Category Archives: media

How Not To Deal With The Media

December 20, 2007 – 11:33 pm

Newfoundland paper ‘The Telegram‘ recently published an article detailing an email trail between Newfoundland journalist Craig Westcott and Elizabeth Matthews, the Director of Communications for Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams.
Check out the article - it makes very interesting reading.
Matthews has blacklisted Westcott for a while due to his criticism of the Premier. The [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in public relations | Comments (2)

Hyperlocal Media Coverage Of California Malibu Fires

November 27, 2007 – 11:14 pm

While researching my presentation for the recent Talk Is Cheap unconference, I came across a fantastic post by Mark Glazer. Alongside discussing the response of media outlets to the first set of fires, Glazer noted the lack of hyper-local coverage of the fires.
What many people who are evacuated really want is simple information on the [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in crisis communications, social media, web 2.0 | Comments (0)

California Wildfires - Using New Media to Communicate In A Crisis

October 23, 2007 – 10:11 pm

Immediacy is one of the great things about new media/web 2.0.
Nowhere is this more apparent than in the coverage of the devastating wildfires down in California recently.
I’m fully aware that crisis communications must focus on traditional channels - TV, radio, print - in today’s media environment. However, quick and responsive new media tactics provide [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in Google, Twitter, blogging, crisis communications, social media, web 2.0 | Comments (8)

Panel Discussion: "Is The News Release Dead?"

October 7, 2007 – 9:39 am

Last Thursday I attended a panel discussion, organized by my department, entitled “Is The News Release Dead?”
We had a great mix of speakers:

David Jones, Senior VP at Fleishman-Hillard
April Lindgren from the Ryerson University School of Journalism
David Wolmsley, National Editor at the Globe and Mail

The panel members provided an interesting mix of viewpoints, from very pro-social [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in Twitter, facebook, news release, podcast, public relations, social media, social networks | Comments (2)

Finding The Middle Ground With Social Media News Releases

September 11, 2007 – 7:23 am

Todd Defren at SHIFT Communications posted last week about "The End Of The Social Media Release." He’s tired of the format being ’special’ and wants to see it become the norm.
I’m not sure this is an ideal goal.
I love the social media release format. In our technology-driven world, pumping out release after old-fashioned release [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in news release, public relations, social media | Comments (3)

Across The Sound iPhone Sponsorship - A Useful But Extreme Experiment

August 10, 2007 – 7:43 pm

Joseph Jaffe has created some waves recently with his offer of sponsorship of his podcast in exchange for an iPhone.
This novel approach to monetizing a podcast is pretty controversial. Basically, on episode #83 of Across The Sound, Jaffe offered sponsorship of an episode of the podcast to the first user that sent him an iPhone. [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in marketing, podcast, pr, public relations | Comments (2)

Are Companies Missing The Point Of Social Media, Or Is Facebook Missing An Opportunity?

August 10, 2007 – 7:15 am

The web is full of story after story right now about companies cancelling their advertising on Facebook because of their potential association with dubious content. In the latest move, Reuters reports:
“The British government has halted its advertising on the social networking Web site Facebook over concerns about how its ads are displayed“
I listened with [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in branding, facebook, marketing | Comments (0)

CBC’s Blogging Guidelines - A Step Too Far

August 5, 2007 – 1:41 pm

As reported on the Inside the CBC blog, the CBC seems to be cracking down on the online activities of its employees (thanks to Joseph Thornley at Pro PR for flagging it on his blog):
Any CBC employee who wants to start a personal blog which “clearly associates them with CBC/Radio-Canada” now requires their supervisor’s permission, [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in blogging, facebook | Comments (1)

YearlyKos Convention: Senator Dodd Confronts Bill O’Reilly

August 3, 2007 – 12:31 pm

Just a quick thought.
Check out this video of Senator Chris Dodd calling Bill O’Reilly out on his real agenda for criticizing the YearlyKos Convention and the US presidential candidates that are attending.
This reminds me a little of Jon Stewart’s infamous interview on CNN’s ‘Crossfire’ (transcript here) that resulted in CNN cancelling Crossfire.
Is it too much [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in blogging, politics | Comments (0)

Media Pitches - Tips From The Other Side

July 31, 2007 – 3:41 pm

Media pitches are a big part of any significant announcements, but have you ever wondered if we’re doing them well? If we’re drawing journalists into our stories, or driving them away? If we could pitch more effectively?
If you have, check out this Inside PR podcast where the hosts, David Jones and Terry Fallis, interview two [...]

By Dave Fleet | Also posted in media relations, podcast, pr, public relations | Comments (2)