Seventy thousand five hundred twenty-one. That’s how many news stories included Andy Byron’s name after one juicy Jumbotron moment at a Coldplay concert. In this episode of The PR Breakdown, dissecting how a viral moment spiraled into a corporate PR disaster that exposed a CEO, an HR chief, and a total breakdown in communication control. What made this stor ... Show More
Aug 3
Cracker Barrel CEO's Downfall: A Masterclass in What NOT to Do
The CEO of Cracker Barrel lost her job this week, and the tell was sitting in an interview she gave months earlier. A year after the logo backlash — the one that generated a wall of press, then a second spike now, bookending the whole affair in Muck Rack's data — Julie Fels Masin ... Show More
24m 38s
Jul 17
The Justin Baldoni Video Worked Because It Didn't Look Like PR
Justin Baldoni hadn't said a public word in almost two years. Then last week he propped up a phone, sat down next to his wife Emily, and posted a video to his own Instagram — no publicist, no People magazine. I told NBC News the most strategic thing about the video is how unstrat ... Show More
37m 12s
Sep 2023
Why do festivals keep ending in disaster?
Throughout the summer, the headlines have been dotted with large-scale events going awry. What’s driving the increase in chaos? Plus: Clorox gets hacked, Katy Perry cashes in, and $1.7T screw up.
Join our hosts Sara Friedman and Ben Berkley as they take you through our most inte ... Show More
12m 1s
Feb 2022
Spotify’s Joe Rogan problem
The podcast host built a massive audience by speaking to fringe figures in culture, business, and science. During the pandemic, that got him in trouble with Neil Young, among others.
This episode was produced by Will Reid and Amina Al-Sadi, edited by Matt Collette, engineered by ... Show More
32m 25s
Nov 2022
Twitter news, Alexa blues, and World Cup booze
It was a wild weekend at Twitter HQ. What happened? Plus: Budweiser gets snubbed at the World Cup, Amazon's Alexa may be losing her voice, prison time for Elizabeth Holmes, and a whole lot more.
Join our host Jacob Cohen as he takes you through our most interesting stories of the ... Show More
11m 14s