Stories by Matthew Schwartz

For brands and organizations of all stripes it could be the next frontier for continuing education: Twitter school. The NYPD is signing up, sending its top commanders to take a course on the microblogging service following two Twitter fails.

More media channels means more opportunity to reach new audiences and spread your message. It also means more opportunity to mangle the message and, in the rush to beat the competition, water down what you were trying to say in the first place.

Smart PR managers know that it’s not a matter of if their company will incur a crisis, but when. They don’t call them crisis for nothing, of course. That’s why they’re so bloody difficult to prepare for.

As if PR managers didn’t need another excuse for working more closely with their sales and marketing counterparts, here’s a pretty good one. Twitter will reportedly roll out a “buy” button later this year, making it easier for consumers to buy things directly from the microblogging network.

Nearly four weeks into the phenomenon, the Ice Bucket Challenge shows no signs of letting up. The idea of dumping cold water on one’s head to raise money for charity may be a watershed for both brands and nonprofits alike when it comes to how to raise money for charitable causes and get the word […]

In a digital age—with some imagination—it’s much easier to turn a negative into a positive, as evidenced by how bakery king Greggs responded after an offensive company logo appeared on Google.

The City of Ferguson has hired PR agency Common Ground Public Relations to help its communication department deal with the ongoing turmoil stemming from the fatal shooting of Michael Brown last week. But the hiring has already raised some troubling questions about the wisdom of the decision.

Since it went public late last year, Twitter has made a series of changes designed to monetize the microblogging service. Its latest experiment—a change to user timelines—has upset some users.

In light of new data from comScore, companies and their PR agencies may no longer have the luxury of pooh-poohing Snapchat.

Robin Williams, who died Monday of an apparent suicide, leaves an incredible legacy and a good deal of inspiration for communicators.