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The Jenner News Network
By Dennis Culloton, CEO and President Way back in the 80s, media critic and author Neil Postman wrote a prophetic tome, "Amusing Ourselves to Death," which predicted mindless TV would infiltrate and dominate all public discourse and life. Though I had to read it way back in the last Century, it all came back to
Have You Looked Through Periscope Lately?
By Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Flying below the radar, Twitter’s live-streaming app, Periscope, made its debut a week ago. If you know about Periscope you are likely the hippest person you know and a social media aficionado. So after watching for several hours some things come to mind: When the next world event or
On Persepolis
Dennis Culloton, CEO & President Two years ago, Marjane Starapi’s acclaimed graphic novel Persepolis was banned from Chicago Public Schools to the dismay of students and CPS staff alike. The novel regales the story of a young woman growing up in revolutionary Iran during the 1980s. Recently emails were released to a graduate student investigating
Politics and the Reddit Generation
By Dennis Culloton, President and CEO In preparation for last weeks election here in Chicago, politicians were doing whatever they could to secure the last minute vote. In the closing days, alderman and mayoral candidate Bob Fioretti took to the social media platform Reddit to reach out to Chicago's young people via an AMA. An
Fake News – Real Anchor
By Dennis Culloton, President and CEO It’s a sign of the times that there is more buzz in social and mainstream media about who will succeed “Fake news anchor” Jon Stewart now that he's leaving the Daily Show. The blogosphere has been flooding with articles mourning his departure and suggesting his replacement host. The number
The #Nationwidekid can't read this
By Dennis Culloton, President and CEO If you were looking for the sign of the decay of civilization, consider the Internet and the haters and the dead Nationwide commercial kid. #Harshedyourvibe! Just another week in the internet, as noted by Wired magazine . Okay, so don’t really consider it. Technology has unleashed opportunity, a
Why It Makes Sense to Continue the Campaign
by Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President The State of Illinois must be pulled back from the abyss, on that we can all agree, but “We the People” are as much to blame as the politicians that we send to Springfield every year. According to Progress Illinois, “The governor’s race typically draws a voter participation rate
Sad News for Cubs Fans Everywhere.
Statement from Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts Words cannot express how important Ernie Banks will always be to the Chicago Cubs, the city of Chicago and Major League Baseball. He was one of the greatest players of all time. He was a pioneer in the major leagues. And and more importantly, he was the warmest and
Everyone Has Their Own Dawn Wall
By Dennis Culloton, President and CEO They made it. The whole world was watching –and exhaling--as rock climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson reached the top of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park using only their hands and feet in a first-ever free climb. The so called “Dawn Wall” was considered one of the world’s
John Boehner's Dream–The President On A Rocket to Mars–Won't Solve Our Problems, But Jimmy V Has The Answer
By Dennis Culloton, President and CEO Race riots, ISIS terrorists, North Korea, Iran and E-bola. His party lost control of Congress. It has not been a great year for President Obama. Not only has there been the predictable call from pundits for him to clean house at the White House but Senate staff members, many
Who would you invite, living or dead, to Thanksgiving dinner?
