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 Sports Scandal Almost Nobody Is Talking About – The terrifying collapse of Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin during a Monday Night Football game captured the attention of many Americans. Fortunately, Hamlin survived and was released from the hospital earlier this week. Hamlin’s story was so big many people missed the reports and video showing UFC president Dana White slapping his wife (twice) at a casino in Cabo San Lucas on New Year’s Eve. The Atlantic has the story that many missed.
Is Channel 5 the Future of News? – While traditional news outlets may be dying, news itself is alive and well, and it’s evolving. Channel 5 TV was started by a few 20-something friends on YouTube in 2019. Today its YouTube subscriber base of 2.2 million rivals The Washington Post and USA Today, and HBO just did a documentary on the founders called “This Place Rules”. Esquire takes a look at what could be the future of journalism, and it’s more Hunter S. Thompson than Walter Cronkite.
What Happened When the Olive-Oil Startup Apologized – Winston Churchill is credited with saying, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” Andrew Benin, chief executive officer of olive-oil startup Graza, recently took those words to heart when he wrote a sincere, typo-filled apology email to 35,544 customers. Mr. Benin’s honest and heartfelt apology is a case study many larger companies could learn from. The Wall Street Journal has the story and the letter.
From Elon Musk to Drake, Celebrity Nightstand Photos Are Causing a Stir – What can you learn from looking at someone’s nightstand? If it belongs to Elon Musk or Sarah Jessica Parker, the answer could be … quite a bit. There seems to be a trend of celebrities posting images of their nightstands on social media, and fans can’t get enough of this glimpse into their personal lives. But everything isn’t always what it seems. The Wall Street Journal digs in.
Wordle Editor Tracy Bennett Reveals What Words Get the Most Complaints – There is power, and then there is real power. Tracy Bennett has the latter. As editor of Wordle at The New York Times, Bennett gets to choose the word that may or may not drive you crazy while you’re drinking your coffee. In an interview on Today, she reveals the challenges she faces and the backlash she receives from Wordle players.
‘Woke Mind Virus’? ‘Corporate Wokeness’? Why Red America Has Declared War on Corporate America – We live in a divided nation, and, unfortunately, the divisiveness seems to be growing every day. Corporations across the country have taken strong, public stances on a variety of hot-button issues – from restrictive voting laws, to abortion, to critical race theory and everything in between. But now many Republican politicians are taking aim at “corporate wokeness,” and this battle looks like it’s just beginning. USA Today takes a look at the issue.
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Feed Your Head:
How to know if Your Inner Voice Is a Liar
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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.