Inside the Harvard Business Analytics Program with Shonali Burke, an accomplished public relations, corporate communications professional and recognized PR measurement expert. Shonali recently completed the Harvard Business Analytics Program. In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, she talks about why she decided to enroll, what exactly she learned, just how difficult the program was, and whether or not it's worth the $51,000 investment. The Harvard Business Analytics Programs is a three shield program that combines faculty from Harvard Business School, the School of Engineering, and the School of Arts and Sciences to go well beyond just statistics. To give students a thorough understanding of digital transformation, which digital analytics are used to justify, the program covers programming languages like SQL and Python, as well as the building blocks of machine learning and artificial intelligence. In this interview, Shonali talks about how the program teaches student how to take a more agile, modular approach to leveraging and harnessing data to drive business growth. The Harvard Business Analytics Program – which can be completed in as little as 9 months for full time track students – is made up 6 core courses (like Digital Strategy and Innovation and Foundations of Quantitative Analysis) which are 8 weeks each, 2 two-week seminars, and 2 3-day immersions which used to be on campus preCOVID but are not anymore. Much of the work can be performed asynchronously, but you do also attend live peer group discussions. Shonali says the live classes are fun, but in true Harvard Business School fashion, you have to ready to answer questions from Professor Lakhani who fires them away from the lectern without notice. Listen to full episode and find out why effective business communication is so foundational to digital transformation, how data can improve content marketing funnels and more.

Jake Swearingen, deputy editor at Business Insider has written for Consumer Reports, New York Magazine, The Atlantic, Wired, Slate and LA Weekly.  In this exclusive interview we talk about Business Insider's meteoric rise to name brand status, media opportunities for coverage and the post-pandemic small business retail rebound. Discussion Topics: How New York Magazine determines if a story was successfulHow many page views a successful Business Insider story getsNumber of stories Business Insider publishes per daySmaller stories that Business Insider is interested inWhat do PR agencies do when they pitch Business Insider successfully?Does Business Insider run guest columns and how to get consideredHow they decide what articles to make free versus premium What lessons do you hope small businesses learned from the pandemic?How should small businesses be using technology to thrive at a time when the landscape is increasingly dominated by big tech brands? If you're a small business trying to get Business Insider's attention, or a public relations practitioner looking for insights on how to pitch Business Insider, this exclusive interview with Jake Swearingen, which is being release on the Earned Media Podcast, is well worth a listen.

Mike Prasad is the founder of TinySponsor, an influencer marketing platform that connects marketers with influencers, as well as Marketing Club on Clubhouse, a top 10 club globally and the biggest industry club on the platform with 270,000 members. Every Monday at 12pm PT Marketing Club hosts roundtable discussions on the latest marketing trends, case studies, and insights. Mike also serves as a digital marketing consultant advising brands, startups, agencies, and creators. In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast we discuss online influencer marketing campaigns, sustainable digital business strategy, and the Clubhouse app. In this episode: 05:13 What is influencer marketing? 06:25 How collaborating with an influencer works. 07:52 How does TinySponsor work? 09:42 How pricing works on TinySponsor. 11:04 Making a living as a content creator. 14:02 How brands can incorporate online influencer marketing in their growth marketing strategy. 16:28 The best formats for driving traffic. 18:01 How can small businesses create successful influencer marketing campaigns? 20:38 How the pandemic changed consumer behavior, and how small businesses should adapt. 21:59 Having a digital storefront versus a physical storefront. 23:40 Do people prefer touchless transactions? 25:16 How can small businesses that want customers to buy from them directly compete against tech giants? 29:01 How a brand can build a loyal audience beyond social media. 30:28 How do influencers generate income? 31:28 The consequences of burning your audience. 32:09 Which brands are spending heavily on online influencer advertising? 32:55 Is consistency important when working with online influencers? 33:41 What do successful small businesses that make use of online technology well do differently from small businesses that struggle to compete online? 36:11 How does Clubhouse work? 39:49 Is Clubhouse’s growth slowing down? 41:41 Is Mike Prasad earning revenue from Clubhouse? 43:24 Is Mike Prasad part of the Clubhouse creator program? 44:37 Will Twitter Spaces be a threat to Clubhouse? 46:33 How to get in touch with Mike Prasad.  SUBSCRIBE TO THE EARNED MEDIA HOUR PODCAST: https://www.ericschwartzman.com/earned-media-hour-podcast-subscriber/ https://youtu.be/-c9ozK8grfs

