Every so often, we turn our attention to news stories to see what these developments can tell us about how the world of media and PR has changed. Two recent stories come to mind – both focused on our local football team. The first centered around a Boston Herald reporter who was criticized for tweeting at the funeral for the wife of NE Patriots owner Bob Kraft. While no one wants to see someone texting or tweeting at a funeral service, the pace of news reporting and the technology available to us all – professional and citizen journalists alike – create a dilemma. The reporter – Ian Rapoport – defended his actions, noting that the tweeting happened before and after the services, but can we really question him for some discrete tweeting/texting as part of his responsibility to report news to his readers? Without today’s mobile and social networking technology, this would never have been an issue. A few days later, tweeting and the Patriots were back in the news when the team announced the acquisition of publicity-hungry wide receiver Chad Ochocinco. Ochocinco (whose name-change alone is evidence of his thirst for media attention) is known for on-field taunting, reality TV shows, and wild public challenges to competitors — but the interesting development to watch is his tweeting. While it still remains to be seen if Ochocinco will curtail his other publicity efforts, we’ve already seen a change in his tweeting. You’ll find no bombastic tweets in the past 24 hours since he joined the Pats – instead we see messages thanking God and the Patriots, and spotlighting a favorite song. Tweeting and texting has gotten a lot of sports figures in hot water in recent years (also creating new challenges for PR people). These are just two more examples of how technology is changing the rules of communication…the rules for those making news, reporting the news and consuming the news.

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College wasn’t very long ago for me, and the feeling of handing over a credit card to the campus bookstore still sends shivers down my spine. Luckily, I wasn’t an accounting or nursing major; just one of those books could cost well over a hundred dollars.

But now, Amazon’s Kindle is offering “tens of thousands” of textbooks for students to rent, and rental price is based on the amount of time you rent for. Pretty smart!

I’ve generally resisted e-readers, but if I were still in college and dropping hundreds of dollars per semester on books, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Kindle, or download a Kindle app on a device.

I think it’s safe to assume that I have the same reasoning as any other college student, especially those who don’t have unlimited funds, or have stood in line amidst other students and their frantic parents in the beginning of the semester. The article (from TechCrunch) says Amazon offers an 80 percent discount, with 60-day to 360-day rentals and the option to extend rental if necessary.

While I have a small twinge of sympathy for publishers who are already losing out to e-readers and tablets, it’s their own fault for releasing a “new edition” every three months. They jack up prices when they’ve added or taken away a few pages, and college bookstores buy right into it. Maybe Amazon’s move will encourage them to stop this practice of emptying students’ pockets, or maybe they won’t get the hint, and other tablets will follow Amazon’s lead.

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Technorati Tags: Amazon, books, college, Kindle, Tablet, Tech

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As if the the Casey Anthony verdict didn’t already make most of us sick to our stomachs, Entenmann’s Bakery only added insult to injury with a Twitter campaign last week.

As PR Week describes it, Entenmann’s Bakery “got itself in hot water in the world of social media with some ill-judged activity on the back of trending topics on Twitter.”

Somehow Entenmann’s thought it was a good idea to Tweet “Who’s not guilty of eating all the treats they want?” based on phrases that are trending, including the phrase #notguilty. This particular phrase became the most popular Twitter term when Casey Anthony was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Caylee.

There are good trends to want to link to, and even negative trends to not necessarily be associated with — but to point out to press and other important audiences on behalf of your clients.

But linking yourself to, and in the process, making light of a case that involves the death of a two year old is not in anyway a good idea. It shows very little common sense and not not much heart.

This Entemann’s incident reminds of a similar PR stunt that fell flat on it’s face in 2001 that many PR people in Boston are familiar with.

Either on 9-11 or the day after, a young account rep was charged with pitching her client. The rep supposedly pitched a Boston news outlet — and actually linked the 9/11 tragedy with her client — who if I recall correctly was involved with student loans. The alleged pitch went something like “while everyone is upset about 9-11, there’s another tragedy to worry about — the lack of enough student college loans.”

You can only imagine how badly things went from there. First, the reporter who was pitched was appalled, so he wrote a story, and then others in the press followed suit. Ultimately, the account rep was fired. And the PR agency – well, they lost respect with many in the PR community which took them many years to recover.

So let this be a lesson to anyone who wants to link up with hot trends. Tread carefully, and really think before you act. Having good taste wouldn’t hurt either.

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