The 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.

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Days Before Testimony Begins Against Johnny Depp, Amber Heard Fires PR Team – As much as you’ve tried to ignore it, you just can’t. Actor Johnny Depp is seeking $50 million in damages after his ex-wife Amber Heard wrote an essay for The Washington Post in 2018 in which she said she had become a “public figure representing domestic abuse.” This past week Depp provided details we wish we could unhear. Now Ms. Heard has hired a new PR firm to help her with messaging. Grab some popcorn and check out this piece from NBC News.

Duckin’ Autocorrect: Why Your iPhone’s Keyboard Doesn’t Always Get You – Ever sent a text on your iPhone only to then see what you typed (or intended to type) was not what you sent? It’s so ducking frustrating it can make you want to throw your ducking phone! The Wall Street Journal sits down with Ken Kocienda, the inventor of autocorrect for the iPhone and maybe one of the most hated unknown men in America. This seven-minute video explains a lot.

American Politicians Have Become Less Civil on Twitter Over Time, New Study Confirms – Everyone talks about increasing partisanship in Congress, but this study confirms it. Or at least confirms the growing lack of civility on Twitter displayed by members of Congress. The study revealed a 23% increase in online incivility among Congresspeople from 2009-2019, with more inflammatory tweets getting more likes and retweets. The Society for Personality and Social Psychology digs in.

For Weary Workers, Video Backdrops Are Becoming Too Close and Personal – Remember a few years ago when Zoom meetings were kind of novel and fun? Neither do we. After two-plus years of remote work, more and more people are becoming fed up with coworkers, clients and others looking over their shoulders at their messy kitchen, stacks of laundry or other personal areas of their homes. The New York Times takes a look at the impact video meetings have had on our psychology and society.

Why Chick-fil-A Workers Always Say, “My Pleasure” – On the surface you might not think Ritz-Carlton and Chick-fil-A have very much in common. Take a deeper look and you might be surprised. While no one would confuse fast food for a luxury hotel, both companies have extensive training in customer service, and employees for both companies will never say, “You’re welcome.” This CNN piece tells you why.

Give the Perfect Toast With These 7 Tips – Wedding season has arrived, and someone is going to hand you a mic before you know it. For many, giving a toast at a wedding or any event can be incredibly stressful. NPR highlights seven tips that will show you how to nail it every time.

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Tone Deaf:

Come Hang With Kate Spade

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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.

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Trevor Bauer’s Impasse With MLB Creates a Continuous Nightmare for Dodgers – Major League Baseball and the Los Angeles Dodgers have a PR problem – his name is Trevor Bauer. In 2021, the Dodgers signed Bauer to a three-year, $102 million contract. In July 2021, MLB placed Bauer on paid administrative leave due to a sexual-assault allegation against the pitcher. Earlier this year the L.A. County District Attorney’s Office declined to pursue charges, but MLB is not restricted under its policy of punishing only criminal behavior. And Bauer is adamant he has done nothing wrong. In an age of political correctness, The Los Angeles Times digs into the Dodgers’ worst nightmare.

Design Your Organization to Withstand Future Disasters – Most large organizations spend time planning for potential crises. They often create crisis operations and communications plans, exercises, pre-written scenarios and statements, but most fail to take a step back and ask a simple question: How are we designed? In the Harvard Business Review, Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, looks at three areas organizations should address.

Death of NYT’s Sports Agate Page Latest Sign The Times Are A-Changing – Earlier this month The New York Times published its Sports Section agate page for the last time. If you’re not familiar, the agate page is easily the most dense, information-packed part of the entire newspaper. It’s where sports junkies, gamblers and some kids would go for box scores, NHL schedules, boxing weigh-in information, horse-racing results and other sports minutiae. There is so much information, it’s printed in a tiny typeface called agate. Tim Rowland of Herald-Mail Media takes a look at the end of an era.

Why The Culture Was Healthier When Johnny Carson and Joan Rivers Were Around – For many years The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson didn’t rule late-night comedy – it was late-night comedy, and almost no one missed his opening monologues. Carson would chide politicians on both sides of the aisle – from Ronald Reagan to California Governor Jerry Brown – but never to the point of partisanship. Part of Carson’s genius was that he never let the audience know where he stood politically, and that gave him leeway to take on all, and it allowed everyone to enjoy the show. That’s no longer the case in late-night comedy. Bishop Robert Baron takes a look at how comedy has devolved into tribalism.

