To say that Rob Ford's relationship with the media has been rocky since he became the mayor of Canada's largest city would be an understatement. Even with this kind of media relations track record, this is a very, very bad day for Rob Ford.
Read MoreAh, the news release... The rotary phone of the modern PR industry. Still able to perform its intended function but, for all intents and purposes, a relic from another era. Is the news release dead? Perhaps not. But it sure is looking a little long in the tooth...
Read MoreCrisis communications is one of the most stressful jobs around. And while there's no shortage of great courses, textbooks and videos out there to help you hone your crisis communications skills, there's no teacher like good...
Read MoreIf you don't feel a bit of tension between yourself and the reporter during your media interview, you may not be doing it right. That doesn't mean there should be an antagonistic or negative tension between the journalist and the interviewee. Think of it more...
Read MoreIf I only had 10 seconds to prepare someone for an important media interview, this is what I would tell them: A media interview is NOT a conversation. A hard core, full day media training session should still be the minimum prerequisite for any spokesperson preparing to face the media on behalf of their organization. But when it comes to...
Read MoreFor most people, preparing for a media interview is a stressful experience. Whatever you say during your interview is going to be printed or broadcast for thousands of people to see...
Read MoreHiring the right media trainer is kind of a big deal. Think about it...you're asking a group of your most senior people to invest a full day out of their busy schedules to sit in a boardroom -- away from their growing inboxes,
Read MoreAs a business owner, these are words I never thought I would utter: "Our website is temporarily down. And we're cool with that."
That shows you the power of great communications. Our site is hosted by Squarespace. They're a great company and their operations have been impacted by Hurricane Sandy (more on that below). Operational disruptions happen.
Read MoreAccording to the old adage, there’s no such thing as bad publicity. Well, the people over at Cogeco might disagree after the week they had. The company made headlines for all the wrong reasons this week after a massive email outage left thousands of customers across Ontario unable to send or receive messages. Hundreds of frustrated customers have since taken to Twitter and Facebook...
Read MoreAs human beings, most of us are fortunate enough to possess a finely-tuned survival instinct, honed by millions of years of evolution. You might think these awesome skills are wasted in a world without dinosaurs and sabre-toothed tigers. On the contrary. Even in the corporate world...
Read MoreThe NHL Players' Association presented its 'alternative proposal' to NHL comissioner Gary Bettman & Company on Tuesday. Reading the media coverage about the handover, I was blown away by the brilliance of the photo opp staged...
Read MoreIn June of 2012, if you visited the City of Elliot Lake's website, you would have seen an icon for the community's Facebook page. Today, that icon - and the Facebook page it led to - are gone.
Read MoreThere are thousand of media stories generated by reporters around the world every day. And while those stories might cover thousands of different topics, they can ALL be traced back to one or more of the three drivers of news:
Read MoreGuest post by Carly Weeks, health reporter with The Globe and Mail.
If you were applying for a job and spelled the contact person's name incorrectly, inserted the wrong organization name in the cover letter or didn't have any of the qualifications specified in the job posting, you probably wouldn't be surprised if you didn't get called for an interview...
Read MoreMany companies, large and small, are doing social media wrong. And by far, the biggest mistake most businesses make is using Twitter like a giant fire hose, endlessly blasting out information about themselves and patting themselves on the back. "Click here! Read this!
Read MoreWhether you’re a school teacher or the Commissioner of the National Basketball Association, your approach to media interviews should include a sound strategy for handling loaded and repeat questions. Last week, NBA Commissioner David Stern gave us a not-so-friendly reminder...
Read MoreResearch in Motion missed out on an important opportunity this week to define the next chapter in their corporate history. As RIM's co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepped aside and COO Thorsten Heins took...
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