Netflix CEO Reed Hastings is in the news again, not for enraging subscribers over a price increase or for presiding over a steep decline in share price, but for using social media to tout a company milestone.
Hastings took to his Facebook page in June and praised his staff for achieving a monthly viewing rate in excess of 1 billion hours for the first time in the company’s history.
Continue reading " Assessing the Net of Disclosure: Should the SEC “Like” Facebook? "
When I began my career in public relations (and I won’t say when that was), publicists and media relations specialists longed for the day when they could reach audiences with their clients’ or company’s news without first having to go through a media filter.
Eventually, their wish came true; first through social media, then through online services, such as PRWeb, that disseminate news and information directly to a broad, if indiscriminate, audience. (Disclosure: PRWeb is owned by Vocus, a corporate partner of PRSA).
Continue reading " Is PRWeb Really to Blame for Google Hoax? "
We now can say with certainty that we know what was needed to get the National Football League (NFL) to end its impasse with the National Football League Referees Association (NFLRA).
It wasn’t the increasing frustration of the fans, who took to Twitter and sports talk radio to voice their extreme displeasure, and 70,000 of whom reportedly flooded league-office phones with angry calls. Can you imagine the look on Commissioner Roger Goodell’s face upon being told by the automated voicemail attendant, “You have 70,000 new messages. Message one …”
Editor’s Note: To commemorate PRSA Ethics Month, PRSAY is running a month-long series of posts on important issues facing the public relations profession. This is the first post in the series. An archive of ethics-related posts can be found here.
At PRSA we take ethics seriously and hold our members to a high standard. Our Code of Ethics details acceptable behaviors for public relations professionals. Ethics is about more than adhering to words on a piece of paper, it is about acting in good conscience and advising others to do the same. The message that results from such actions is not always the most positive or favorable but it is inherently right and forever respected.
Where’s the “Ethics?” The question plays on the words of the famous Wendy’s advertisement from the 1980s that questioned the quantity of meat in a bun. Recent events have led to repeated questions about the ‘quantity’ of ethics within public relations.
So, what do a public campaign for a library bond issue, a call for slogans about the positives of arctic drilling, the placement of obscene stickers on a billboard promoting an author and Batman themed inhalers all have in common? They were all fabrications strategically executed by various groups and individuals claiming to be public relations professionals.
