it's all about telling good stories for mission-driven c...

By LuckyLouie at English Wikipedia [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons In a prior blog post , I decried the jargon-packed news release that introduced "tronc," the befuddled new name for Tribune Publishing. I wasn't the only one who thought: "What are these people trying to say?" NPR ran a story about it this morning. You can hear it here.  The tronc CEO makes a point, I guess. But it's still not a brand strategy I'd embrace if I needed to promote my editorial content.