The biggest story for those interested in PR and communication was, of course, the death of Steve Jobs. It is well worth wading through the sea of tributes and eulogies to try and identify what made Jobs so good at what he did. Have a think about how many other business leaders could merit even a fraction of the coverage accorded to Jobs, and remember that Apple is not the most friendly of companies, and its products are neither the cheapest nor always the first to market.
In PR classes we talk a lot about trust. Building trust is arguably the most important goal of any PR activity. In a keynote to an International Communications Consultancy Organisation conference in Lisbon, Robert Phillips of Edelman gave a broad and bold overview of the world events that illustrate the changing nature of trust and identified six trends:
- Shift from a Shareholder to a Stakeholder society
- Oscillating fortunes of governments
- Continued rise of Civil Society and of Citizenship
- Continued dispersion of authority
- Demand for Transparency and Accountability
- The convergence of everything
Trust was in short supply when a man tried to take photographs of his four-year-old in a Scottish shopping centre (BBC video,report, Facebook campaign). When you have got over your amazement that we live in a country where taking a family photo is grounds for believing someone to be a terrorist, try and follow the fast-moving reputational problem that the Braehead Centre, Glasgow, contrived to bring upon itself. Scott Douglas tells the story.
Meanwhile, there is an interesting turf war developing between the two organisations which aim to represent UK PR practitioners. Both Sunderland programmes are accredited by the CIPR and we encourage students to join, but the rival PRCA is on a recruitment drive. Richard Bailey thinks it is time the two stopped quarreling and teamed up.
Also worth a read:
PR@Sunderland 
Discussion
No comments yet.