New York Times technology correspondent Cade Metz talks about his new book Genius Makers: The Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook, and the World, a nonfiction narrative about the tiny clan of artificial intelligence (AI) visionaries who are rapidly changing our world. Cade is a technology correspondent covering artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality, and other emerging tech. Before that, he was a writer at Wired magazine. He also defines AI, discusses its capabilities, the ethical challenges and dangers it poses, the risk of replacement, and how public relations and earned media is used to help lure research and development funding. https://youtu.be/8eGZrm7rPk4 In this Earned Media Podcast episode: 02:52 What is surprising about Genius Makers? 03:47 Why Cade Metz wrote Genius Makers now. 04:52 What is artificial intelligence? 09:16 Neural network vs machine learning in AI. 10:12 What is artificial general intelligence (AGI)? 13:06 Why is the AGI Argument a religious argument? 15:25 Moore's law and AGI. 17:47 Is AI going to take knowledge workers’ jobs?  21:30 Which jobs are safe from AI? 23:39 Public perception of AI: real or overblown? 26:07 Inside Google’s top secret defense contract, Project Maven. 27:45 What you need to know about killer robots. 29:54 How to regulate AI without killing innovation. 32:00 Does top-of-the-funnel data collection need to be regulated? 34:01 Companies positioned to reap the rewards of AI. 34:51 The US vs China AI arms race. 40:10 Can AI solve the fake news problem?  43:36 Cade Metz reveals the news media outlets and voices that influence him and have earned his respect. 44:43 How PR Impacts organizations developing AI. 48:22 Elon Musk and fears about AGI. 50:03 How Cade Metz wrote Genius Makers. SUBSCRIBE TO THE EARNED MEDIA HOUR PODCAST

Isaac Saul is a politics reporter who grew up in suburban Pennsylvania and has lived and reported all over the world. He has written for Daily Mail, HuffPost, New York Daily News, Vox, and many others. These days, though, he runs Tangle, an independent, ad-free, nonpartisan political newsletter distributed on Substack, a newsletter distribution platform with features that enable you to build an audience and generate income. In this podcast interview, Isaac talks about the state of political journalism, finding an audience without a network backbone, the exploding media platform technology, and more. Advertisement Political journalism in today’s world During much of the past five years, there was an almost steady stream of hard news for American journalists, with the volatile political scene constantly generating buzz and driving cable news network ratings skyward. And even though the change in leadership has resulted in a noticeably more predictable, behaved administration, the landscape for political journalism appears to have changed significantly. Describing himself as a former “viral news writer trying to drive traffic,” Isaac shares his insights on political journalism in our interview. He noted two shifts in the way audiences consume news: a strong, growing distrust for the mainstream media on both sides of the political spectrum, and a spike in reader engagement leading up to the 2020 elections. https://youtu.be/-0jtC_RrLOM “I go where the conversation’s going, and I think, as a result, I have like a pretty broad view and perspective of what's happening in the country,” says Isaac. “I definitely feel more comfortable in certain places than others, but national politics, for sure, is my beat.” Isaac saw the changing landscape as an opportune moment to launch his independent political journalism initiative. Tangle is a daily newspaper that subscribers receive for free Monday through Thursday — and so far, the response has been great. “The concept of the newsletter is really simple,” Isaac explains. “You're gonna get views from across the political spectrum on whatever the big story of the day is.” In addition, Isaac also answers a reader question in every newsletter, features an important or heavy story, and ends it with a “good news” story (“A little positive to wash it all down.” Advertisement Isaac reveals that Tangle does not get much traffic from Facebook, Twitter, or any similar platforms. For him, this aligns with his goal of helping people get out of their bubbles and break out of their echo chambers. “Most people I know log on to social media, and they get nothing but views and tweets and posts that reinforce their political beliefs. So I don't rely on Facebook for traffic. I don't rely on Twitter for traffic. I rely entirely on word of mouth.” And the numbers don’t lie: From 50 subscribers, Tangle has now grown to 21,000 daily readers in less than two years. “I am doing everything I can to not be incentivized by those algorithms, because I think they're a big part of the problem.” A recent episode of the Earned Media Podcast with atmospheric scientist Michael Mann highlighted the behavior of paid online trolls on polarizing articles, often filling comment sections with falsehoods and vitriol. Isaac’s solution? You can only comment on Tangle newsletters if you’re a paying subscriber. “It's really the people who are invested in what the newsletter’s mission is, and invested in being exposed to views that they might not agree with,

