Expert Views

South Korea: Finding its Place on the World’s Stage
by Christopher Graves
South Korea: Finding its Place on the World’s Stage A McKinsey Quarterly article by global CEO Chris Graves

Risk Communications in Action on H1N1
by Linda Weinberg
Communication with the public is a critical part of the response to any crisis. Today's pandemic flu crisis demands that our leaders rise to the occasion and apply sound risk communication principles to help the public understand what is happening and how to do their part, stay healthy, and help contain the spread of illness.

In A Pandemic, Early Intervention Can Save Lives
by Michael Cover
As we learn more about the evolving situation with regard the new strain of influenza circulating around the world, it is useful to look to our past experiences with pandemic influenza to learn and apply any lessons that can help mitigate morbidity and mortality.

The Digital TV Opportunity
by Mason Essif
While we all know that on February 17th, 2009 the nation will convert to digital television – the National Association of Broadcasters estimates awareness at 96% – how many know that the transition will allow the nation’s television stations to broadcast multiple channels of content?

The Obama Administration & China: What Does the Future Hold?
by Scott Kronick and Jamie Moeller
As the world anticipates President-elect Barack Obama's first few weeks in office, the U.S.-China relationship is a key issue on many peoples' minds. Arguably the world's most significant trading alliance, bilateral trade between the two countries exceeded US$380 billion in 2007.

7 Tips on Pitching Bloggers
by Rohit Bhargava
As personal media continues to grow and more individuals post their own content online, the practice of public relations and definition of the media is expanding.

Listening (and Engaging) in the Age of Personal Media
by John Bell
With more than 52 million blogs, over 800,000 posts daily, and trust in peer recommendations higher than most other channels, the value of putting the corporate ear to the ground grows every day. Patients blog about battling their disease.

PR: What to Do When the Public Does Most of the Relating
by John Bell
Public Relations Is Changing. You've probably heard about it. It goes something like this: The consumer is in charge. Trust in media falls. Trust in word of mouth rises. Now there's traditional media, new media and consumer-generated media. Media explodes.

The Executive Blogger's Guide to Building a Nest of Blogs, Wikis & RSS
by Christopher Graves
Changes in online technology have taken what was already a revolution in communication and now morphed the Internet into a real-time forum wherein for the first time, participants are as powerful as traditional controllers of media and public relations messages. Blogs are unmasking improprieties, ending careers, and damaging brands. Yet blogs are also building and strengthening brands. Understanding blogs and their unique culture and voice is imperative; trying to exploit this new format without that understanding will surely end in a vitriolic stoning of your brand.

An Engaged Public Diplomacy Key in Fighting War on Terror
by Rob Mathias
The United States currently confronts one of the biggest foreign policy challenges in our history with a hand tied behind its back.

What is a Corporate Crisis?
by Al Tortorella
The goal of crisis management is to contain and/or prevent the impact on the various audiences that corporations must recognize; these audiences are customers, employees, communities, government, and of course, the shareholder/investment community.

What Did Imus Really Teach Us?
by Rob Mathias
The firestorm caused by Don Imus and his repugnant remarks about the Rutgers University women’s basketball team has swept across our media, social and political landscape with a velocity and ferocity that is unmatched in recent memory.

The Election -- some quick thoughts
by Jamie Moeller
The votes have been counted (at least most of them), and the results have been forecast. It appears certain that Barack Obama will claim a clear mandate with a significantly enhanced majority in Congress. This will have a profound impact on America’s role in the world and the policy agenda the US government will pursue.

Lessons in Navigating U.S. Economic Rapids
by Drew Maloney
For long-time observers of American politics, the current fear of foreign-owned firms operating in the United States brings to mind the classic misstatement of baseball great Yogi Berra: "It's deja vu all over again."

Seven Rules for Global Success: Building Successful Global Communications Campaigns
by Jamie Moeller
Public relations is a relationship-based business and those relationships have traditionally been locally grounded – with journalists, community leaders, activists, policymakers and influencers. As a result PR professionals have tended to think and act locally, even inside multinational corporations and global PR agencies.

D.C.'s Needed Ray of Light
by Tony Bullock
Compared with open-meetings practices and sunshine laws across the country, the District of Columbia is still stumbling around in the Dark Ages. Most states adopted open-meetings laws in the 1970s and 1980s and have updated and applied them to all government boards and commissions.

What Does The New Democrat Controlled Congress Mean For Our Clients?
by Rob Mathias
With a 51-49 majority in the Senate and a small but comfortable majority in the House, the Democrats will have control of powerful committee leaderships that will alter the outlook for many of our clients.