By Nicole Roman, Account Executive If I could invite anyone dead or alive, to Thanksgiving dinner the guest list would include Queen of England. I bet she has many a tale to tell about the royal family and the people she has met and the changes she has seen throughout her life. My ancestors from
Elonis vs U.S. and our Free Speech
by Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Most people know December 1 as Cyber Monday, but in reality it is the beginning of a legal case that may change the way we navigate social media. Elonis vs U.S. is scheduled for oral arguments on December 1. As The Washington Post notes in an excellent article by
The Newsroom vs. Citizen Journalism
By Julia Schatz, Account Supervisor The HBO series Newsroom aired the season 3 premiere on Sunday. The episode covered the Boston Marathon Bombing from April 2013. As this episode depicts, the media was a mess when these bombings occurred – CNN inaccurately reported an arrest and had to retract the story with major news outlets
Turning Lemons into Lemonade
By Nicole Roman, Account Executive An integral part of crisis communication lies in delivering core messages through the media. When a crisis occurs, the difference between a speedy and successful recovery or a long and painful one depends on how well a business anticipates and prepares and sometimes shows a sense of humor. How the
Comfortable in Her Own Skin
By Nicole Roman, Account Executive After spending several years as a recluse, Monica Lewinsky has returned to the public eye. This raises a ton of questions: Why is she writing this now? What's her next move? And, of course, what do her words mean for Hillary Rodham Clinton? Through a Vanity Fair article, public speeches
Donors What’s $4 Billion Get You? Ehh, Maybe I’ll Vote
Patrick Skarr, Sr. Account Supervisor According to the Center for Responsive Politics this midterm election cycle is record breaking. Nearly $4 billion will have been spent on the campaigns for control of Congress, leading to the Washington Post headline, “2014 will be the most expensive midterm election ever.” According to ABC, the North Carolina senate
In Support of City Colleges of Chicago
By Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Today marks an important milestone for our client, Navistar, with the donation of three vehicles to help prepare Olive-Harvey College students for the 110,000 jobs in transportation, distribution and logistics coming to the Chicago region. Jim Spangler, Navistar Vice President – Corporate Affairs handed over the keys to Angelia
There Is No Such Thing As Anonymity
By Patrick Skarr, Senior Account Supervisor Last week those seeking anonymity on the Internet were rattled when the Guardian Newspaper published an explosive story, “Revealed: how Whisper app tracks ‘anonymous’ users,” that alleged that their service was in fact tracking their users’ whereabouts and posts. (The service has aggressively pushed back on the allegation.) I
In a Time of Peace Prepare For War
By Nicole Roman, Account Executive According to late night comedian, Seth Meyers, a new poll shows that only a slim majority of Americans think the country is prepared for an Ebola outbreak. But I think we deal with outbreaks pretty well. It only took us a couple of months to completely eradicate Gangnam Style! As
AN OUNCE OF EXECUTION IS WORTH A POUND OF WORDS
By Dennis Culloton, President & CEO The CDC is the latest government agency to be the subject of criticism, questioning and late night comedian ridicule. Reports in the Washington Post (https:///wapo.st/1rdC5Ho )indicate the second Texas hospital nurse, exposed to the Ebola virus from treating a West African Ebola victim who later died, was told by the
An Empire Destroyed then Rebuilt
By Nicole Roman, Account Executive It’s been a little over a year since Paula Deen’s racism scandal brought her multi-million dollar culinary empire tumbling down. Her reputation was damaged because of the way she responded to allegations of racism and demeaning treatment to one of her employees, a long time cook. Her messy attempt at
Putting the Secret in Secret Service
By Dennis Culloton, President & CEO The crisis in confidence that has afflicted the U.S. Secret Service shares some characteristics of the fall with the NFL. Both organizations have long been held in high esteem, comprised of what many still see as the best our country has to offer. Both dropped the proverbial ball. The
If not me, who? If not now, when?
By Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Something happened on the way to the United Nations last week. A young woman, best know as Hermione, to millions of Harry Potter fans, showed composure, intelligence and maturity when she proclaimed she was a feminist. Ms. Watson took this bold step during a speech given at the UN
Putting Yourself in Viewers’ Shoes
By Patrick Skarr, Senior Account Supervisor and Julia Schatz, Account Supervisor Writer's block. We’ve all confronted this challenge through school, college and in our careers. In our field of PR, not only can we face writers block, but we can also face the challenge of “pitch block.” Sitting in the office during a brainstorm, you
The NFL's Lament: I did not see that coming!
By Dennis Culloton, President & CEO In the Frat House favorite movie “Anchorman,” actor Luke Wilson is part of a macabre running joke where his character--the anchor of San Diego's third-rated TV news team—has his arm cut off by a rival news team anchor in an over-the-top, news team battle royale and sarcastic homage to
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