Using social media water to put out a social media fire

McDonald’s Fighting Quickly Spreading Rumor That There’s a Security Surcharge for Black Customers
McDonald's is facing a Big Mac-size problem thanks to a twitpic circulating online. The chain took to Twitter over the weekend to dispel any association with a Web picture that falsely introduces a new company policy to charge an extra fee for African-American customers due to a recent string of robberies. Gawker.com noted the fake sign first appeared over a year ago in a blog dedicated to the restaurant - but when it came back on Twitter this weekend, the company acted swiftly to knock it down...
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Nissan's well driven PR

Nissan’s PR Mimics the Newsroom
When Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Nissan, toured the carmaker’s earthquake-damaged plant in Iwaki, Japan, last month, a camera crew followed him.  Mr. Ghosn donned a hard hat and a white factory jacket.  He made news by announcing that the factory was adding a third shift, allowing it to return to 80 per cent of its pre-quake output, and offered a rousing sound bite when he told workers that the plant served as a symbol of Japan’s resilience.  The outing was typical for one of the industry’s most publicity-friendly CEOs.  But the camera crew were not journalists, or subcontractors hired to film the event.  They were employees of the in-house “newsroom” Nissan created in April...
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A look at Weiner's personal circumstances

How To Solve The Democrats' Anthony Weiner Problem: Offer Him A Job
As the owner of a Public Relations agency, my PR firm has worked with many high-profile people, including politicians, celebrities and CEO’s. Experience has taught me that the public-facing media “object” is often different than the reality of the person which exists in his or her private life. It’s possible, for those who are unfamiliar with the affect of media on a person’s life and the media cycle, to read headlines and see many of these high-profile people merely as “objects”. The media rarely considers personal circumstances when reporting on breaking crisis stories – It may dampen the sensationalism and hamper the resulting self-righteous indignation that sometimes follows...
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Delta has some heavy lifting to do in their PR department

Some Airlines Bagging Luggage Limits For Troops
Battling insurgents in Afghanistan is often nasty and dangerous. But for reasons not entirely clear, U.S. troops seem to be getting hassled, coming and going, by their own country’s airlines. This week finds Delta Airlines apologizing to service members for the second time in 10 weeks. This time it’s for charging a group of soldiers returning home $200 for a fourth checked bag — for a total of $2,800, the soldiers estimated...
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Smart Quote

"Crisis is a mask worn by opportunity. When presented, unveil your opportunities and prosper." 

-- unknown