Churnalism exposed

'Churnalism' - the practice of churning out news articles cut and pasted from press releases with little if any fact checking and corroboration - is exposed in a new website launched this month, churnalism.com. The site is related to the charity the Media Standards Trust. The founders of the site announced its launch by releasing fake stories and observing how the press reported them - read today's Guardian article for more information with a great podcast explaining the idea.

Corporations tackle activism from the inside

Today, the Guardian accuses 'Big business [of] spying on green activists' as large energy corporations are revealed to be paying agents to infiltrate UK activist groups and feed back valuable information. This 'alternative' approach to issues management will anger activists further. Take a look at the comments at the end for a debate on whether companies that have 'green' credentials are perceived as green as they'd like to be.

Creativity podcast

For those of you struggling with developing truly new, original ideas for coursework and tutorials, here's a podcast from PR Week that's specific to PR. There's also an accompanying article where a few different techniques are tested by some genuine PR types. I'm glad to say most of it mirrors what I've been saying in tutorials!! i.e. get out there, watch out for PR you like, use other sources such as museum exhibitions, cinema, interesting webpages...and put it all together with your brand to create some new ideas. Also note their reference to 'black hatting' other people's ideas - they're talking about the 6 hats technique.

Looking for a job? Beware...

Last Tuesday a BBC expose focused on Modus Publicity, fashion PR agency, and their policy of employing up to 20 interns at a time - and paying them nothing. In an industry where work experience is vital and competition for jobs is tough, beware PR firms who seek mainly to take advantage of graduates desperate for jobs. See this PR Week article for more...

Starbucks mucks up?

Starsbuck coffee chain are having a bad time on the PR front. Despite the huge success of their CSR initiative to sell fairtrade coffee, making them the largest purchaser of fairtrade coffee in the world, elsewhere there is backlash. First they announced that they are withdrawing the chunky white coffee mugs in the UK - leading to revolt from consumers according to PR Week. Now they announce the launch of a drinks cup that is so large it could technically overfill many stomachs. This latter story has caught the imagination of the blogosphere...see here for more information. This story is now out of control, with a graphic that says a thousand words.

Quora - the new Twitter?

Quora, a new way to ask and answer questions online, set up by two founders of Facebook, is rumoured to be the next big thing in social media. With recommendations on Quora driving sales, or criticisms likely to damage brands, PR Week advise PR professionals to get to know the new site. Maybe you should too.

Toyota Product recall

Have Toyota learned a lesson after their disastrous handling of the product recalls due to faulty accelerators and brakes last year? As they now recall 1.7 million cars with potentially faulty fuel systems, commentators argue that this risk is tiny, but that Toyota have learned that complete transparency is the only way forward in this internet age.