Online Public Relations Thoughts

Blog entries between Sept. 9, 2002 when I launched Online Public Relations Thoughts and Jan. 26, 2004 when the blog moved here fell under 12 headings, arranged below by alphabetical order:

Blogs and blogging. Although I vowed not to spend much time writing about blogging, I jotted about the medium some of the time.

Changes in Journalism and its effects on PR. Because so much of public relations continues to be tied to working with reporters and editors, changes in traditional media are of deep concern to practitioners.

Communications Skills. Skill sets dictate what we can do well.

Limits of PR. Public relations is a set of tools and a discipline. It solves some problems. It does not solve all problems. It is worth looking at its limits.

New Communications Technologies. PR should track the rise and use of technologies that change communications and PR application.

Objectivity and ethics. PR practitioners bump into fact, fiction and ethics constantly. There have been notable failures where individuals and organizations have scammed the public, and PR practitioners were involved in nearly every one. At issue is what PR practitioners should do when there is a choice between facts and spinning.

PR and crises. In a crisis, one finds what PR is – and isn’t.

PR and politics. Politicians are masters of PR. We can learn a great deal from them about the best and worst ways to persuade publics.

PR Strategy. Communications choices are at the heart of PR strategy. PR should track wise and dumb decisions as a learning experience.

PR Tactics. What we do and how are critical topics. There are no formulae for much of PR work. There are judgment calls.

Reputation and credibility. They are at the heart of what public relations protects and fosters.

State of the PR business. PR took a beating after the Internet bubble burst.

Yes, I am surprised by how much ground I covered. I had no idea.