MC Blog

Whether it’s called “fake news” or “alternative facts,” all of us who share content on social media need to be wary of false information pretending to be facts. Even the most knowledgeable social media mavens have fallen prey to Internet hoaxes. Knowing what is fake and what is real news are essential to protecting your

Corporate and nonprofit executives can learn a lot about communicating externally by watching the presidential debates next week and in the weeks ahead. If the past is any indication, the two candidates will have spent hours being coached on how best to answer questions in a succinct and compelling fashion that will connect with voters.

Infographics create great shareable content for today’s social media, and they’re easy to create. This simple infographic describes how to create a great infographic. It recommends keeping the content simple, the design clean and the facts organized. Following these simple tips will create an infographic that effectively conveys information, attracts attention and drives positive outcomes

This new infographic illustrates why storytelling is such an important part of any successful communications effort. It shows scientific studies have proven that telling a story actually alters the chemistry in the brain, triggering releases of chemicals that create empathy and neural connections that cause listeners to put themselves in the place of the subject

It’s a perennial question with great significance to marketers because women tend to control the purse strings in most families. Here’s a good infographic that provides a look at what women think about 2015:

In our continuing discussion about improving email and other digital communications, we had to share how one locally elected official’s Facebook rant made him a top-trending topic and punching bag on Twitter; a source of numerous memes, like the one here, and the subject of unflattering coverage in media around the country. Kirby Delauter, a

Broadcasting digitally is fraught with the potential for mistakes, and one organization, DoSomething.org, recently made a “beluga whale of a mistake,” as it said. The organization, which works with young people on social campaigns, accidentally sent a text message to 2.1 million of its members that said: Hey Can-tributer! Together you donated 510,543 items! Wow!

We work with the AARP in educating its membership about a wide range of topics, including this month’s article on how one California legislator is using her firsthand experience to help the millions who provide care to their aging loved ones. Please see it by clicking here. Assemblywoman Cheryl Brown helps her husband, Hardy, with

Credibility is a hard-won attribute in today’s fast-paced and multi-dimensional communications landscape. Thorough editing, fact checking and reviews by multiple levels of people within a company or organization will help guard against mistakes. But when they do happen, the challenge is retaining the organization’s credibility in handling the mistake. With a 24/7 news cycle, quick

The 2004 Asian tsunami swept this fishing boat onto a two-story home. It remains there as a museum exhibit of the power of the tsunami.   On the 10-year anniversary of the most deadly tsunami in recorded history, news outlets around the world are reporting today on the rebuilding and recovery of Banda Aceh, the

Our recent post on the Sony hack attack generated a great deal of comment on LinkedIn, mostly from people who agreed that email should be treated more carefully. Most agreed with our contention that that “all communications should be professional. Being derisive, racist or sexist in comments not only opens us to litigation and damaging

The revelation of racially insensitive comments in emails written by Sony Pictures Entertainment co-Chair Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudin provide another lesson in what not to do with our most frequently used form of communication. Their comments, suggesting President Obama would only like African American-focused movies, came to light because of a cyberattack on

Pitching stories to the media is a fine art. Most people have no idea what makes for a good story. We have a background in reporting. It helps us be more successful because we understand what makes a good story. PR News created the following infographic, which details many of the tips for successful pitching.

Bill Cosby, once one of the most beloved TV sitcom fathers, tried to remain silent when decades-old allegations of rape and sexual assault resurfaced in the media on Saturday. But his silence reverberated through the media’s echo chamber, spreading more widely with each passing hour. Cosby only shook his head and said nothing when first

Art Papier, the founder and CEO of Logical Images, the company that created VisualDx, writes in The Health Care Blog about how clinical decision support tools could help prevent the misdiagnosis we saw with the first case of Ebola in the U.S. On the patient’s first trip to the hospital, the Emergency Department physicians misdiagnosed

Capturing special moments — both public and private — is an important part of telling your story. Halloween is one of those special times with the kids that will be part of your family’s story. Don’t miss a chance to capture the fun and excitement in photos. Our colleague, Jon Crowe, is offering a photo

Editor Jill Abramson’s termination from The New York Times earlier this year triggered a renewed discussion about gender equity in journalism. Unnamed sources reportedly used words like “pushy” to describe her management style. Most women regard this as a pejorative way to describe practices that would be called “assertive” if a man did the same. Reporters,

This article is a nice shout out to our client, LA BioMed, for storytelling from an expert in the field of biomedical research institute marketing. The story of finding a treatment for this rare inherited condition continues today with the announcement of a study that may hold hope for a therapy for a form of

Interested in plein air paintings, like this beautiful one by John Cosby? Then join the Catalina Island Conservancy on Oct. 26 in Balboa for its annual art show and sale. Here’s more information. Researchers at LA BioMed have resolved a dispute about the timing of one of the most common abdominal surgeries, gallbladder removals. Here’s

