Stories by Seth Arenstein

“The business of business is business,” Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (1912-2006) said. Our PRNEWS survey of some 200 PR executives expands on that thinking somewhat. We found that in this difficult moment, an overwhelming number of PR executives are most concerned with the health and safety of their staff. Finding new revenue doesn’t come close.

In what’s been a regular occurrence for months, inconsistent messaging from the White House about the novel coronavirus continued during the weekend, resulting in a confused public.

The US Census Bureau must communicate the need for Americans take part in the decade’s first census, Census 2020.

While now is not the time to hold employers and governments accountable for their actions during the early days of the virus, that moment will come.

The pandemic has brought internal communications to the forefront. Even though this moment has changed many things, the communicator’s struggle remains getting heard through the noise. As a change of pace, some internal communicators are turning to pre-recorded private podcasts to keep employees informed.

There are two basic ways pitching pros can react to the novel coronavirus: hide or continue working.

Contrasting messages were in evidence again today.

Although you may cringe the next time you see or hear the phrase “the new normal,” it’s part of the communicator’s job to keep tabs on trends.

Despite the overwhelming demand on certain industries, customer service remains a reputation maker, good or bad. Fortunately, we found the basics of good customer service communications prior to the pandemic remain constant. Add to them even more than normal emotion and understanding.

At the moment, though, with millions of Americans jobless, it seems Amazon and other companies can afford to discard standard PR guidance.