Category: Public relations
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PR Has To Pass The Smell Test
Previously I argued that propaganda is not a good use of organizational resources. In fact it is counterproductive, because today’s information consumer is savvy enough to seek alternative versions to any manipulated version of the truth. But public relations remains useful. The profession can broadly be understood as “portraying the organization in its best possible…
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The Astonishing Hypocrisy of “Fake News”
President Obama lied, openly, intentionally, and repeatedly, to the American public and to Congress in order to make sure that a nuclear deal with Iran was struck. His speechwriter, Ben Rhodes, called this “the narrative.” Rhodes explained that most reporters are twenty-somethings who will basically believe anything released through the D.C. “echo chamber.” So it…
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Just Because You Don’t Like It
One of the most painful things about this election season has no doubt been the fighting with friends and even family members about which candidate is better. I’m not here in this post to advocate for one side or another. Only to point out that this national argument we’re having is dirty. The things we…
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Government Communication Will Not Regulate Itself
I’m sure by now you’ve seen a headline attacking the amount of money the government spends each year on “public relations.” These are coming from a report published by the Government Accountability Office just this week which noted that “public relations” experts employed by the government make about $500 million in total a year. The…
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GAO’s Confusing Conclusions About Federal Communications
This report just came out (http://www.gao.gov/assets/690/680183.pdf). Here is some information provided that concerns me, because it is confusing at best and misleading at worst. The GAO refers to “public affairs” series staff (GS-1035) as “public relations” staff. Employees who are employed as communicators, but not within this series, are not counted in the report. So…
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Wikileaks & the Crisis of Government Communication
“Fewer than three-in-ten Americans have expressed trust in the federal government in every major national poll conducted since July 2007 – the longest period of low trust in government in more than 50 years.” – Pew Research Center, November 23, 2015 In the United States, federal government communicators have no shared professional standards of conduct,…
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To Restore Trust In Government, Empower Federal Communicators
On October 8, 2013 the Pew Research Center for U.S. Politics & Policy released survey results showing that: Most Americans (62%) had a positive view of federal workers (and a majority had a positive view of the federal agencies they were asked about) Almost none (19%) trusted the government itself “to do what is right…
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Here to Learn
One time I had to do a presentation about branding. I sat down with my little slide deck and someone yelled out, “I’m very familiar with all this from my own experience at X company.” Keep in mind this is just the beginning of the presentation…like we are literally only on Slide 1. I mistook…
2016 Diary - Dannielle Blumenthal 