Online Public Relations Thoughts

How can one trust a man who librates between insults and respect for his political opponent?  Now that he is about to confront him on the debate stage, Trump calls Biden a worthy competitor.  That's not what he said for many months before.  

 NASA and its contractors have a mixed review underway.  The good news is the Webb telescope seeing farther in space than ever before.  The bad news is Boeing -- again! -- with its disabled capsule and stranded astronauts at the space station.  NASA's reputation will take a ding if controllers have to send a replacement capsule to rescue the two astronauts. but not as much as Boeing, which can't seem to get anything right these days.

Say or think what you want about the Chinese, but this is great PR for the country's space program.  It ups the rivalry with the US and puts the world on notice that it is no longer a Russian-US competition.  

 I'm taking today and Monday off.  I'll be back next Tuesday.

 Separation of church and state?

What tremendous PR this is for Jet Propulsion Laboratory and NASA. Voyager 1 is a scientific experiment that keeps going and going and going.

This can't help this.  Boeing has a PR and marketing crisis that seems unending at the moment.  It seems as if every week there is a new reported problem with the 737, its money maker.  The company is in a deep hole but it knows it and is working to climb out.  

How can you trust a Supreme Court justice who does not tell the truth?  It's a PR headache for the court with no easy way to alleviate it. 

Elon Musk says shareholders have voted to support his pay package of $56 billion.  There is still a Delaware judge to convince, but the question arises if he is worth it, if any CEO is worth that much money.  Musk has been increasingly erratic and compensation like this doesn't rein the man in.  Maybe it is time for a new leader.

Any new retail sector has growing pains as companies work out problems.  EV's certainly have them, especially with range anxiety a factor in vehicle purchases.  Who would have thought that this would be a major hiccup.  The price of copper has risen to the point where thievery is lucrative.  Without functioning charging stations, range anxiety comes to the fore again.  There is no good way at the moment of stopping robbers other than putting someone in attendance at the charging stations for 24 hours a day. That's expensive, but it might be the price of doing business.  Cables... yes, cables.  

Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. is down to $42.09 a share from a high of $79.38 a share shortly after its launch.  It has lost hundreds of millions of dollars since its birth and made not a penny.  Is it worth it as an investment?  But for the support of Trump fans, one would expect it to sink even lower.  How does Trump maintain the perception that he is a savvy businessman?  

What does the cost of 274 lives for the rescue of four mean?   That apparently is the toll of a hostage rescue in Gaza.  To Palestinians it is one more step in genocide.  To Israelis it is a satisfying moment but impetus to rescue the remaining 100+.  The human cost is sure to burn into the memory of Palestinians and foment more attacks in the future.  The rescue mission will guarantee more rocket attacks and killings as Palestinians seek revenge.  There should be a better way, but in war there is often not.  It is an ugly message to Palestinians of what the Israelis think of them.  

This is good PR and smart politics as well.  It is a reminder to the Congressmen's constituents that they are veterans and aware of veterans' issues.  

North Korea sends balloons laden with trash and manure over South Korea.  South Korea sends balloons laden with propaganda, K-pop songs and American dollars over North Korea.  So it goes.  The two countries have been engaged in a tit-for-tat battle for decades and there is no impetus to stop. North Korea's dictatorship takes offense quickly and carries out missile tests in response to the South's "provocation."  South Korea conducts military exercises at the border to make its point.  From a communications perspective, it's a silly waste of time and resources if the situation between the two countries weren't so serious.  So, on they go while the rest of us watch. 

Disney's announcement that it is ready to spend $17 billion to produce new theme parks and lesser venues at Disney World in Orlando, FL is a testimony to the control it has on the entertainment dollar.  Or, at least the company's confidence in the power of its marketing.  Unspoken are factors such as weather.  With climate change, Orlando can get scalding and who wants to be outside in such heat?  There is no prediction for weather other than it will get even hotter as time passes.  Disney's PR will have a tough time overcoming that.

Ford Motor's massive renovation of the Detroit train station is a great example of civic mindedness and PR.  It took a ruin blighting the landscape and turned it into first-class office space at a great cost.  It now anchors the neighborhood and is a shining example of Detroit's rebirth.   

A newspaper might be free to report and publish without interference from political authorities but it isn't free from economics. The Washington Post lost $77 million last year.  What do you want to bet that the deficit was partially responsible for the step down of its executive editor, Sally Buzbee?