Connecting the Dots on Facebook’s Smear Campaign

Perhaps you’ve probably heard: Facebook and Google are at war, and Facebook’s not afraid to play dirty. Thursday’s revelation that the social networking site hired PR firm Burston-Marsteller to plant a negative story about Google’s privacy settings raises a number of questions. Like, “Who at Facebook thought this was a good idea?” The company isn't responding to the question right now. Until they do, it helps to look at the players involved. There’s Burston-Marsteller, the global PR firm run by CEO Mark Penn. There’s Jim Goldman, the former Silicon Valley bureau chief for CNBC (and frequent target of high school-style ridicule). He’s become the fall guy for Burston-Marsteller. There’s Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s universally praised COO. And then there’s Elliot Schrage, Facebook’s VP of communications and public policy. Penn, of course, is a Washington heavy hitter: he worked as a pollster to President Clinton during both of his terms and the Washington Post noted how “thoroughly integrated into the policymaking operation” he’d become. Penn’s also no stranger to criticism from Washington observers: he gained notoriety for missteps as chief strategist to Hillary Clinton during her 2008 Presidential bid. He eventually stepped down after feuding with other aides, and for reportedly offering Clinton some of her worst advice (like, emphasize Barack Obama’s foreignness). Penn’s also no stranger to the tech world—he’s credited with making Microsoft into one of the country’s most... Continue reading at 'AdWeek'

[ AdWeek | 2011-05-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
News tagged with: #googles head #silicon valley #focus attention

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Indies Launch GoFundMe Campaigns to Survive Coronavirus Shutdown

Several indies have launched, with varying degrees of success, GoFundMe fundraising campaigns to help them raise funds to pay bills and employees during a national shutdown that may last for months. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-03-31 04:00:00 UTC ]
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Running thousands of miles to connect with an indigenous heritage

On a journey across North America, Noé Álvarez escaped stereotypes and found a new sense of home. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-03-27 12:00:00 UTC ]
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Dialogue rolls out virtual book club to connect readers in 'uncertain times'

As part of a new virtual book club, publisher Sharmaine Lovegrove will be in conversation with a Dialogue author about their book on Instagram live every Thursday at 8 p.m. for the next 10 weeks. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-23 22:24:25 UTC ]
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Clare Pooley | 'It is a book about the importance of community in a world where we are more connected than ever but more lonely than ever'

The sought-after first novel by former blogger Clare Pooley exposes the need for connection in the age of social media Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-20 07:25:26 UTC ]
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Scholastic creates Hunger Games prequel campaign for coronavirus-hit indies

Scholastic UK has created a pre-order campaign for Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games prequel that it says could drive trade to indie bookshops during the coronavirus outbreak. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-19 08:56:22 UTC ]
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Libraries Connected calls for 'clear decision' from government on library closures

Libraries Connected is calling on the government to issue "clear" guidance about closing libraries in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, highlighting "it is equally important that library staff are safeguarded during this period". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-18 08:33:36 UTC ]
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Atwood, Connolly and Carty-Williams campaigns win at PPC awards

Campaigns for The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, Tall Tales & Wee Stories by Billy Connolly and Candice Carty-Williams' debut novel, Queenie, have been named winners at the Publishers’ Publicity Circle (PPC) Annual Awards 2019.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-03-10 22:26:37 UTC ]
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The Sunday shows fail to link the coronavirus and the campaign

Over the weekend, two huge news stories—the coronavirus and the 2020 presidential campaign—took significant steps forward. On the virus front, we learned of the first and second deaths on US soil, both of which came at a hospital in Washington state; at least one local scientist believes that... Continue reading at Columbia Journalism Review

[ Columbia Journalism Review | 2020-03-02 13:00:19 UTC ]
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How Facebook’s early decisions set the stage for scandal

Steven Levy mines the company’s history and talks to its leaders to figure out where things went wrong. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-02-28 13:00:00 UTC ]
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Manilla Press unearths 'pioneering' zero-waste climate manifesto campaign

Manilla Press has unearthed its “pioneering” zero-waste UK campaign for climate action manifesto The Future We Choose. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-02-25 07:40:21 UTC ]
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Facebook's Ads Libraries isn't enough to keep NZ election clean

OPINION: Does seeing ad spend and number of advertisements really tell us that much? Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2020-02-07 16:00:00 UTC ]
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Megan Angelo’s ‘Followers’ looks at the hazards of our hyper-connected world

The debut novel examines the lives of people who are more interested in how they appear online than who they are in real life. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2020-01-21 17:44:04 UTC ]
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Sponcon Disclosure Lessons from Teen Vogue’s Facebook Article Controversy

As the lines between journalism and advertising become increasingly blurred, media companies must be on high alert for potential pitfalls around the failure to properly disclose sponsored content. The proper characterization of content as commercial advertising, and the proper disclosure of... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2020-01-09 00:40:34 UTC ]
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“Connections are important, not going to lie.” Courtney Maum on how to get published.

Yesterday, Courtney Maum, whose Before and After the Book Deal hit shelves this week, popped over to Reddit to do an AMA about getting published. The whole Q&A session is worth a look for all aspiring and new writers (actually there is one very odd question towards the end that I think... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2020-01-08 18:20:45 UTC ]
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Headline digs deep for 'major' American Dirt campaign

Headline is going big on its marketing and PR campaign to launch American Dirt in the UK, with widespread review coverage and "major statement advertising" in the UK and Ireland. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-01-07 16:08:36 UTC ]
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Mirror Books signs puppy farming campaign tale

Mirror Books has acquired the true story of Lucy, the puppy farm Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and the campaign she inspired that led to Lucy’s Law and the nationwide ban on puppy farming. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-24 02:27:24 UTC ]
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Essex libraries campaigners hit out at 'commercialisation' of service

Plans for Essex libraries by the county council have sent “alarm bells ringing” about increased commercialisation of the service, a campaign group has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2019-12-24 02:02:07 UTC ]
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We blog, we tweet, we post to Facebook: Let’s instead savor the art of the essay

Three new collections — by D.H. Lawrence, Emmanuel Carrère and Greg Gerke — highlight the power of the form. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2019-12-19 19:00:00 UTC ]
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Connect Meetings Acquires BizBash

BizBash, the 19-year old B2B media company for events organizers, has been acquired by Connect Meetings for an undisclosed sum, both sides announced. A subsidiary of the UK-based, global tradeshow company Tarsus Group, Connect serves meeting planners—in particular, those who organize corporate,... Continue reading at Folio Magazine

[ Folio Magazine | 2019-12-17 20:01:44 UTC ]
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Reuters, Facebook Journalism Project Create E-Learning Course on Deepfakes

Multimedia news publisher Reuters teamed up with the Facebook Journalism Project on an e-learning course aimed at helping newsrooms more easily detect deepfakes and manipulated media. Identifying and Tackling Manipulated Media contains tips on identifying and rejecting manipulated video, images... Continue reading at AdWeek

[ AdWeek | 2019-12-17 19:35:26 UTC ]
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