Harry McCracken is an award-winning journalist and Technology Editor of Fast Company, a news media outlet dedicated to inspiring readers to think beyond traditional boundaries and create the future of business. In this podcast interview, Harry talks about regulating tech without ruining it, restoring trust in journalism, YouTube's product strategy, and how to get featured by Fast Company. Advertisement Regulating Technology Ever since the Cambridge Analytica psychographic profiling scandal, Congress has yet to hold Facebook, Twitter or Google accountable for the lies and deception their algorithms spread in order to increase session time with sensationalized content that is psychographically selected to align with and stoke each user’s fears, hopes and dreams. These social networks do the same thing Cambridge Analytica tried to do, but was shut down because the social networks want their user data all for themselves. Despite the fact that social networks use algorithms to direct users to content most likely to provoke an emotional reaction, they are currently shielded from liability for what users say on their platforms under section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which Justice Clarence Thomas took aim at. By saying social networks have really become more like “common carriers” -- which is the language used to describe phone companies -- Thomas is suggesting that social networks should be treated more like phone companies.  https://youtu.be/MH2KULhivxY Harry says that while What’s App is similar to a common carrier, social networks don’t like to admit it but they are much more comparable to traditional news media outlets. He also says there’s a bipartisan consensus in the federal government that section 230 is broken and needs to be fixed. The fact that social networks are removing noncompliant content, makes them much more of a publisher than a common carrier.  Restoring Truth in Journalism Back in 2007, Harry was the editor in chief of PC World Magazine, which at that point was the largest tech magazine in terms of circulation. He briefly left his position at the publication after an editorial dispute with their CEO at the time, where he took a stand for a story titled “10 Things We Hate About Apple” that the CEO did not want to publish (in the interest of protecting a critical business relationship). The issue became public, and after some time, the CEO ultimately left his position. Harry returned to his duties as EIC and stayed for another year. The Edelman Trust Barometer shows a decline in trust in the news media. “I'd say that, broadly speaking, the reputation of the media is in tatters,” Harry opines, though he adds that it’s still possible to build a media brand that people trust. “One of the reasons that Fast Company is weathering this era pretty well, is that we have this quorum of people who have really bonded with us on an emotional level in terms of what our mission is.” https://youtu.be/opp2PDPkk5E Harry describes Fast Company as a brand that has stayed optimistic in its 25 years of existence, and that it has done its best to tell uplifting, inspiring stories in the tech world. However, the publisher has also evolved over the last four or five years to be quite a bit more critical than it once was, calling out big tech and media companies whenever necessary. “I think that's probably the single most important thing you can do to continue to have credibility among your readers.” What Makes Fast Company Different

Joe Pulizzi is the best-selling author of Content Inc., Killing Marketing, and Epic Content Marketing, which Fortune Magazine named a “must-read business book.” He is the founder of digital content news site The Tilt and the Content Marketing Institute, which he sold in 2016, and the host of the Content Inc podcast and This Old Marketing with Robert Rose. In this episode of the Earned Media Podcast, Joe talks about the difference between enterprise marketers and content entrepreneurs, B2B content marketing, the sustainability of the online influencer business, NFTs in loyalty marketing, crypto creator coins, and making indispensable content. https://youtu.be/4V9cg_j3RpA The Tilt vs the Content Marketing Institute The Content Marketing Institute is for enterprise marketers. But his latest endeavor, The Tilt, is an email newsletter for content creators who want to become content entrepreneurs. Enterprise marketers start with a product or service. Content entrepreneurs start by building an audience first. “It is a completely backwards model from what we're used to, which is, ‘Oh, I'm gonna start a company; oh, let's go out and actually create a product,’” says Joe. “Now, we're actually going out and saying, ‘Okay, let's build that audience. And then once we build that loyal audience, we can sell them whatever we want.’” He identified two critical mistakes content creators make. For starters, they don’t have a content tilt, an area or field of true differentiation to set them apart from their competitors. “As a content creator, I have to say, to cut through all that clutter, I have to become the leading informational expert or entertainment provider for a particular niche,” Joe explains. “So you have to start small, you can always go larger, but you have to start really, really, really small. And most people don't do that.” The second major issue is consistency. Delivering consistently to an audience over an extended period of time helps you become a leading expert in your area of focus. But if you’re not differentiated, consistency isn’t enough. “Let's really focus on different audience sectors, figure out what those audience desires are and their pain points, what keeps them up at night, what they're challenged with, and let's talk to those challenges over time. And then we'll have something that we can build on.” B2B Content Marketing Rubric Joe says taking B2B content marketing seriously means becoming an online influencer. One example is electronics distributor Arrow Electronics: With over 3 million opt-in subscribers across 53 different publications, they are also the largest B2B media company in their industry. “The most innovative companies in the world are actually thinking a little bit bigger and saying, ‘Wow, I might not have to just sell our customers one thing, I could monetize our customers in seven, eight different ways,’” shares Joe. “I don't think that a lot of marketers are thinking big enough.” https://youtu.be/RjepINgRyRE After years of talking to successful content marketers and content entrepreneurs, Joe figured out two key points about how they become successful. The first involves disproving the notion that content marketers need to be on every platform and channel where their customers hang out. “What we found out with really successful content marketers and content entrepreneurs is that they focus on one platform, and they become great at it,” says Joe. “They're the best podcaster in their industry, the best blogger, the best writer, the best event producer, the best Facebook group, best YouTuber,

