Bari Weiss Resigns from the New York Times — Earlier this week, Bari Weiss, opinion editor and writer for the New York Times, submitted her resignation saying she was bullied by colleagues and that, “showing up as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.” Weiss joined the paper in 2017 to help offer a different perspective following the Times’ “failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers.”
Journalists Know News and Opinion Are Separate, but Readers Often Can’t Tell the Difference — The New York Times opinion editor James Bennet resigned recently after the paper published this controversial opinion essay by Sen. Tom Cotton that advocated using the military to put down protests. Cotton’s column was published on the opinion pages — not the news pages. But that’s a distinction often lost on the public, whose criticisms of the decision to run the piece were often directed at the paper as a whole, including its news coverage. All of which raises a longstanding question: What’s the difference between the news and opinion side of a news organization? This article from NiemanLab explores that question.
Avoid Politics — Given the growing politicization of the COVID-19 pandemic, and as states gradually begin to reopen, spokespeople should expect to be asked about decisions made by local, state and federal governments. And while it is reasonable for reporters to ask such questions, in most cases spokespeople should avoid endorsing or disagreeing with political decisions. Instead, they should address the question and bridge to the messages they need to deliver. Example: “Local and state governments are working hard to keep the public safe while finding ways to gradually restart our economy. At (insert company) our No. 1 priority is keeping our employees and customers safe, that’s why …”
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.
The world has changed for all of us over the past few months, and media outlets have not been shielded from the impact of COVID-19. At BYRNE PR, we speak with reporters/producers from local, national and trade media every week.
Following are a few things we’ve learned:
The media world, like the rest of the world, is extremely fluid. Things are changing day by day and hour by hour. Be diligent; be informed; and help media do their job. Attached is Cision’s 2020 State of the Media Report. It’s full of relevant information, stats and trends regarding the impact of COVID-19 and other issues.
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flack
: one who provides publicity
flack
: 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.
