Stories by Seth Arenstein

It’s the sort of experiment business watchers live to see. Delta is communicating that its planes will be not more than 60 percent full. American is making no such promise, and has added a slew of flights, so chances are customers will find more travel options. Both carriers are seeking passengers’ trust. Who will earn it?

FleishmanHillard diversity chief Emily Graham pulls no punches. “I’ve not seen any indicators that we’ve made significant progress with ethnic diversity,” the 15-year PR veteran says of the industry. “There was a time when it was acceptable to have one or two people of color as signs of progress, or tokens. It’s untenable and unacceptable in 2020,” she adds. We ask her what can be done to bolster PR’s diversity.

Before the pandemic, ‘doing more with less’ was a popular refrain of PR pros. Now, it seems ubiquitous. As we prepare for PRNEWS’ free webinar, How to do More with Less: A Holistic Approach to PR,” next month, we decided to look for tips and tactics to help the PR army of one working from home. Or from your pet’s home.

At this point, it looks like NFL training camps will begin on time next week. Several star players took to social media last weekend to lay out their grievances in public while attempting to appear like privileged millionaires. The tactic worked and the league agreed to cancel all pre-season games and test players for coronavirus daily in training camp. Here’s how they did it.

Weber Shandwick did a very good thing last week. It released diversity data for its senior levels. The data were dismal and the agency said as much. It also made the correct point that benchmarks are needed before you can make improvements. Though the agency needs to offer detail about how it will improve, Weber has taken a bold first step.

A well-known PR adage is, ‘If you don’t tell your story, someone else will.’ A bevy of major retailers has paraphrased that aphorism to fit the moment: ‘If the government doesn’t protect our employees and customers against coronavirus, we will.’ By requiring masks, these iconic brands have become healthcare policy wonks.

It’s July and we’re still stuck in a pandemic. By most measures, things are getting worse, not better. The country seems to be confused. We asked a group of healthcare communicators how PR pros can help at this moment. Most said the industry can and should.

It’s not news that the country is politically turbo-charged. That makes nearly any story a potential PR time bomb. Evidence is today’s White House announcement that it’s launching a program to bolster job searching, particularly for non-degree recipients. The critics charge first daughter Ivanka Trump is the wrong person to lead this effort.

It was a hot Friday in July. The perfect slow news day. But not for the world of PR, where some of the major teachings of the craft seemed to be thrown to the dustbin. See what happens when a brand CEO steps directly into politics, a brand disregards optics and the computer system of a mega-retailer goes whacky.

What’s the role of brand storytelling during this difficult time? For master storyteller Miri Rodriguez, now is a perfect moment for brand stories. In a wide-ranging interview, she also urges C-suite members who’ve adopted a more human communication approach to preface it with an introduction to their softer side.