David Ratner has been a book publicist for over two decades, with extensive experience managing book publicity firms, book marketing companies, and book publicity consulting. The former president of one of the country’s largest book public relations agencies, he has worked with leading publishers, as well as hundreds of best-selling authors across all genres. These days, the majority of his clients are in the business space; he helps them use their books as leverage to grow their revenue and client base. David has been a featured speaker at a number of publishing conferences, and is well-respected for his knowledge of the industry. In this podcast interview, David talks about how to hire the right book publicist, how much book PR costs, hacking the NYT bestseller list, and more. The Business of Public Relations for Books https://youtu.be/TpaAshEE8hI Throughout his illustrious career in book PR, David has worked with prominent names like Rudy Giuliani, Michael Lewis, Larry King, and Stephanie Seymour.  According to David, among the biggest challenges in handling PR for well-known authors or A-list personalities are the people around them and being able to get on their calendars, given their busy schedules. “It's kind of just designing the right schedule for them that fits what they're looking to do and what you have available to you,” he shares, adding that from a personality perspective, he’s had mostly positive experiences with prominent clients.  A unique selling proposition aimed at the right target audience: that’s what David says is the best way for new nonfiction authors to get more press coverage and book review attention in the media. “Bring something to the table that is different from what you're hearing from everybody else — or if it's not different, at least, phrase it differently.” David mentions personal finance as an example, a genre in which nonfiction authors such as David Bach, Robert Kiyosaki, and Suzy Orman all had to come up with ways to market and publicize their books “in a very unique, compelling, informative, and entertaining fashion that made it different than the next personal finance book, which theoretically might have been offering you almost the exact same advice.” https://youtu.be/ZXvkU8elX0A Tips and Strategies for Effective Book PR For first-time authors in need of a publicist to promote their book to journalists and reporters, David recommends going to their personal network for recommendations first. Other authors who’ve successfully marketed their books to the mainstream media may already know the best book publicists to recommend. Unsurprisingly, a Google search can also help. David stresses the need to look for people who are familiar with your space (like a publicist who has worked in the business genre, if your book is in that category).  David’s simple piece of advice in picking the best book publicist? “Don't say yes to the first PR person, but you don't have to talk to fifteen, either. Because in the end, a lot of us do the same thing; there's a lot of us out there, and you can make the decision a lot more difficult than it needs to be.” Additionally, when interviewing book publicists who can potentially work with you, ask for realistic expectations.  As for getting the highest level of service from a publicist juggling different acco...

