Media relations
October 9, 2018—The Hong Kong government rejected an application by Victor Mallet, a British journalist working for the Financial Times and vice president of the Foreign Correspondents’ Club, to have his work permit extended. The story broke on Friday, October 5, and Hong Kong authorities have declined to explain the decision, despite expressions of concern […]
October 2, 2018—In China, many topics—including independence movements, criticism of senior officials and references to Winnie the Pooh—are banned from social and conventional media. Now, as trade frictions between China and the United States intensify, the New York Times reports there is a new list of topics that must be “managed”: ■ Worse-than-expected data that […]
June 9, 2016—With the recent relaunch of the Dillon Communications website, I’m also reviving my blog. In the process, I’m updating some of the old blog posts from Beneath the Peak about media, media relations, writing, presentations and communications, and writing new posts about these topics. I will also highlight resources—including books, websites and software—that […]
September 21, 2006 — A golden rule when working with the media is “never say anything near a journalist that you wouldn’t want attributed to you on the front page of tomorrow’s paper.” To apply this concept, you need an idea of what might offend the important people in your life—shareholders, customers, voters, family, etc.—and […]
September 18, 2006 — From a communications standpoint, the Vatican has seriously miscalculated with the Pope’s apology. Here’s why: 1. Saturday’s apology was clearly written by a committee. When that happens, compromises are made to satisfy the committee and the lawyers who inevitably populate it. Those compromises weaken the apology with weasel words to the […]