✅ Monday briefing: WaddsCon, Digital news report, local reporting, climate politics, CSR debunked, SEO insights, AI tool audit, and more...

Media, industry, research and insight, social media and platforms, and tools

This newsletter is crowdsourced each week from my blog and community of practice for people studying and working in marketing, media and public relations. It’s a hive mind, newsroom and source of information, help and support.

Each of the speakers for the WaddsCon June will share best practice approaches to newsjacking. We'll explore ways to land press coverage by incorporating a brand, organisation, or individual into the news cycle. Sign up here.

Media

😴 DIGITAL NEWS REPORT: The Reuters News Report 2022 finds people avoiding news and trusting it less. COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and polarisation are leading consumers to disconnect. The news industry faces challenges building trust with its audiences and evolving its business model. Source Alan Morrison and Stephen Waddington.

🏜️ LOCAL REPORTING: The Local News Deserts in the UK report published this week by the Charitable Journalism Project is a grim read. Social media has replaced local news in communities across the UK. It is weakening community engagement and participation in local democracy. Source Andrew Bruce Smith and Stephen Waddington.

👨‍⚖️ LIBEL CLAIM: The High Court has thrown out Brexit-funder Arron Banks’s libel claim against journalist Carole Cadwalladr. The claim centred around comments made in a TED Talk by Cadwalladr and a subsequent tweet in which she alleged Banks was lying about his relationship with Russia. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

Industry

📝 WELLBEING SURVEY: You’re invited to participate in a study of  the impact of organisational culture on work life balance and wellbeing. The survey of public relations practitioners is being conducted as part of the EUPRERA network at Leeds Beckett University. Source Martina Topić.

☀️ CLIMATE POLITICS: The contribution of public relations to climate politics is a growing issue in practice. The PRSA has rejected a speaker proposal from a member that sought to address disinformation in its Code of Ethics. It coincided with an ongoing congressional investigation in the US requesting disclosures from agencies. Spotted David Gallagher. 

Research and insight

📖 CSR DEBUNKED: In his book Connect former BP CEO John Browne argues that efforts by organisations to engage with their stakeholders through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives have failed both organisations and society. He argues that CSR is a distraction from the actual societal contribution of a business. Source Stephen Waddington.

🤔 SEO INSIGHTS: $10k-$25k per month is the typical range for companies investing in SEO specialists. A successful campaign will create 1-9 links according to 37% of respondents to Aira's State of Link Building 2022 report. Ahrefs is the tool of choice for SEO link building (82%). Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith. 

Social media and platforms

🔗 NOFOLLOW ATTRIBUTES: Twitter has removed the nofollow attribute from its links. This reverses its longstanding use of nofollow links since 2008. It is unclear whether this will have an impact on search algorithms. Watch this space. Spotted Andrew Bruce Smith.

Tools

🛠️ AI TOOL AUDIT: The CIPR's #AIinPR Panel has launched a crowdsourced project to characterise the tool market and use of artificial intelligence (AI) in public relations. It is inviting practitioners to submit details of the tools that they use in practice via this form before 12 August 2022. Source Andrew Bruce Smith and Stephen Waddington.