David Bloom is a writer at Forbes, TVRev, and Tubefilter, and is the host of the Bloom in Tech podcast. A long-time journalist for a range of daily newspapers in Memphis, Dallas and Los Angeles, he has also written for Red Herring, Variety and Deadline Hollywood. He spent a decade as an earned media advisor executive handling communications strategy for a range of clients, including MGM and the USC Marshall School of Business.  In this podcast interview, David talks about journalism and PR, the future of video content, streaming media, digital public relations and more. https://youtu.be/GykRgWCo148 Full Video Interview: https://youtu.be/xT20sB98JZ0 Journalism and Public Relations From his early days as a local print journalist to working with outlets like the LA Daily News and Forbes, David has found himself adjusting and adapting to the evolving field over the decades. “[Journalists] had to redefine ourselves and on the new platforms and pick up new skills,” David says. “I had to learn about SEO, and learn about things like search and how to optimize my stuff across social media.” David is interested in stories that show how new technologies change behavior. He believes in a growing need for less “Hollywood-centric” news coverage. He cited Netflix as an example, a service that is accessible in 192 countries with over 200 million subscribers. Netflix purchases, produces, and showcases content in different languages from different countries. With their content, they are able to cater to the diverse tastes of a considerable chunk of the world’s 7-billion population, instead of just focusing on the now-saturated United States market. “They’re all over the world, and everybody else is trying to catch up.” With regard to how the global audience for longform content has changed and influenced it, David’s writing style incorporates background details into the stories he writes. He says there’s still an audience for this type of writing. We have to think about how to make content more accessible to anyone with even just a passing interest in the subject, regardless of their geographical location.  David also observed that publications like The New Yorker, which puts out 10,000-word deep dives into certain topics, still find an audience from which they earn revenue. “There's a big wide audience out there, we have to evolve and do stuff.” https://youtu.be/bkbrNSd_E20 Full Video Interview: https://youtu.be/xT20sB98JZ0 Cable, Broadcasting, and the Future of Video Content There’s an expanding array of options for video content consumers worldwide, from standard TV stations to cable subscriptions to free streaming services across digital platforms.  David notes, however, that as a result of increased accessibility and options, the traditional cable bundle is experiencing a decline in popularity. This phenomenon has caused cable providers to “recast” who they are: “[Cable providers are] getting away from thinking of themselves as a provider of TV and more a provider of high-speed data networks that include TV and other entertainment, news and stuff, but also security services and internet connections at high-speed for gaming, and on, and on, and on.” The concept of media bundles has also changed, going from a general, blanket approach to a more surgical, targeted assembly of offerings for specific segments of the audience. Citing his colleague Alan Wolf, David opines: “We've been busy breaking up the bundle. And at some point, we're going to start putting it back together; it's going t...

In this episode, Peter Kafka senior correspondent at Recode – the business and technology network from Vox Media – talks about his career as a journalist, what he likes to cover, podcasting, the dangers of just covering trending stories, and reporting beyond the bubble filter. Peter is also the host of Recode Media, the weekly podcast dedicated to the future of media and technology, as well as the producer of the Code Media Conference (Sept. 27-9, 2021 in Beverly Hills), a live event that hosts hard-hitting interviews with the media and tech industry’s leading players.  Peter's Backstory From an early age, Peter always wanted to be journalist. From writing for his school’s newspaper to working in the newspaper business in his hometown of Minneapolis, he describes his professional career arc as “relatively straightforward.” Early in his career, he worked with Walt Mossberg at allthingsd. https://youtu.be/E8tCHTyh-To In terms of which stories he likes to cover most, Peter enjoys providing clarity to confusing topics and thick issues. He likes to cut through the BS. “I think that where I do best is when I'm able to explain things that are relatively complicated or maybe intentionally obtuse - and say, ‘Here's what's really going on,” he says. Keep that in mind if you're trying to figure out how to get press for your startup. As someone who has lived through our transition to digital, a lot of where we are today was predictable, he says. But the ride has been full of surprises nonetheless. Especially when it comes to the unforeseen consequences of progress brought about by the net. “The internet is bringing us 500 channels of TV or more, and access to the world's information, and that all panned out,” he explained, “and what we didn't think about is who might use the internet to sow mistrust, and create disinformation and do terrible things to people.” https://youtu.be/Jn_aSuNzrsI A Day in the life at Recode When it comes to day-to-day operations at Recode, Peter wears a number of hats. He describes his approach as hands-on, while still working with a producer, an engineer, and other members of the team. Their staff is small (“It's probably about half a dozen of us reporting day to day”), and we're all working on different stories at a given time, sans any quota. Because of the pandemic, the Recode team has had to pivot and take advantage of technology to record podcast interviews remotely. “Prior to the pandemic, I was always insistent that people come into the studio to do the podcast, to the point where I would, like, pass on guests because they either wouldn't come to the studio or we couldn't find a way to do something in person,” he said, citing the difficulty of conducting an interview via teleconference. “It'll be interesting when we start going back to the office: How much of those we're going to do remotely? And how much we'll do in person again?” According to Peter, Recode’s general editorial approach used to be quite personality-driven, though the emphasis on that has decreased over time. And in working with Vox, Peter found that the work has become more about explaining things and concepts. “As we've been transferring over to Vox, there's been a different sort of conversation about technology that we're having. It's a sort of reaction to a lot of glowing press that tech got for years – but also just an acknowledgement that tech is complicated.” Beyond the Echo Chamber When deciding what stories to cover,