The Flack highlights changes and trends in the news, examples of communications practices, and content we at BYRNE PR thought you might find useful.
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Cuomo’s Resignation Provides 7 Crisis Management Lessons — The recent resignation of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was huge news and, to many, long overdue. Cuomo, who had been governor for more than a decade, resigned Tuesday following an investigative report that found he had sexually harassed multiple women. Forbes provides seven crisis management lessons business leaders can learn from this story.
Meet the Woman Behind Every Emoji You Use — Smiley face, thumbs up, high five — many of us use emojis every day in our communication with friends and colleagues. Today, there are more than 3,500 emojis, and the list seems to grow larger every week. But did you ever wonder where emojis came from? The Spinoff takes a look at the history of emojis and the woman behind them all.
How Major Media Outlets Screwed Up the Vaccine ‘Breakthrough’ Story — A few weeks ago The Washington Post landed a huge story. The paper had acquired an unpublished presentation from the CDC that suggested the Delta variant spreads as easily as chickenpox and that vaccinated people who become infected may be able to pass it on in the same way unvaccinated people can. Unfortunately, the story lacked some crucial context. And more unfortunately, many other reputable media outlets ran with the story without confirming the facts. The Columbia Journalism Review takes a deep dive into what happens when speed trumps accuracy.
A Better Approach to Group Editing — Anyone who writes for a living has experienced the challenges of group editing. Track Changes and other tools have revolutionized writing/editing, and we should all be thankful for these time-saving innovations. However, these electronic editing tools — which allow for multiple editors — can often result in a document that doesn’t resemble the original or meet the objectives of the author. The Harvard Business Review has a solid process to make group editing far more effective and less painful.
The Vaccine Cards Are The Wrong Size — As millions of people receive COVID-19 vaccinations, a common problem has emerged: the vaccination card won’t fit into a wallet. The unusual size of the card has left the vaccinated fuming and fumbling as businesses and events begin to require proof of vaccination for entry. The Atlantic takes a deep look at this major design flaw.
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Feed Your Head: 64 Weak Words and Expressions That Clog up Your Writing
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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.