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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The Rise and Rise of Partisan Local Newsrooms – Since 2004, more than 2,000 local newspapers have vanished in the United States, creating a news vacuum that is being filled to some degree by “pink slime” journalism and partisan newsrooms. Columbia Journalism Review takes a deep look at the issue and whether truly objective journalism is even possible any more.
How Do Japanese Show They Care? By Sending a Telegram. – “What hath God wrought?” That was the first telegram ever sent by Samual Morse in 1844. In the United States telegrams peaked in the 1920s and ‘30s primarily because they were less expensive than long-distance calls. Use of telegrams began plummeting in the 1960s, and Western Union sent its last telegram in 2016. But the medium is far from dead. In Japan and a few other countries telegrams are alive and used regularly to congratulate and pass along condolences. The New York Times digs into the forgotten medium.
The Late-Night Circuit: Why Do Politicians Do It? – Political candidates appearing on late-night talk shows is nothing new. John F. Kennedy was the first major political candidate to appear on a late-night show when he was a guest on Tonight Starring Jack Paar in 1960. Since then Bill Clinton famously played sax on Arsenio in 1992, and today candidates are regular guests on the late-night circuit. But this begs the question: why do they do it? JSTOR Daily reviews the very simple answer.
iPhone Now Makes Up the Majority of U.S. Smartphones – In its 15 years of existence, the iPhone has become a global phenomenon. Despite the rising cost and strange phenomenon of batteries suddenly not lasting as long when new versions are released, the iPhone continues to grow in popularity. Today it makes up more than 50% of the U.S. smartphone market. Visual Capitalist looks at why.
Casa Magazines Is the Last of Its Kind – There is still a magazine shop. It’s in New York’s West Village on the corner of Eighth Avenue and Twelfth Street. And it’s magical.
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Feed Your Head:
iPhone Users Can Now Edit and Unsend Text Messages (but only to other iPhone users)
The 40-Year Evolution of the Emoji
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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.
