Online Public Relations Thoughts

President-elect Trump has thrown out more red meat for conservatives with his insistence that the US owns the Panama canal.   Panama's president is not amused, but it won't happen that the US will take it over again.  Trump is feeding more bulls__t to his base to keep them agitated.  Rage as a PR tactic.

 By his deeds you shall know him.  He was a secular saint and his own best PR.   

Americans are exhausted with political news after a contentious presidential election, and they are tuning out.  What kind of persuasion is needed to get them back?  News media are going to find out, and it might not be investigative reporting.  

It's hard to be joyful when there is so much evil in the world.  What happened to peace on earth?  

College sports are starting over now that players can receive money for their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL). Already football has changed dramatically with players moving to universities that can pay them well.  Come April 7, the last strictures will be swept away and every sport will be subject to NIL. Coaches don't like the new regime and fans might eventually rebel at paying higher ticket prices.  But the perception of amateurs playing college sports is gone.  It's a new world of competition and fund raising for the best athletes and some schools will come out on top while the remainder recede.  Coaches and athletic directors will have to intensify recruiting efforts with cash in hand, their pitches less about school spirit and more about earnings.  It's a tough position to be in but that's the way it is.  

It's one thing to make promises on the campaign trail.  It's another to govern.  For Trump yesterday, reality set in.

The Dow plunged yesterday and is in the longest losing streak since 1974.  So much for an optimistic view of the economy.  The Federal Reserve has concluded that inflation is stubborn and is not coming down to the two percent level as planned.  Hence, fewer rate cuts in 2025.  President Trump will have a restive citizenry on his hands when he is inaugurated and his actions and words will either improve or worsen the situation.  No one knows at this point, but one thing is clear.  If he starts to meddle with the Federal Reserve, he will make things worse.  One hopes he is smarter than that.  

Was there too much PR at the rededication of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris?  Some think so, but it was still a coup for LVMH.  

Here is a PR challenge for authorities in New Jersey.  How do you communicate about mysterious drones when you don't know who is operating them and what their purpose is?  New Jersey citizens are worried but there isn't much to say other than the authorities are taking reports of sightings and discussing how to bring them down.  That is hardly enough to get to the bottom of the puzzle, but there isn't much more to say at this point.  Everyone is baffled by the overflights, and they are enough to launch a thousand rumors and conspiracy theories that can't be countered until more is known.  PR challenge indeed...  

This fallout from the killing of the United Healthcare CEO shows how image can overpower deed and why PR should limit itself to action rather than perception.  Unfortunately, too much of PR is the opposite.  

This would be a novel use of presidential pardon power but given the threats from the incoming Trump administration, it is understandable.  

This is a major crisis for United Healthcare. The fatal shooting of the CEO opens broad avenues of speculation and fosters thousands of rumors.  The worst part for the communications staff is to bat them down without knowing the facts, which are obscured at the moment. There is little time for grieving until the killer is caught and the key question of "why" is answered.  It is a hard time for the family and corporate survivors, but the work must go on.     

When are shore towns going to accept that rising sea levels are making permanent changes to beaches?  Instead of spending millions to replenish sand, they should be preparing for the day when there isn't any.  That will come sooner than later.  This is a case in which listening to the public is wrong.  Nature will have its way and changes man has made to the climate are the root cause of eroding beaches.  

 He never should have had it in the first place.  It was an obscene compensation package. 

He pardoned his son before the Republicans could make headlines out of his son's past.  Still it is hypocritical and going back on his word.  What does Biden care?  He lost the presidency and is on his way out.  He also lost the Senate and the House.  His political influence has been destroyed.  It's the last act of a once powerful man.