Courtney Blackann

Ohio, Surfside

Journalism, Traveling, Baseball, Crime Docs // Georgetown University Alumna @HoyaJournalism// Texas Country 🎶🤠 Reporter at Air Cargo Next ✍🏼

Articles

Harnessing culture through humanity

2 days ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

Defining your organization’s culture is critical for not only for employee morale and productivity, but also for engaging customers, brand trust and adding value to your overall mission. But actually defining what culture is can be a little trickier, said Marcus Collins, clinical assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan during Ragan’s Employee Communications and Culture Conference.
4 steps for building a proactive anti-deepfake strategy

2 days ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

In order to build a proactive strategy for risk management, brands need to understand their audience and how information flows to prevent crisis from deepfakes and AI. Understanding how people think along with audience analysis is a passion for Simon Paterson, the U.S. head of counter disinformation for crisis and risk at Edelman.
New social media features and updates to know this week

3 days ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

Social media pros are discovering new ways to hyperfocus on engagement and user data through updated social tools, including a test run of lockable Reels on Instagram, thumbs-up and thumbs-down “Like” options on X, and new business profile features for Reddit Pro. Let’s dive into the latest updates and see how they can inform and improve your social media strategy, targeting and engagement.
4 steps for building a proactive anti-deepfake strategy

4 days ago | ragan.com | Courtney Blackann

In order to build a proactive strategy for risk management, brands need to understand their audience and how information flows to prevent crisis from deepfakes and AI. Understanding how people think along with audience analysis is a passion for Simon Paterson, the U.S. head of counter disinformation for crisis and risk at Edelman.
The Scoop: Pope Leo XIV humanizes himself with introduction

1 week ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

White smoke rose from the Sistine Chapel on May 8, signaling the Bishop of Rome had been chosen after just two days of conclave. Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, soon greeted a crowd of people eagerly waiting to hear his first words as the new leader of the Catholic church. Born Robert Francis Prevost, a Chicagoan, former Bishop of Peru and a Villanova University graduate, he addressed the people warmly, with a message of peace and bridging gaps across the world.
CrowdStrike makes the case for a 5% workforce reduction to staff; Uber CEO strikes a nerve with employees over new policies

1 week ago | ragan.com | Courtney Blackann

Good morning, communicators! Today we’re examining how management relays messages to employees during critical times of change. Here are the top stories and biggest takeaways this week:CrowdStrike CEO tells employees job layoffs are due to “technology inflection point.”Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike has faced its share of crises in the past year.
Post-crisis reflection is a critical tool for communicators

1 week ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

Readiness and response are core principles of crisis communications. But there’s another R-word not being addressed enough, according to Karen Naumann-Blevins, an adjunct professor in crisis communications at the University of West Virginia. Reflection is often left out of the major talking points, she said. But it can greatly shape a company’s crisis communications strategy. “There is a significant post-crisis phase that’s often overlooked,” Naumann-Blevins said.
Developing positive company culture during change

1 week ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

Comms teams need a strategic plan for change that accounts for company culture and varying job roles, including those with hybrid and remote positions. When a business experiences massive change or growth, it’s normal to navigate through some uncomfortable territory, said Elizabeth Whittington, senior director of executive communications at St. Jude’s Research Hospital.
AI SEO: An audience-first approach to showing up in AI results

1 week ago | prdaily.com | Courtney Blackann

In a pre-AI world, SEO and public relations were overlapping but ultimately separate disciplinesBut now, AI overviews have distorted the roles of each function and communicators need to adapt to form relevant, creative and meaningful content that resonates with readers, drives results and marries both search and awareness. “The silo and breakup of these (two areas) isn’t relevant anymore,” Jordan Leschinsky, head of strategy at communications agency Codeword, said.
Duolingo assures employees during AI-pivot; Intel CEO calls for culture revamp after layoffs

2 weeks ago | ragan.com | Courtney Blackann

Good morning, comms people! Let’s dive into this week’s top stories and biggest takeaways about how organizational change is reflected internally. Duolingo reassures employees of their value as it makes AI pivot. Duolingo is betting on AI. But the company is doing so with a clear mission and a transparent message.