Colin Hart

The Wall Street Journal editor Paul Beckett’s account in the Columbia Journalism Review of how the Journal mobilized to free Evan Gershkovich after 16th months as a prisoner in Russia is a tour de force and “a free press triumph” and well worth the read. Some excerpts: A phone call to a senior government official who knows this terrain provided the answer: “There are times to be quiet and there are times to be loud—and this is a time to be loud.” “Yet on days like August 1 (when he was freed), the values that underpin democracy and are the foundation of a free press triumph.” “Few countries that are not democracies could point to such care for their ordinary citizens abroad, let alone noncitizens imprisoned for their political beliefs.” “news organizations must continue to assess and calibrate the risks their reporters face when operating in dangerous terrain. Perhaps they need to make more hard-nosed choices on whether it is necessary to deploy in person to countries that target journalists or whether that terrain can effectively be covered from outside, given advances in technology and communications.” “And they could ensure that press freedom around the world—an issue so fundamental to their existence that it is often taken for granted—is a subject they cover as if their livelihoods and their liberty depended on it.” https://lnkd.in/etZTVCeB

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Nikki Haley joining Edelman 😯 The question is how many employees of that PR firm, plus other communicators and even current or future clients in the United States and other parts of the world will support this. Appointing diplomats, political strategists and public affairs professionals to help clients navigate global and regulatory issues is indeed an essential step in gaining real influence in a fast-changing world shaped by shifting spheres of influence. It also represents the necessary shift from #ClassicPR to #strategiccommunications; a future-ready move. What is important, however, is to appoint truth-tellers. This ensures trust and persuasiveness. During the GOP presidential nomination campaign, Nikki Haley made it clear that Donald Trump is not qualified to be US President again since he cannot be trusted. In light of all the evidence and facts, this is obviously the case. Yet her immediate declaration after losing the primary that she will support Trump and vote for him sends one clear message: “It’s all about me, not Americans or any other people.” https://lnkd.in/gPRZYjCF

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In a comprehensive annual review, Rod Cartwright's "Reputation, Risk and Resilience 2024" highlights the complex challenges and opportunities for corporate communicators, offering a fresh perspective on global risks. 📊 Despite the challenging outlook, as PR professionals we must see risk management, crisis preparedness, and resilience-building as sources of positive value. 🚀

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Loved yapping about how founders and investors should think about communicating during election season. Thanks for having me, Riley Kaminer! Think about: 1. Who's your audience? Consider customers, employees, and LPs. 2. What's your mission? How does politics play into that? If you're selling abortion pills by mail, you probably have a clear view on who should be president (and your consumers likely agree). A meditation app might instead focus on taking time away from political news to rest and recharge. If you're an investor, LPs are probably more interested to know how different electoral outcomes will move markets than they are in your own political opinion. 3. Put together contingency plans for each electoral outcome as well as a contested election. ("We're not going to say anything publicly" is a plan, too!)

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The PRCA has just issued essential guidance for public affairs professionals with the upcoming General Election. This isn't your typical memo; it's a call to action for all of us in the field. In the world of business, politics has an impact on every aspect. The guidance the PRCA provides is an essential toolbox to ensure that our engagement is ethical and impactful. It emphasises the importance of transparency, integrity, and improving our performance. We must stay well-informed, contribute thoughtfully, and maintain the highest ethical standards to succeed. Let's ensure we familiarise ourselves with these new guidelines and make our voices heard in the political sphere…for all the right reasons. #PublicAffairs #EthicalEngagement #PRCA #GeneralElection2024 #BusinessStrategy #IntegrityInAction

