Playmaker’s Blog

 

Take a Knee, NFL. We Have Your Playbook

September 25, 2017

For Donald Trump, the image of a kneeling pro football player is America-hating behavior. Disrespectful and a fireable offense, the president tells NFL owners. For black athletes — from the unemployed Super Bowl quarterback Colin Kaepernick to the well-employed NBA champion Stephen Curry — it’s their right to speak and assemble freely. This Sunday, sports and politics collided […]

Through James Comey, America is Great Again

June 9, 2017

Michelle Obama famously said, “For the first time in my adult life, I am really proud of my country because it feels like hope is finally making a comeback.” The former first lady’s words were on my lips this week as I watched dismissed FBI director, James Comey, tell his cat-and-mouse story of a worried president […]

How Transparency Strangles Strategy

April 19, 2017

What do the Trump White House and Apple Computer have in common? Not much, save for their obedience to secrecy and a shared distaste for transparency. Apple is notoriously closed mouthed, particularly when it comes to product designs and release schedules. The Trump administration, too. Take, for example, its plan to put a five-year seal on White House visitor logs. […]

Fake News: PR’s Little Monster

February 21, 2017

Call me mad, but fake news and post-truth shouldn’t be a surprise, not to practitioners of public relations and communications. Donald Trump is, of course, the most celebrated example of today’s bad PR practices. His proxies, counselor KellyAnne Conway among other lieutenants, are equally embarrassing. But the experts and academics of PR and communications — many who disavow Trump’s gas lighting – have helped pave […]

Protecting Our Fourth Estate: The Plunder of Politics and PR

December 10, 2016

Last month, when President-Elect Donald Trump convened a meeting of American news elites, he shocked us with another dissection of our precious Fourth Estate. You’re all liars, he snarled. A better word might be dupes. After all, the same media he claims to be dishonest propelled his candidacy and, in the process, traded their obedience to facts for entertainment. Just think of the countless face-offs between campaign pundits, Jeffrey […]