Gawker.com is gone. Some people are upset, some people are dancing on its grave. Is there a right or a wrong perspective on Gawker’s demise? Was its fate deserved because of its controversial and confrontational editorial style, or was Peter Thiel’s cash-fueled vendetta an ugly harbinger of what could happen to the state of media if the powerful choose to litigate the free press into non-existence?

The hot Gawker takes have been flying left and right, and on this week’s Hacks and Flacks, Andrew Grzywacz and Manny Veiga try to dig through it all. 

SHOW NOTES:

• Nick Denton on Gawker: “How Things Work“

LINKS:

• Follow Hacks and Flacks on Twitter: @hacksflacks

Gawker.com is gone. Some people are upset, some people are dancing on its grave. Is there a right or a wrong perspective on Gawker’s demise? Was its fate deserved because of its controversial and confrontational editorial style, or was Peter Thiel’s cash-fueled vendetta an ugly harbinger of what could happen to the state of media if the powerful choose to litigate the free press into non-existence?

The hot Gawker takes have been flying left and right, and on this week’s Hacks and Flacks, Andrew Grzywacz and Manny Veiga try to dig through it all. 

SHOW NOTES:

• Nick Denton on Gawker: “How Things Work“
• Max Read on Gawker: “Did I Kill Gawker?“
• Peter Thiel editorial: “The Online Privacy Debate Won’t End With Gawker“
• Other billionaires suing the press: Poynter

LINKS:

• Follow Hacks and Flacks on Twitter: @hacksflacks
• Follow Hacks and Flacks on Instagram:@hacksflacks
• Follow our Facebook Fan Page: Hacks and Flacks Podcast
• Follow March Communications on Twitter:@MarchComms
• Visit the M+PR Nonsense blog: MarchComms.com/blog

Whether you’re hiring for a PR agency or an in-house marketing team, it’s helpful to know as much as possible about the capabilities, expectations and possibilities of your potential future employees. That’s why Hacks and Flacks brought in Amy Shanler, associate professor of Public Relations at Boston University and the head of BU’s PRLab, for a glimpse into how tomorrow’s professionals are being trained for a PR career.

The student-staffed PRLab is the nation’s oldest student-run PR agency and supports real-world clients, with access to BU’s state-of-the-art resources (including a Communication Research Center with a faux living room outfitted with biometric sensors).

PRLab has worked on a number of compelling, creative and inspiring campaigns – including a partnership with March Communications to support the nonprofit Adaptive Sports New England. March VP Liz Swenton Hosman oversaw that project, and she also joins the conversation with Amy to talk about PR training and hiring today, career expectations and anxieties for students coming out of college looking for their first PR job, and what employers need to know about the next generation of communications talent.

Show Notes:

• Learn more about the BU PRLab: bu.edu/prlab