It’s no surprise to see the news today that the LA Register newspaper is folding and giving up on its grand experiment in print journalism. All of us who love newspapers had great hopes but knew that this was probably an ill-fated effort to restore an antiquated concept of actually reading your news in a

By taking responsibility for the beheading of two American journalists, the radical group now identified as ISIS by most in the media has turned the name of an Egyptian goddess into a dirty word. Unfortunately, several companies also have the same name. CNBC’s Jane Wells tackled this topic in her report today. She reported that

The answer from a new Business Wire survey is a resounding yes. Its survey of 300 journalists found 9 out of 10 had used a press release in the preceding week. While there is increasing focus on social media to speak to a wide constituency, only 1 percent of the journalists surveyed by Business Wire

With studies showing the fear of public speaking ranks up there with the fear of death, speakers are often advised to picture their audience naked. Don’t worry. You don’t have to strip the audience bare to communicate effectively. But you do need to become intimately familiar with who your audience will be before deciding whether

This is a term that’s gaining popularity as our nation shifts from the traditional 40-hour, one employer, office-driven workforce to a more entrepreneurial and independent workforce. Rather than jumping into the car for a long commute to an office, America’s workforce is increasingly opting for a more mobile and, arguably more creative and efficient, way

Here’s a great opportunity offered by one of our clients for health care professionals to hear from Dr. Arthur Agatston, the developer of the South Beach Diet and the Agatston Score:  

A prospective client recently asked why we pride ourselves on being former journalists. Our network includes two former journalists, both of whom left the business several years ago and have spent the intervening years mastering the skills of communicating beyond the pages of a newspaper. The experience we have gained since leaving the news business

The racial tensions in Ferguson highlight once again the need for diversity in the media, and an excellent post by Gabe Rosenberg shows that newsrooms have made few advances in hiring a more diverse workforce. As the Pew Research Center has shown, the percentage of minority (a word that really no longer fits in California

On this morning’s highly rated KTLA-TV newscast, the anchors spent a couple of minutes ridiculing the term Mayor Eric Garcetti used for his “Great Streets” program. He called it “urban acupuncture,” and that became the headline in the LA Times, rather than the “Great Streets” brand. Unfortunately for the mayor, the news anchors seemed to

We wanted to be sure you saw KNBC-TV’s report on Breathe Free MB, the public education campaign we’ve put together for Manhattan Beach to explain the city’s new Smoke-Free Public Places ordinance. In this report, you can see some of the signage we’ve developed with our graphics partner, Robin Weisz, to educate the public about

We need your help on Tuesday, July 22, in downtown Manhattan Beach. We are working with the City of Manhattan Beach on “Breathe Free MB,” a public education campaign about the City’s new Smoke-Free Public Places ordinance. We are seeking volunteers to help distribute materials to Manhattan Beach businesses. If you could spare 90 minutes

We’re proud of all our clients, and especially pleased when they get the recognition they deserve. Law360, one of the leading national legal news sites, conducted a survey and found WilmerHale, one of the nation’s pre-eminent law firms, is the “most-favored” IP group by corporate counsel. WilmerHale specializes in intellectual property litigation and represents some

The OC Weekly’s analysis of the OC Register’s failure to fulfill its mission to grow its business through the revitalization of print media shows that – much as everyone suspected – the new owners were looking at the changing media landscape through rose-colored glasses, at best, or even blinders. It is a blow-by-blow description of

Our friend, the Washington Post’s Paul Farhi, is one of the nation’s best media reporters. Today, he has a great story about the Post’s rival, the New York Times, hiring an intern who had been an Obama speech writer. Paul covers it in a very even-handed fashion. There was a time when such political affiliations

For many Angelenos, the rapidly rising equity in their home is their retirement plan, so housing prices are always a great source of interest. Add to that the stories of celebrities who can pour millions into a mansion, and you have a recipe for a bestseller. At least, that’s the idea at the LA Times,

We would have to put ourselves in the category of the nostalgic NYU academic Clay Shirkey faulted here for hoping the OC Register’s big commitment to print would work. We knew the economics probably didn’t work. After crawling under our car for the third day in a row to fish our paper out, we know

The NY Times Maureen Dowd decided to try out some marijuana edibles in Colorado, now that weed is legal there. What followed was more than a bit disturbing for her and a great yarn for the Times. So now she’s being taken to task for being so silly to sample edibles alone and to fail

How many times have heard or had to make that excuse for checking out while on a conference call? For conference call participants, this humorous look, via video, captures all the things we hate about conference calls – from the barking dog in the background to the cellphone participant who keeps dropping off and dialing