Tag Archives: Public Relations

Did the “Genocide Olympics” influence China?

Propaganda and censorship are two sides of the same coin. Both share the same goal: to enable an individual or organization to shape consensus in a group. They often work together. Censorship eliminates competing ideas, creating a void in which … Continue reading

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How to turn one terrible scandal into two

Note: This includes two posts originally published on back-to-back days. Part 1: How to turn one terrible scandal into two Imagethief loves watching companies hang themselves. Unless they are his clients, in which case he has fits watching them hang … Continue reading

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Olympics mean a softer touch for foreign correspondents, maybe

Ed Cody of the Washington Post’s Beijing bureau has written an interesting story on a new decree from the Chinese government that will grant foreign correspondents in China significantly more freedom in the months before and after the games. The … Continue reading

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Foxconn shoots themselves, Apple in foot

Note: This post consolidates three original posts on this topic that were published on consecutive days. It was also cross-posted on my CNET blog, published in 2006 and 2007. Part One: Foxconn shoots themselves, Apple in foot You may recall … Continue reading

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Electro-sphere and other photo-opps

I know what I am good at and what I am not good at. For example, I consider myself a pretty good writer and PR strategist. Both of those convictions are regularly reinforced by the fact that I get invited … Continue reading

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A week in the life of a China flack

Imagethief has recently had several e-mails from young foreigners in China who are interested in embarking upon a career in PR here. Why these students should choose such a career as opposed to, say, enlisting in the Navy as a … Continue reading

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What if Yahoo abandoned China?

If you grew up in the US reading Marvel Comics, like Imagethief, you may remember the old What If? series. In What If? the fates of Marvel superheroes were projected into alternate realities. It made for some pretty good stories … Continue reading

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Press releases with Chinese characteristics

In my job I am regularly exposed to Chinese press releases from various sources (often not my clients, I hasten to add). We sometimes send these releases for translation into English for our clients. As one of the few native … Continue reading

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The disappointing silence from the top

It’s been nearly two weeks since representatives of Cisco, Microsoft, Yahoo and Google testified before the House Subcommittee on Human Rights about their various entanglements with China. As expected, after blowing hot in the run-up to the testimony, coverage has … Continue reading

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Congress to grill US net firms on China

The US government has begun to take note of what American Internet firms are doing in China. A report in CNET’s News.com from technology policy journalist Declan McCullagh (also now picked up by Rebecca MacKinnon, Asiapundit, etc.) says that two … Continue reading

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