The Last of The Afternoon Newspapers – In 1982 afternoon papers outnumbered morning publications nearly 4 to 1 in the United States. By 2000 there were more morning papers than afternoon papers, but there were still more than 600 of the latter. Today, there are two: The Livingston Enterprise and its sister paper, the Miles City Star. Both are located in Livingston, Montana, setting for the TV Western, “Yellowstone.” The Wall Street Journal talks to the owner of the last two afternoon newspapers who explains why their publications aren’t going away.

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Feed Your Head:

The Best Starting Wordle Word Has Been Revealed

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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.

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‘Shame on You’: How President Zelensky Uses Speeches to Get What He Needs – Watching Russia’s invasion of Ukraine over the past month has been gut wrenching. Despite the tragedy, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s communication has been nothing less than a master class. His passion, clear messaging, tone, body language and even his attire have helped the world understand the gravity of the situation and helped Ukraine get the support it so desperately needs. Each of his addresses have been specifically tailored to the audience, and Zelensky gets to the point quickly and effectively. The BBC breaks down how Zelensky has done it.

Shaming Apple and Texting Musk, a Ukraine Minister Uses Novel War Tactics – Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has tapped Mykhailo Fedorov, 31, the youngest member of his cabinet, for a unique role. Mr. Fedorov, a former tech entrepreneur, has used a mix of social media, cryptocurrencies and other digital tools to pressure Apple, Google, Netflix, Intel, PayPal and others to stop doing business in Russia. The New York Times takes a look at how Mr. Fedorov is rewriting the playbook for military conflicts.

White House Briefed TikTok Influencers on Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine – It’s not just journalists getting White House briefings on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Press Secretary Jen Psaki and National Security Council adviser Matt Miller helped brief 30 TikTok influencers on the US approach to the war. With more people getting at least some of their news from outlets like TikTok, briefings like this may become more common. Engadget takes a look.

The Future of Local News Innovation is Noncommercial – Local news coverage is dying. Between 2008 and 2020, more than one thousand newspapers ceased printing, and the number of newsroom employees shrank by more than half. Many people assume the decline of local media outlets has been caused entirely by the rise of Silicon Valley companies like Facebook and Google, but there is more to the story. Free Press found more than 40% of the jobs lost in the newspaper industry since 1990 occurred prior to 2008 and the boom years for online advertising. Local dailies were shedding jobs long before a few tech platforms reported ad revenues in the tens of billions of dollars. Columbia Journalism Review digs into the painful data and looks at the future of local journalism.

Where Does Mainstream Media Go Wrong? – On a recent episode of The Problem with Jon Stewart on Apple TV+, Stewart looked at right-wing, left-wing and mainstream media and examined why the stories they cover often aren’t really news at all. The segment runs 20 minutes and is well worth your time.

The Real Reason We Hate Our Inboxes – We all get too much email, and most of us complain about it. The average professional spends roughly four hours a day dealing with email. Should you take a day off, the backlog can be overwhelming, stressful and yes, unhealthy. One study found email can cause heart rates, blood pressure and cortisol levels to increase. But there is hope. The Wall Street Journal offers four tips to help you take control of your inbox.

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Feed Your Head:

7 Expressions That Kill Employees’ Trust in Managers

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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.

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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.

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.

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

Red Brands and Blue Brands: Is Hyper-Partisanship Coming for Corporate America? – Major corporations and chief executives increasingly find themselves in the middle of social and political debates. While this isn’t a new phenomenon, it appears to be happening more often. As the population of the United States becomes more polarized, is it inevitable brands will mirror the electorate? This feature from The New York Times explores the possibility.

How Companies Can Address Their Historical Transgressions – There are companies and organizations whose history includes participation in past atrocities. Examples include companies that used slave labor to others tht knowingly participated in the Holocuast. This deep-dive in the Harvard Business Review addresses an interesting question: Should a long-established company be required to atone for the atrocities of a bygone era?

A Smart Retainer Could Let You Text With Your Tongue – Not a fan of the QWERTY keyboard? Is voice to text too much of a hassle? The SilentSpeller may be just what the doctor ordered. It’s the brainchild of one of the lead creators of the ill-fated Google Glass and works by converting tongue movements into data. BuzzFeed digs into the prototype mouthpiece that, so far, is 93% accurate.

Wordle Has Turned Fans of Word Games Into Argumentative Strategy Nerds – Monday-morning quarterbacks are nothing new when it comes to the NFL, and it appears the same thing is happening with the widely popular new game, Wordle. The premise of the game is simple: guess a five letter word in six chances or less. On Nov. 1, 2021 only 90 people had played the game. As of this week, nearly 2 million people a day are playing. The Wall Street Journal spoke to several enthusiasts who shared recommendations on how to solve the once-a-day word puzzle.