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As I approach my third month at The Baltimore Banner, I have been thinking a lot about defining success. A mentor offered the following thoughts: For reporters, it is much easier to define success. Editors often need help seeing that their goals should be quite different than their reporters'. They need to see each of their reporters as individuals with different strengths and weaknesses. So editors need to meet each reporter at a different place and help them improve, and hopefully, thrive. Sometimes that means focusing on reporting or writing skills, sometimes it is helping a reporter figure out how to cover a beat, or how to distinguish their work from the competition. Editors of course are key to guiding coverage, whether it's breaking news or a more conceptual beat, when the goal has to be finding the front edge of the topic (for an education reporter, that might be new trends in teaching and for the city hall reporter it might be who are the emerging power brokers.) When it comes to editing copy, editors have to avoid rewriting stories, which can completely demoralize reporters, but they also can't send along stories that are confusing or take too long to get to the point. It takes awhile for editors to figure out that sweet spot between improving copy but not just rewriting it the way they would have written it. The hardest part of editing is probably dealing with difficult reporters and there is no easy answer for that. The only part of running a newsroom that I could advise on is running the coverage and for me, that was always driven by focusing on the big news of the day. You have to make sure that editors have put enough staffers on the big stories and are looking across the news cycle, e.g. what will we have to publish first thing tomorrow, and make sure some people are trained on the bigger, deeper questions that take a few days to report. If you are clear on your top priorities each day and the newsroom aligns behind those, then the smaller stories will take care of themselves. You will be judged by how the Banner did on the big things, not the small things.

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Are the tools of journalism applicable to #corporate communications? Without a doubt. I recently had the opportunity to discuss three of those tools, and how to apply them, at a gathering of comms professionals from @Method Communications, @Sling&Stone, @Harvard and other teams from our @VCCP family. I’d love to hear about other skills from #journalism you think are applicable to helping companies tell their best stories in authentic, media-genic ways. Comment below!

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💡 From the fediverse to the Kamala Harris election campaign, SEO, and more: Insights in FIR 425. In this episode of our For Immediate Release podcast, Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I explore six key topics that are shaping the future of business, communication, and technology: 🔹 Fediverse and Digital Sovereignty: We discuss the growing disillusionment with platforms like X and the potential for governments to establish their own instances on the fediverse to maintain digital sovereignty and control over public discourse. 🔹 The Decline of Individuality: A recent study shows a significant decline in people’s desire to stand out over the past 20 years, which has implications for society and how businesses engage with their audiences. 🔹 Corporate DEI Backlash: With growing political and social backlash against Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, some companies are scaling back their efforts. But are they abandoning these goals or just changing how they communicate them? 🔹 Impact of Disabling Social Media Comments: Research reveals that disabling comments on social media can harm the perception of influencers and public figures, making them appear less sincere and likeable. 🔹 Kamala Harris’s Gen Z Campaign Strategy: We delve into how Kamala Harris’s campaign successfully engages Gen Z voters by mastering platforms like TikTok and leveraging influencers to drive massive engagement. 🔹 AI and the Future of SEO: The rise of generative AI and concepts like 'zero-click search' are changing the SEO landscape, with new strategies needed to maintain visibility in an increasingly AI-driven search environment. 🔊 For a deeper dive, listen to episode 425 of the podcast - check out the full blog post with audio player here: ⬇️ #Podcast #BusinessTrends #AI #DEI #DigitalMarketing #SEO https://lnkd.in/eCM9mj9d

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The topic of corrections comes up a lot in comms. There’s some new research on this that is kind of interesting. Here is an excerpt from an article summarizing the findings: “…people generally trust journalists when they confirm claims to be true but are more distrusting when journalists correct false claims. Some linguistics and social science theories suggest that people intuitively understand social expectations not to be negative. Being disagreeable, like when pointing out someone else’s lie or error, carries with it a risk of backlash. We reasoned that it follows that corrections are held to a different, more critical standard than confirmations. Attempts to debunk can trigger doubts about journalists’ honesty and motives. In other words, if you’re providing a correction, you’re being a bit of a spoilsport, and that could negatively affect how you are viewed.” #mediarelations #psychology #sociology #PR

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A useful handbook for quick reference and a reminder to all journalists covering the #US elections to ensure information integrity. This is worth a look. As in absorb this before #election day #journalists #newsroom #misinformation #disinformation https://lnkd.in/g4heDxVP

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The October monthly episode of our For Immediate Release podcast explores critical communication trends. Shel Holtz, SCMP, and I discuss six compelling topics, including Reddit's potential for crisis comms, the state of blogging in 2024, ethical concerns in celebrity news coverage, workplace connection challenges, and AI's impact across industries. In a blog post, I've set out some key takeaways that present opportunities for communicators, including leveraging Reddit for stakeholder engagement and preparing to guide organisations through AI adoption. Read more and listen now for valuable perspectives and insights on navigating today's complex communication landscape. https://lnkd.in/e5_CcMR2

