March 27, 2025
In this week's edition: the day the op-ed died, Grok outs Musk, the R.I.S.K. aperture, the world's first AI-generated newspaper, Lessons from Heathrow's shutdown, the death of hashtags, and much more.
From the ICCO 2024-25 World PR report, a truly depressing PR-related graphic. With that, I’ll be taking next week off to spend time with the family over Eid and to recover from this. See you in two weeks.
The New Rules of Crisis Response - “How marketers can lead with empathy and action in the age of social media.” (AdWeek)
The Day the Op-ed Died - “The op-ed page is a thing of the past, but there are new opportunities to publish thought leadership. They just require great ideas.” (PRWeek). And an interesting rebuttal. Both views make a lot of sense.
Elon Musk’s own AI chatbot has turned on him and says he’s spreading misinformation - “‘His role as the platform’s owner further magnifies his influence, as his content often escapes the same scrutiny or moderation applied to others,’ Grok added.” (Metro)
Heathrow Airport’s Shutdown Shows Bold Leadership Trumps Panic - “Even seasoned executives can be shaken when a crisis outpaces standard protocols. Yet the fundamentals of crisis leadership remain consistent: make decisions quickly, communicate honestly, protect people, limit damage and chart a path back to stability.” (Forbes) - More from PR Week: ‘Reputations will be made and lost’ – Heathrow closure unpacked by crisis experts.
Don’t Describe the Issue in Your Response - “The moment we repeat the problem in our response—even just to acknowledge, clarify, or deny it—we give it weight. We confirm it. We give it structure. And sometimes, we give it a headline.” (JJFYI)
The Stories They Tell When You're Not There: Exploring the R.I.S.K. Aperture - “The gap between your self-proclaimed brand and your public-proclaimed reputation is your risk aperture. The wider that gap, the more vulnerable you are. The narrower the gap, meaning what you project and what others reflect back at you are in harmony, then the more resilient your position.” (Cultish Creative via Jason)
US multinationals purge website references to climate change - “Walmart and Kraft Heinz among big corporations deleting or rewriting statements as Trump climate attacks intensify.” (FT-$)
Italian newspaper says it has published world’s first AI-generated edition - “Il Foglio says artificial intelligence used ‘for everything – the writing, the headlines, the quotes … even the irony’” (Guardian)
AI search engines cite incorrect news sources at an alarming 60% rate, study says - “CJR study shows AI search services misinform users and ignore publisher exclusion requests.” (ars Technica)
Google says experiment shows news has ‘no measurable impact’ on ad revenue
“Google conducted test in response to reports it said "vastly overestimate" value of news content.” (Press Gazette). Publishers and news industry experts are skeptical.
‘We need to set the terms or we’re all screwed’: how newsrooms are tackling AI’s uncertainties and opportunities - “Amid angst over the technology, a consensus is emerging about its capabilities – but there is an elephant in the room.” Useful summary of media AI use. (Guardian)
Four Keys to Effective Horizon Scanning - “Creatively communicating future possibilities is a powerful way to motivate a group to act through uncertainty.” (MIT Sloan)
Conversations are the new unit of culture - “The current obsession with conversation as a medium of engagement is also a response to our collective dissatisfaction with passivity, which is the primary way that many of us receive information now. We watch Netflix. We doom scroll. We enjoy the ambient noise of the televised concert as we do our chores. Having a conversation with someone is another way of asserting yourself, of imposing yourself on the world.” (One Thing)
Influencer trips are out. Customer trips are in - “After extravagant influencer outings prompted backlash, some companies are opting to give consumers gifts and getaways.” (Marketing Brew)
Hashtags are Dead. Stop using Them - “A hashtag isn’t a movement. A hashtag isn’t a strategy. But brands keep acting like they are.” (Ham Maghazeh)
And finally, the most popular article from last week was Play the long game to build a strong reputation by IMD. See you in April.