A recent op-ed in the Los Angeles Times, “Who is Hope Hicks, and What’d she do?” by Virginia Heffernan has struck a chord among PR pros. Newly appointed Hicks, 29, is the third director of communications for the current White House, and the youngest in history to hold that position. While news of her relationship […]
High impact activism campaigns declined in 2017, according to a recent webcast by law firm Morgan Lewis, down to 298, the lowest level since 2013. There were 80 proxy fights in 2017, down from a high of 133 in 2009. Even considering these statistics, activism remains a key component of the investment community’s goal of […]
History has a way of repeating itself. With 2017 statistics of all kinds starting to be compiled, one offered by the Stanford Securities Class Action Clearinghouse should make public company management teams and their boards take notice: the number of securities class-action lawsuits is on the rise … in a startling way. The clearinghouse […]
Media relations are an integral component to what we do at PondelWilkinson, whether a public relations or investor relations engagement. Crises aside, generating media awareness of corporate entities, their brands, products and services, among readers, listeners and viewers is critical to the success of any communications program. Shrinking news departments, fewer beat reporters, and an […]
The power of Twitter is unparalleled especially when the “news” is filled with high stakes and lots of drama, such as in the case of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. A slew of actresses and female Hollywood A-listers recently have come out publicly corroborating Weinstein’s sexual misconduct, spurred by actress Rose McGowan, whose Twitter account had been temporarily […]
I really enjoyed McKinsey & Company’s piece on what CEOs are reading in 2017, which is a continuation of an annual list going back several years. Not only did it provide interesting recommendations about what to add to my Kindle library, but seeing what’s in the minds of leaders makes them a bit more relatable. […]
Americans and the press always seem to have a love-hate relationship. Despite much of the anti-media rhetoric at play within the national dialogue, a fairly good chunk of Americans (72 percent) trust the information they receive from national news organizations, according to the Pew Research Center. The good news is more Americans are engaged. That […]
Virtually daily, we all consume news on our cell phones, televisions, on the way to work, on apps, via streaming media, at events and interviews, and the list goes on. In a world of instantaneous breaking news in all forms of electronic and printed media, senior executives are feeling the pressure more than ever to […]
The market was hot, and virtually all participants were making money. Around the time that the movie, “The Wolf of Wolf Street” was out, folks in the IR industry were rolling their eyes a lot. The hyper, cold-calling brokerage salespeople depicted in the movie—but taken from real life—did almost anything to establish new accounts and […]
What do you say when you’re at a cocktail party, summer BBQ, or some other social gathering where you’re sure to meet new people who will invariably ask what you do for a living? If you’re a doctor, lawyer, accountant, musician (or one of a host of other professions) the answer is quite easy. What […]