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Feed Your Head:

Why Apple’s iMessage is Winning

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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.

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Thank you for reading, and Happy New Year!

Cable News Lost Plenty Of Viewers In 2021 – A volatile presidential election, global pandemic and loads of social unrest made 2020 a particularly strong year for news viewership and ratings. So it’s not surprising that 2021 could not match up. Nearly all major broadcast news outlets – and cable news in particular – saw sharp drops in viewership. The story and the numbers are pretty staggering.

What Is Web3 And Why Should You Care? – If you’re old enough to remember the dawn of the Web, Web 1.0 was the era of static web pages or the “read-only web,” according to Tim Berners-Lee, computer scientist and inventor of the World Wide Web. Web 1.0 allowed us to search for information and read it, but there was very little user interaction. Web 2.0 is the more dynamic version we know today where users can easily contribute content (think YouTube, social media, etc.). But now we are on the cusp of Web3. What is it, and how will it affect your life? Gizmodo explains.

We’re Cursing More. Blame The #%$ Pandemic – Two years in, and this pandemic won’t #%$ing end! COVID-19 has changed society in more ways than we can list, but one overlooked change is how we speak. Pandemic stress, the melding of personal and professional spheres, and an unrelenting slide toward casualness are making many of us swear more. It is “a perfect swearing storm,” says Michael Adams, a linguist at Indiana University Bloomington. The Wall Street Journal takes a look.

Targeting Truth In The Misinformation Age –  As a result of the online movement Birds Aren’t Real, some people believe the US government has replaced all birds with drones to spy on its citizens. The movement drew thousands of followers, including 75,000 on Twitter, 363,000 on Instagram, and 636,000 on TikTok. The whole thing was a parody but also an experiment to illustrate how easily and quickly misinformation can spread. The spread of misinformation is a real issue for brands, companies, politicians, news organizations, etc. as, according to Forrester, it appears to be contributing to the destabilization of consumer trust. Check out their report.

Social Media Is A Bad Feelings Machine. Why Can’t We Just Turn It Off For Good? – The term Stockholm Syndrome came from an incident in 1972 in a bank in Stockholm, Sweden. Four bank employees were held hostage by two captors for six days. After police caught the captors, none of the hostages were willing to testify against them. Rather, they began raising money to aid them with their defense. For many of us, social media is a similar situation. Logically, we should turn it off, but we can’t. This opinion piece from The Guardian takes a look at the role social media plays in society and why it is so difficult to ignore.

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Feed Your Head: 

The 50 Best Memes of 2021 Explained

21 Things That Happened For The First Time In 2021

The 10 Best Data Visualizations of 2021

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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.

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Could Peloton Sue Over Its ‘And Just Like That’ Appearance? – Last week HBO Max premiered, “And Just Like That,” the network’s limited-edition series that picks up the story of “Sex and the City.” At the end of the first episode, Mr. Big (Chris Noth), the love interest of Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker), has a heart attack and dies moments after completing a ride on his Peloton. The ending shocked many viewers and, apparently, many Peloton stockholders, as the company’s stock plummeted 11% the following day and has continued to fall this week. So the question is: can Peloton sue? The New York Times takes a look.

‘Land Acknowledgments’ Are Just Moral Exhibitionism – If you’ve been to a groundbreaking, grand opening or other large corporate or university event, chances are the event may have kicked off with a land acknowledgement statement. Land acknowledgement statements usually pay homage to the Indigenous people and tribes that once occupied the land where the event is taking place. Such statements have been common in Australia and Canada, but now they are catching on in the United States. The problem is they can, at times, come off as contrived and superficial. The Atlantic digs into the issue.

How TikTok Reads Your Mind – TikTok is the most popular video app in the world. Once you start using it, it’s hard to stop. So, what makes TikTok so addictive? A New York Times columnist recently got ahold of a leaked internal memo from the company that reveals details about how the algorithm works and how they make the app so unbelievably addictive.

The iPhone Feature to Turn On Before You Die – Many of us spend way too much time with our phones. It’s how we communicate, get our news, track our exercise and stay entertained. Our phones are with us all the time. But what happens after we die? Who has access to our stuff? The Wall Street Journal explains how to establish a legacy contact who can access and manage your stuff…after you die.

Crisis PR Takeaways from Alec Baldwin’s Botched Interview – Alec Baldwin was involved in an accidental, fatal shooting during the filming of “Rust” earlier this year. Following the shooting, Baldwin kept a low profile, but recently he’s been conducting interviews, and the results have not been good. PR News outlines his missteps.

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Feed Your Head: Instagram 2022 Trend Report

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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.