"Truth in Communications" was the theme of Communications Week, which ran Oct. 16-20 in New York.
From the ever-present concept of fake news to the ins and outs of influencer marketing to the new technological tools that let PR and media professionals monitor and measure a whole range of new insights, the panels covered many of the hot-button topics facing the PR industry today.
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L-R: Michael Kaminer, Katie Creaser, Siobhan Aalders, Damaso Reyes and Day Linh Tu at a panel discussing fake news.A “Fake News, Emerging Tech and Reputation as Currency,” panel moderated by Michael Kaminer of the New York Observer discussed the question of branded content and its validity.
"The longstanding media outlets we have loved for years are continuing to produce great journalism,” said Katie Creaser, VP at Affect PR. “As PR people, we need to be working with journalists who are writing genuine quality content, rather than just Buzzfeed-style news."
Joanne Lipman hosted a panel called “The Clicks Are In,” that asked if media brands should focus their attention on tending to their existing audiences instead of pandering in an attempt to broaden their scope.
A session dubbed "Leveraging Influencer Marketing While Maintaining Transparency and Authenticity" focused on how to avoid the potential pitfalls of using influencers to promote products. "Make sure influencers are authentic, rather than just taking the check,” said Armando Triana, director of social media at Coyne PR. “You want them to be selective about who they work with and that they’re choosing the brand because it’s one they’re genuinely interested in.”
Tiffany Guarnaccia, CEO of Kite Hill PR and founder/organizer of Communications Week, said her main takeaway from the event is “that we have a shared responsibility to fix fake news. Everyone has a personal ethical responsibility in terms of how they choose to behave on the web, and ultimately this will dictate the sort of society we end up living in many years from now.”
The Walt Disney Company and OpenAI reach an agreement that will make a set of more than 200 animated, masked and creature characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and Star Wars available for use by Sora, OpenAI’s short-form generative AI video platform... CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has moved Tony Dokoupil, a co-host at “CBS Mornings” since 2019, into the anchor’s chair for the “CBS Evening News,” following the departure of John Dickerson and Maurice DuBois... USA Today editor-in-chief Caren Bohan has left the paper.
Michael Kaminer, who was responsible for the Observer’s “Power List” for the past 13 years, has cut ties with the publication... The New York Times Company continues the march toward its goal of 15 million subscribers by the end of 2027... The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation is providing more than $6 million in funding to eight organizations working to address the challenges local news and information environments face along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Conservative outlets Fox News, Newsmax and the Daily Caller are holding back from signing Pete Hegseth’s edict restricting press access in the Pentagon... CBS News sees the first executive departure of the Bari Weiss era as head of standards and practices Claudia Milne exits... Indiana University shuts down the print version of The Indiana Daily Student.
Rothschild family plans to unload 26.7 percent stake in The Economist... STAT, a digital media company that focuses the life sciences, brings back Damian Garde, who anchored its biotech newsletter and podcast from 2016 to 2024... High Times officially resumes print publication (following its 2024 shutdown) with the release of a limited-edition, collectible 50th anniversary issue. 
CBS News is set to hand over its reins to The Free Press co-founder Bari Weiss as Paramount acquires her site for $155M... C-SPAN comes on board as an official media partner of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, which is charged by Congress to lead the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence... A new Gallup survey says that the level of trust that US audiences have in the media has hit a new low.
