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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A Closer Look at the PR Feud Between Liberty Oilfield and The North Face — “That North Face puffer looks great on you. And it was made from fossil fuels.” That’s the tagline from an ad campaign by Denver-based Liberty Oilfield Services. The company’s CEO was miffed when he learned the outdoor brand would not make a co-branded jacket for one of Liberty’s competitors, Innovex, because it’s an oil and gas company. Outside magazine takes a look at one of the more interesting corporate PR battles in recent memory.
This Will End With President Tucker Carlson — The United States has been the beneficiary of many imports from the United Kingdom. From the British Invasion of the 1960s, to punk rock, to the growing popularity of soccer, Americans owe quite a bit to Mother England. However, with New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof considering a run for Governor of Oregon in 2022, Americans may want to proceed with caution. The U.K. has a history of journalists entering politics, and the results have often been less than ideal. This quick read from The Atlantic looks at the dangers of journalists becoming politicians.
How Amazon Bullies, Manipulates and Lies to Reporters — Corporate Communications departments vary wildly. Some are organized resources to help members of the media access information and make their jobs easier. Others are decidedly less so. Reporter Ali Breland from Mother Jones takes a deep look at Amazon’s questionable corporate communications practices and aggressive tactics with journalists that affect the information you receive.
Trust in Media Varies by Political Party — According to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March, Americans have more trust in their main source for political news than they do in the news media more broadly. It would seem the term “mainstream media” can impact one’s views on the credibility of a particular news source, depending on their political affiliation. Not surprisingly, Democrats and Republicans have very different views. Dig into the data.
Why Doesn’t Ted Lasso Come Across as a Complete Creep? — “Ted Lasso,” which started as a marketing campaign for NBC Sports, has turned into one of the biggest TV hits in years. The show recently earned 20 Emmy nominations, making it the crown jewel of Apple TV+. Vanity Fair sat down with the program’s showrunner, Bill Lawrence, to talk about how the show is written and why fans become more addicted with each episode. Spoiler Alert: It’s not about soccer.
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Feed Your Head: 10 Wrong Grammar Rules Everyone Knows
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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.