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🌪️ Exploring the remarkable work of crisis communicators during Hurricane Beryl. Part 1 of a series. 🚨 New Series Announcement! In the next two newsletters, we’ll highlight the stories of two exceptional public communicators who excelled before, during, and after Hurricane Beryl ravaged the Houston area on July 8. The storm left over 2.6 million people without power, and at least 23 people died due to the storm and ensuing power outages. 🏡 Local Insights: Houston Summers Losing power in Houston is not just uncomfortable; it means all the food in your refrigerator spoils. After a hurricane, you're left with tree limbs and sometimes entire trees that need to be sawed up and hauled away. It’s a colossal mess, and people rightly expect their government agencies to help clean it all up and get life back to normal. 🌳 The Woodlands Township's Response: We’ll start with the story of how LeaAnn Dearman Petersen, CPC, CPM of The Woodlands Township, a suburb north of Houston, handled the impact. Next time, we'll share the perspective of the City of Houston’s Office of Emergency Management public information officer, Brent Taylor. 📅 Programming Note: GGF will be taking its annual beach sabbatical next week, so we'll be back with Part 2 on Friday, Aug. 9. 🚀 Stay tuned for more inspiring stories of public service! 🔗 Read more and subscribe to Good Government Files. https://lnkd.in/gQhWWDaA #CrisisCommunications #PublicService #HurricaneBeryl #GoodGovernmentFiles #EmergencyManagement #Houston

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As a #comms leader, there are several takeaways I appreciate about this article, the primary one being: communications work is strategy work. (It's not an accident that Biden's Chief Strategist is also his speechwriter.) The act of framing and messaging a decision is often what helps leaders to more fully appreciate, and feel secure in, the impact and implications of their choices. Time to kick off the campaign of a lifetime... #LetsGo

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Thank you to PRNEWS for publishing my piece on lessons brands and communications leaders can learn from the recent fallout at NBC News and the pitfalls of binary thinking. "This debacle is one of many scenarios that remind us of why deliberate, well-coordinated and consistent internal communications are even more important in today’s climate where sensitive information leaks are becoming commonplace." If you're so inclined, you can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eSjSG26d

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🎤🎸🤘🏻🚨 Latest from The Repute: "Crisis Comms Under the Microscope: Dave Grohl’s Approach" 🎤🎸🚨 In this edition, we take a real-time look at how rock legend Dave Grohl is handling the media fallout from his recent infidelity scandal. Using data-driven insights, we break down the New York Times' coverage of Grohl’s crisis communications strategy and analyze what worked—and what didn’t. https://bit.ly/3MIZy76 The analysis explores: - The effectiveness of proactively addressing scandals before they spiral - Why timing didn’t minimize media coverage as others have suggested - The nuanced balance between controlling the narrative and avoiding sensationalism Whether you’re dealing with a major PR issue or simply curious about how the media operates during high-profile scandals, this edition offers valuable lessons for managing your brand’s reputation. Read the full analysis and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear your thoughts! Have a great weekend everyone! Will Valentine Publisher, The Repute Founder and Principal, Valentine Advisors

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Following my recent post on the last presidential debate... Iast night’s Vice Presidential debate revealed a different approach to rhetoric, but the challenge of misinformation remained. Here’s how I think the two debates differed and what it means for public affairs: 🇺🇸 Presidential Debate: - Aggressive interruptions and chaotic exchanges. - Misinformation was buried in the noise, making it harder to address in real time. 🇺🇸 Vice Presidential Debate: - More composed and measured rhetoric. - Despite a calmer tone, misleading claims and half-truths were still prevalent. - The change in style gave the illusion of more substance but didn’t reduce the spread of misinformation. For public affairs professionals, these differences underscore the importance of tracking false narratives across all types of discourse, regardless of the tone. The calmer rhetoric may have given the illusion of more substance, but the underlying challenge remains the same: misinformation is shaping public opinion in real time.

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