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11-11-2013
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Be it science or not |
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Prof David MacKay deserves full respect when he sets up a new language to create a balance between the various energy scenarios (http://www.withouthotair.com/). The Cambridge professor seems to have had enough of the ongoing dispute between sustainables and nuclears, coal vs. gas fans and rather decided to elaborate a system where everything can be matched against anything. The common language, not surprisingly, is that of the numbers....... |
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21-10-2013
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The father of crisis communication practice dies |
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It was today that a funeral mass was held for Lawrence Foster in Westfield, New Jersey. Johnson & Johnson’s former Vice President of Public Relations has become a fame in the communication profession, being the master engineer behind Johnson & Johnson’s handling of the Tylenol case. No crisis communication handbook is complete without describing the (in)famous Tylenol case.
In the fall of 1982, 7 people died after taking (tampered) pills of Tylenol. In order to stop spread of panic the company decided not to hide anything. From the very first moment top management members stood in front of the media, were ready to face the public and admittedly put the public interest ahead of company interest...... |
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02-10-2013
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You’ll eat it, I swear |
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Hardly 3 months away, Hungarian kids will have to say goodbye to their school food favorites. After the 1 January next year, school food will hardly list potato pasta, paprika potatoes and cottage cheese pasta — all long time top hits among children. Rather, it will include veggies, full grain bread, fish and milk. All this reflects the dedication of the government to fight against youth obesity and spread health food concept at an early age. The intention itself is to be praised as food patterns of the children often stay untouched for many years. However, if kids notice the change only on their plates or by spelling menues listing the energy, fat and sugar content of each meal, this will hardly make them happy.......
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09-09-2013
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Competition of risks |
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It must not be easy to be member of the IOC. Choosing the venue of the next Olympic Games can never be fair, each candidate city may line up numerous pro and contra arguments. Regardless of the number of candidates, the winner will always welcome the news with unsurmountable joy, while the ones staying behind, Istanbul and Madrid in this case, will be buried by sadness. While urban legends speak about a number of reasons why IOC membership is good, I do not envy any of the members for having to make such a decision.
If I had to be there, however, I would weigh the risks....... |
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02-08-2013
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Say the right things |
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Be it political or business TV programs, I often watch the participants of this game. The best interviews, of which there seems to be less and less, are those where the journalist and the interviewee are like two fencers, where speed, reactions, the ability to defend and attack make the difference. Many of the things happen within short seconds. Basically, two general types of interviewees appear on the screen....... |
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05-07-2013
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Cobras and pythons |
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"But where should the Belgians stand?" type of dilemma awaits those who want to analyze today's crisis situations. Classical crisis communication theory recognizes 2 types of crises. "Cobra" types appear suddenly, with practically no warning sign beforehand, while "Python" type crises emerge slowly, and eventually bring an unbearable and unmanageable situation. Easy to agree that earthquakes, volcano eruptions or the Chernobyl accident would fall under the category of sudden cobras, while the credit crisis or the ongoing saga of the 4th metro line in Budapest would belong to the slowly but steadily suffocating pythons. Sudden events can only be well handled if crisis management scenarios had been prepared and a clear crisis team setup exists with everyone knowing exactly what they need to do. If only improvisation remains, a strong chance of failure prevails at least on a short term..... |
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14-05-2013
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Why not to work with us? |
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A provocative list has just appeared on one of the leading social media blogs, spinsucks. Under "Seven reasons you're not ready to hire a PR firm" they listed the key parameters of those firms that would like but, in fact, are not prepared to use outsourced communication services.
The list is useful though may be criticized or even extended. Any firm can check its own preparedness for moving PR jobs from in-house. The list may not be fully valid in Hungary, however it is worthwhile to have a look to prevent future misunderstandings..... |
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03-05-2013
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Time will solve it - or not |
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I have recently come across some materials from the 90s, with the accreditation system proposal of the Hungarian PR Association among them. Its objective would have been to set, beyond the various models of formal education, the standard criteria for obtaining the status of an accredited PR expert. The professional, financial and career benefits of such a system are easy to recognise.
At that stage, I clearly remember, two factors put an end to the initiative....
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