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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CBS And The Cost Of Not Apologizing – The shakeups at 60 Minutes have become the kinds of stories the program would typically cover itself. Was Scott Pelley right or wrong in how he handled his exit? This Wall Street Journal opinion column argues the answer lies less in principle than in a failure to apologize at a critical moment. Management wanted him to stay, but intemperate remarks and a lack of self-reflection foreclosed the option. It also explores Pelley’s departure as a window into broader questions about media credibility and institutional self-correction.
The Revenge Of The Publicists: How Comms Execs Stormed The C-Suite – The era of PR as a back-office function is officially over. The Wall Street Journal documents what many of us have watched unfold in real time: communications executives earning seats (and titles) at the top of the org chart. It’s not a trend, it’s a reckoning. When reputation is a company’s most consequential asset, the people who manage it belong in the room where decisions are made. It seems the C-suite has finally realized what good comms pros already knew.
What Does It Mean If Political Scandals Matter Less? – When outrage is constant, nothing is outrageous, and that shifts the entire playbook for crisis communications. The lesson isn’t that accountability is dead; it’s that the traditional scandal arc (reveal → outrage → consequence) no longer runs on autopilot. Building trust before a crisis hits matters more than ever when the public’s capacity for shock has been so thoroughly exhausted. NPR has the story.
Got a Minute? This Man Wants To Hear About Your Fit – Maurice Kamara stops strangers on the street — not to sell them anything, not for followers, just to tell them their outfit is worth a conversation. In an attention economy built on performance, his People Gallery project on Instagram is refreshingly analog: genuine curiosity, face to face, one person at a time. It’s a good reminder that the most resonant storytelling isn’t always produced, sometimes it’s just someone paying attention. Community, it turns out, still starts with showing up. The New York Times has more about Kamara’s approach.
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Beach Reads:
The Hottest Job This Summer Is European Ambassador For Ranch Dressing
Why Soccer Powerhouses Are Obsessed With Kansas City
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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.