For those of us in the profession of public relations, the rise of fake news and the attacks on legitimate media outlets have been deeply disturbing. The Code of Ethics developed by our industry’s leading professional association, PRSA, calls out…
It’s a new day, which means Donald Trump has committed yet another head-shaking act. In this case, it was his announcement that the Washington Post is now barred from his campaign, a move the New York Times characterized as “an…
The big news on the East Coast last week was the blizzard. But at Buchanan Public Relations, we experienced another flurry of activity of a different nature – one that reminded me why we invest so much time in helping…
This week’s launch of Microsoft’s long-anticipated Windows 10 has sent us down memory lane. In the last two years, we have been asked to help four or five companies either launch their new business or introduce a new product. With…
I got eight hours of sleep last night. And I have Arianna Huffington to thank for it. Two nights ago, our entire team attended a World Affairs Council of Philadelphia event at which Arianna Huffington was the featured speaker. A…
For those who still believe in the power and magnificence of journalism, last week was a truly awful week.
It started, of course, with the downward spiral of Brian Williams’ career after it was confirmed that he had been telling an untruth about a news reporting incident in Iraq. The same day that Mr. Williams announced he was taking himself off the air, Jon Stewart announced he was stepping down as host of The Daily Show.
The week was far from over, though, and the losses still to come took the form of tragedy. Veteran reporter Bob Simon was killed in a car accident on Wednesday night. (This, after surviving 40 days of captivity 24 years ago in Iraq.) And then I awoke on Friday to the news that 
The New York Times’ esteemed media critic, David Carr – who only days earlier had written about Brian Williams – had died in the newsroom, after suffering an apparent heart attack. Later on Friday, former NBC foreign correspondent Ned Colt died of a stroke in Boston.
In April 2012, I was fortunate enough to travel to Cape Town, South Africa, to attend the Public Relations Global Network’s semi-annual meeting. We marked PRGN’s 20th anniversary by building a house for an impoverished family.
I found South Africa to be a vibrant and exhilarating country, full of hope and possibility. Curious to understand how the country made sense of its troubled past, I soon discovered one universal truth in South Africa: Everywhere I traveled, people of all colors, ages and backgrounds spoke reverentially of Nelson Mandela.
Today, I asked two friends whose lives have been directly touched by Nelson Mandela to reflect on what he meant to them.
If your career in public relations spans a long enough period, you will eventually encounter the frustration of a stalled account. For whatever the reason, getting traction on an account is proving difficult. 
The reasons for a stalled account can vary. You may be getting little direction from your client. The client may have no time for you, its agency. Or – let’s say it out loud – the client may be boring or have nothing newsworthy to share.
What do you do when things get stuck on an account? Here are five tips to help get your creative juices flowing and uncover something you can merchandise.
This month marks the 15th anniversary of Buchanan Public Relations. Much has happened since I set up shop in a spare bedroom of my home a decade-and-a-half ago. Now, ten of us – and two dogs – sit in “real” office space. The anniversary got me to thinking. Here are 15 big changes I’ve witnessed in the last 15 years.
For many PR practitioners, there comes a time during the course of their careers when they begin to wonder, “Should I go back to school?” Since PR is a relatively new academic discipline, only in recent years have multiple options for obtaining an advanced degree in the field become available. Once a practitioner has decided to pursue continuing education, his or her first choice becomes which path to take.
Here at BPR, two of our staffers chose to pursue advanced degrees: one obtained an MS in Communications Management, and one earned an MBA. What follows is an overview of their respective experiences that we hope can serve as a guide for practitioners currently pondering a return to the classroom.