politics

We the People recently launched a petition asking the White House to look into alleged political bribery involving exiled Russian businessman, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. The petition claims he donated large amounts of money to U.S. Congress to condemn the “politically-motivated arrest, detention, and sentencing of Mikhail B. Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev.” The petition will receive a response from the White House. The petition claims that as a result of the bill, relations between Russia and the United States experienced negative repercussions. After all, Khodorkovsky and Russian President Vladimir Putin share a relationship riddled with friction. Khodorkovsky spoke out against Putin at... Read More >

Like any other field, people and organizations can use public relations for good or bad. Many brands rely on PR to become more visible in the public eye, hoping to become a first choice when customers purchase goods and services. But sometimes, brands also use public relations tactics to deceive a population. This deception may range from covering up secrets, to changing the public’s correct perception. In this instance, Louisiana’s government hoped to trick citizens by rebranding the despised Common Core standard of education as Louisiana Standards. The Background Story Common Core is an education standard from the federal government.... Read More >

Pick an issue in the public domain. Almost nothing sets more teeth on edge and gets more people riled up than abortion. Doesn’t matter where you stand on the issue, chances are you have a more than passing association with a hardline stance. Just mention the word in any comments thread or conversation and watch everything unravel in the blink of an eye. For most, there simply is no middle ground. And that’s why South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley just made a decision that will make her state ground zero for the abortion debate in coming months. According to the... Read More >

James Hoggan, President of Vancouver PR firm, Hoggan & Associates, as well as Chair of the David Suzuki Foundation, just released a new book called I’m Right, and You’re an Idiot. The book discusses the problems faced by society with all the name calling and unwillingness to listen to someone else’s thoughts or feelings on any given topic. There’s been a lot of that behavior in politics lately, but it doesn’t end there, it’s in science too – as seen in how issues with climate control have taken more than 20 years to be viewed with any seriousness, and still... Read More >

Between social media and the prevalence of the Presidential campaign, the role of public relations is on the rise, especially when it comes to departments and agencies of the government, whether local, state or federal. Towns and cities all over the country are either adding a PR person to their staff or increasing the number of staff in their PR departments to make sure they develop good and open conversations with their constituents. Usually in government positions, PR representatives are either called communications specialists or in a public affairs function, this designation was set because of limitations as to PR... Read More >

The Australian government is offering its most sincere “sorry, mate” to Save the Children Australia for a completely erroneous report that claimed the charity was “inciting asylum seekers to self-harm.” The government offered to settle with an undisclosed cash payment for damages incurred to the charity. There have been a series of terrible events surrounding refugees in Australia in recent years. Some have sewn their mouths shut, others drank washing powder and, recently, there have been reports of at least two self-immolations. Following some of these incidents, Australia’s former immigration minister Scott Morrison accused Save the Children Australia’s staff of... Read More >

Now that Donald Trump is the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, many in the party are calling for Republicans to unite behind the guy who was clearly the favorite of primary voters. But, apparently, Trump is still not the choice of many key party members. The rift in the party illustrated by Trump’s rise has become more pronounced. Now even members of the establishment are sniping at each other. Most recently, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus said he supports Trump as the nominee, but when the same question was put to House Speaker Paul Ryan, the Speaker flatly refused to endorse Trump.... Read More >

  In the aftermath of the admission from top Obama adviser Ben Rhodes that the administration essentially lied to the American public in creating an “echo chamber” of experts to sell the controversial Iran nuclear deal, the Kremlins propaganda arm, Russia Today is lashing out at European and American government funded media operations. We agree with Russia Today that the Russian government has the right to use modern day media methods to tell their side of the story. In today’s world controlling content is what smart countries, brands and people do.  In an op-ed published today, Russia Today notes “Eurocrats... Read More >

Just about anywhere you turn these days you can see it happening, this polarizing influence of “social acceptability” and political campaigns. Our internet socialization brings every possible issue to the forefront and the dramatics begin. Everyone with an opinion can post, doesn’t matter if what they have to say is true, well-thought, or even pertinent. And heaven knows there are trolling people ready to virtually bop you on the head for any opinion you share. This is equally true in politics, religion, sexual orientation, as well as many other topics. Years ago, the advice was given to people as they... Read More >

All “art forms” venture into controversy at some point, but none more so than the pornographic film industry. Since its inception, porn repeatedly faced a backlash from a wide range of organizations and groups in the public sphere – angry wives, disgusted Christians, concerned public health officials, and offended feminists. In spite of some attempts to regulate activities within the porn industry, most often this led to more talk than action – but not in Utah. In 2014, Utah cracked down on revenge porn, to protect minors and legal adults who became the victim of angry exes or unrequited lovers... Read More >