Stories by Seth Arenstein

It’s a small irony that a week beginning with a bogus story about VP Kamala Harris’s children’s book ends Friday (April 30) with the celebration of Honesty Day. It’s a holiday that every PR pro should circle on the calendar as honesty is the currency of the profession.

PRSA added a 4-pronged information asset to its site today with a resource called Voices4Everyone. It addresses issues communicators need to navigate today’s climate, including disinformation/misinformation and D&I. PRSA says it will update resources regularly with new and curated content.

One of the most difficult moments for crisis communicators is knowing when, or even if, to react. Once you decide to act, finding a proper response is critical. The backlash against Burger King UK’s tweet was immediate. The company, though, seemed to forget a motto it used for 40 years: ‘Have It Your Way.’ Instead, after choosing to respond, it doubled down with explanations.

Each month, we look at new terms picking up steam in the crisis landscape with a definition. This month, we look at empathetic bankers and partisan changes.

Cision’s annual state of the media didn’t offer revelations, but is loaded with useful insight and data about how journalists worked in 2020 and what they’re looking for in 2021. It’s a good reminder for PR pros to tailor pitches, return calls, include useful data, provide DEI angles and consider upbeat stories.

PRSA responded to the needs of former members and unemployed communicators, unveiling an initiative to encourage them to rejoin or join the trade organization, respectively. “In Between Jobs” offers half-price membership to PRSA as well as other incentives aimed at helping unemployed communicators find work.

It was not much fun job-hunting during the record economic downturn that followed in the pandemic’s wake. Yet Olivia Olson used the moment to her advantage, finding PR pros willing to answer her questions during informational interviews. She landed at Ketchum well prepared for her media coordinator position.

Mark Machin, who headed the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) until Feb. 26, and his partner flew to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where Machin cut the vaccine line to receive his first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. As we do each month, we ask crisis communicators if this crisis was averted based on the response.

Each month, we look at new terms picking up steam in the crisis landscape with a definition.

There’s one thing you can say about social media–sometimes it helps remove doubt. It goes to a principle that communicators know well: Nothing disappears once it’s posted on social media.