Yesterday, I mentioned a piece published in the McMaster Daily News featuring my colleague @TerryFlynn’s ideas on the various scandals in journalism, particularly the Leslie Roberts one, which is directly linked to public relations. In this great piece, Terry mentioned something that stuck with me: “Let me first address the issue of the name of …
Category Archives: Public Relations
A tribute to Terry Flynn, my dear colleague and PR mentor
Today, my colleague Terry Flynn, co-founder (with Maria Russell) of the McMaster-Syracuse Master of Communications Management program (of which I am director), was interviewed for the McMaster Daily News today. The piece listed his recent achievements and focused on his opinions on the unfolding crises in journalism in the Leslie Roberts, Amanda Lang and Jian …
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Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 3
Yesterday I mentioned the concept of strategic PR and linked it to relationships. What did I mean? At the core of any enterprise, particularly nascent ones like startups, are a set of relationships. The owners or managers of the business have to build relationships with funders, employees, various media, government, third party regulators, and many …
Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 2
Yesterday, I talked about how PR pros have to make the value case for their services to business people. Let’s unpack that idea a little more today. To anyone who works in the public relations, the idea that you should focus on building relationship as a new or on-going business seems obvious. However, that isn’t …
Strategic PR and the value chain, pt 1
It is important for public relations pros to think about where you fit in the value chain of an organization. In a world of always-on, instant communications, it is easy to think that organizations will automatically recognize how important building an managing relationships with stakeholders and other audiences is. The thing to remember is that …
The Leslie Roberts scandal and regulation of PR
It cannot be debated that the PR profession has seen an extraordinary ascendancy since the rise in popularity of digital communication and social media. However, there are many leftover ideas from the mass communications era of PR that ended with the social media revolution. The Leslie Roberts situation is an example of this. The old …
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Building the case for PR: Helping startups succeed
Let’s continue with the analysis that I began in yesterday’s post on law’s status as a respected profession and the fact that public relations is generally held in lesser esteem. The question a few people posed to me in emails is: “What can we do to garner more status and prestige for PR?” For me, …
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Addressing PR’s problematic reputation
In a recent speech, PR luminary Harold Burson said that Richard Nixon, during the Watergate scandal, contributed to the negative perception of PR when he referred to “PR flacks” and used PR as an equivalent term to spin or manipulating public opinion: “We will have to PR that…” Since then, public relations has been vilified in …
Applications OPEN for the McMaster-Syracuse MCM program 2015-16
As program director, I am pleased to announce that applications to our extraordinary Master of Communications Management program are now open! The MCM program offered in partnership between McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business and Dept of Communication Studies and Multimedia and the Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University. The MCM program combines four …
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Harold Burson thinks the widening wealth gap is bad for business
Harold Burson, founder of Burson-Marsteller, the world’s largest PR firm, thinks that the huge and widening gap between rich and poor bad for business. I agree. I had a wonderful time yesterday at the #ComMgtat20 reunion of the alumni of the M.S. in Communications Management program offered by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public …
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