The Innovator's Mic

Pew Research Center's "State of the News Media 2015" is a must-read for anyone who follows the U.S. media. This year, the report provided a broad look at the media landscape, while also identifying winners and losers, based on audience size and revenue. Not surprisingly, the report painted a rough picture for newspapers and cable news, while it projected a brighter future for mobile and digital news, local and network news, and podcasts.

On today's episode, Manny and Jim break through as much of the 96-page report as they can. Along the way, they touch on how some of the most prominent stories of the day are reported (including Deflategate), the value of streaming radio, whether Feedly or Pulse is a preferred news aggregating app, and much more.

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Hacks and Flacks on iTunes Stitcher or Podbay today. The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

Earlier this month, Rolling Stone published a 13,000-word, independent review conducted by the Columbia Journalism School around its November 2014 story, "A Rape on Campus," which the report deemed to be riddled with basic reporting errors. Rolling Stone has since retracted the story and the reporter has issued a formal apology.

To walk us through the full timeline - from how the article came together and how it finally fell apart - we spoke with Allie Bidwell, Education Reporter for U.S. News & World Report, who has been covering the story for months.

Before talking to Allie, we chatted about two ongoing stories - the 2015 Pulitzer Prize announcements and BuzzFeed's continued deletion, and subsequent restoration, of editorial posts that may have violated BuzzFeed's commercial interests.

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Hacks and Flacks on iTunes, Stitcher or Podbay today. The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

"It has always been about the story. The story is everything, which means it's our jobs to tell better stories."

Oscar-winner Kevin Spacey, who delivered those comments as the keynote speaker at last year's Content Marketing World 2014, knows a lot about the alchemy of a compelling story. Sitting out in the crowd that day was Matt Moretti, Senior Content & Media Analyst at Flipkey.

Matt joins us this week for a lively conversation about storytelling. We cover it from all angles, from how brands like GoPro and Red Bull do it the right way, to how television programs like Game of Thrones bring stories alive from the page to the screen, without losing what made them captivating in the first place.

We also experiment with live-streaming app Periscope - with better results than we had last time with Meerkat - and debate the merits of live streaming as a marketing tool.

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Hacks and Flacks on iTunes, Stitcher or Podbay today. The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

Is the Gigaom shutdown a harbinger of what's to come for some tech journalism? Manny and Jim brought in March Communications CEO Martin Jones to discuss what led to Gigaom's downfall, how consumer expectations for media have changed and why the influence of journalism "gatekeepers" has tailed off.

Leading into our conversation with Martin, we tried the Meerkat app for the first time, with mixed results. We also chatted about Facebook's "Faustian" plot to become the go-to platform for all media outlets.

Show Notes:

Subscribe to Hacks and Flacks on iTunes, Stitcher or Podbay today. The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

To our friends in PR and marketing agencies: When something goes haywire, don't you wish you could escape and hide behind the plant? Lauren Peresada, Senior Customer Success Manager at Hubspot, knows the feeling.

This week, Lauren shares stories from her time as an account manager, what she sees as the differences between small business and enterprise clients, her blueprint for managing client crises, and why asking the obvious questions has saved her on many occasions.

And, in light of the news that Gigaom will be shutting down, we brought in March's Doug Flora to provide some additional prospective and provide his view of the current state of the tech journalism landscape.

The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

What marketer wouldn't feel accomplished getting their company's name published by U.S. News and World Report, the Huffington Post, Lifehacker and Business Insider? In becoming a brand advocate, Ben Weiss did just that, and built up his personal brand along the way as well.

This week, Ben joins Jim and Manny to chat about brand advocacy, the value of relationships in public relations and marketing, and why he's thankful to have made mistakes before he had an audience.

Caroline Legg, Senior Account Executive at March, also swings by to share stories from her time as an intrepid freelance reporter. She explains that not all stories pitch themselves - unless they're about using goats as lawnmowers - and shares tips on getting noticed.

The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

What makes for great video marketing? Jim and Manny ask Marc Amigone, director of marketing for the professional video sharing platform MediaSilo, for his take on effective video marketing, and riff on the best and worst ads from this year's Super Bowl. They also chat the struggles and benefits of transitioning from agency work to in-house marketing.

Brendan Reilly, video director at March, also drops in to share his tips for making great brand videos.

The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

Being the new kid in high school can be a little scary and awkward. Brands today find themselves in a similar position when they tiptoe onto unfamiliar social media networks to market to a younger, savvier audience. In this week's episode drew Wallace, Director of Marketing at Roundtown, shares tips on how brands can find their ideal network and audience on social media. 

The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at JobCreatorsBand.com!

In the very first episode of Hacks and Flacks, hosts Jim Young and Manny Veiga talk to tech media analyst Sam Whitmore about the friction that may or may not exist between tech companies and the reporters who cover them. They also discuss brand journalism's true potential, debate whether startups really need PR, and offer an out-of-the-box marketing plan for... massage parlors. 

Also, March Communication's James Gerber shares takeaways from this year's CES in Las Vegas, and weighs in on the startup PR debate.

Show Notes:

The show's music is provided by Job Creators. Check them out at jobcreatorsband.com!