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The Flack highlights changes and trends in the news, examples of communications practices, and content we at BYRNE PR thought you might find useful.

We hope you enjoy, and we always welcome your feedback.

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Ukraine War Tests Whether Marketers Can Address Crisis Meaningfully – It’s been two long weeks since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine, and the tragedy continues to unfold. Thousands (including civilians) are dead, millions are displaced and communities and cities have been destroyed. And now, brands need to make smart decisions about their business in Russia and how they communicate their decisions to the public. Marketing Dive takes a look at how companies are addressing the situation.

Disney Employees Furious Company Won’t Denounce Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ Bill – Disney is facing an internal crisis as employees voice their rage at the company for not denouncing Florida’s ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill, which would limit discussion of sexualtiy and gender in Florida schools. This week CEO Bob Chapek wrote a memo to employees, saying he believes the best way for Disney to bring about lasting change is through the content they produce and the diverse organizations they support. But employees aren’t having it. NPR digs in.

Americans’ Attention to National News Lowest in Four Years – Fewer Americans are paying attention to national news. In December, 33% of Americans said they pay “a great deal” of attention to national news. The percentage is a substantial drop from the 54% who said they paid a great deal of attention to national news in 2020. The recent drop holds across most demographic groups but has been disproportionately pronounced among Democrats younger than 55. Knight Foundation has the details.

Axios Wants Us to Read Everything in Bullet Points – Your attention span is short, and Axios may make it shorter. The news organization, which prides itself on short-format writing (they call it, “smart brevity”), was founded in Arlington, Virginia, in 2016 and is growing by leaps and bounds. The company believes it will build back trust in the media and teach corporate America to quit its long-winded jargon. The New York Times takes a peek at the company’s strategy.

Five Phrases That Make You Sound Passive Aggressive – Corporate jargon is the bane of our existence, and it seems to get worse every day. According to Slack, 63% of workers find it “off-putting” when colleagues use jargon in their communications, and 78% said they have made efforts to avoid using jargon. MSN lists five of the most common annoying workplace phrases and offers suggestions for what to say instead.

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What We’re Reading:

The Coddling of America

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flack

noun

: one who provides publicity

flack

verb

: to act as a press agent or promoter for something

The word flack was first used as a noun meaning “publicity agent” during the late 1930s. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack.

The Flack highlights changes and trends in the news, examples of communications practices, and content we at BYRNE PR thought you might find useful.

We hope you enjoy, and we always welcome your feedback.

************************

Inside Facebook’s $10 Billion Breakup With Advertisers – Facebook’s reign as the most powerful platform for digital advertising may have just ended. Apple recently introduced a privacy feature for mobile devices that restricts user tracking. This change is causing the cost of acquiring new customers via Facebook advertising to increase exponentially. And it’s causing many companies to reallocate digital marketing dollars from Facebook to Google, Snap and other platforms. The Wall Street Journal digs into this landmark change.

Is Wordle Really Getting Harder? – Admit it. It’s the first thing you do every morning. If you are like millions of people around the world, Wordle, the simple word game created by software engineer Josh Wardle, has become a part of your daily life. Wardle created the game in October. By Nov. 1, 90 people had played. By December, it was millions of players, and in January The New York Times bought the game for an undisclosed sum. Six weeks after the purchase, some Wordle fans are suspicious. Is the NYT making the game tougher? Looks like many players have theories.

Even The Podcast About The Joe Rogan Podcast Is a Smash Hit Now – Most people are sick of hearing about Joe Rogan and all related controversies. However, despite everything that’s transpired, Rogan’s podcast, The Joe Rogan Experience, continues to be wildly popular. According to Edison Research, Joe Rogan has the largest audience of any podcast by far. And now there are podcasts about Joe Rogan’s podcast. And they’re getting popular, too.

What P. J. O’Rourke Knew – Last week we lost P.J. O’Rourke. He cut his teeth as a freelance writer before joining National Lampoon in 1973 where he served as writer, editor and, eventually, editor-in-chief. O’Rourke then spent more than 20 years as foreign-affairs-desk chief at Rolling Stone and wrote 16 best-selling books along the way. National Review takes a look at the wit and wisdom of his writing.KPMG Severed Ties With Phil Mickelson. Wll Others Follow? – If you’re a golf fan, you would have had a hard time not hearing about the Super Golf League, a proposed new professional-golf league that is hoping to compete with the PGA Tour. The proposed league is backed by the Royal Family of Saudi Arabia, which is where the controversy begins. Last week an interview with Phil Michelson was published in which Mickelson said he supported the new league despite the owner’s penchant for murdering journalists. And now, Lefty has a PR problem, and his sponsors are taking notice. Golfweek digs in.

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Feed Your Head:

The State of Podcasting

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flack

noun

: one who provides publicity

flack

verb

: to act as a press agent or promoter for something

The word flack was first used as a noun meaning “publicity agent” during the late 1930s. According to one rumor, the word was coined in tribute to a well-known movie publicist of the time, Gene Flack.