A very compelling piece of information began to circulate the other day. According to a report in Businessweek, some are crediting an iPhone update for helping to lower crime rates in New York City. As incredible as thi
In the past decade or two, the Roman Catholic Church has come under considerable fire, says Ronn Torossian CEO of 5W Public Relations . From abuse scandals, to land deals, to questions about the background of Pope Bened
Even in the world of professional golf, with a name like “Bubba,” people should expect you to make the occasional “down home” decision. So, it came as little surprise to many, when golf superstar Bubba Watson celebrated
Originally published: January 29, 2014 · Updated: June 16, 2026 In January 2014, Mike Seay of Lindenhurst, Illinois received a direct mail piece from OfficeMax addressed to himself with a second descriptor line printed
Department store, Target, has been having a pretty rough 2014 to date. Soon after having to report that millions of customers’ data may have been put at risk, the company had to come back recently and admit that the bre
Originally published: December 27, 2013 · Updated: June 16, 2026 In November 2013 the toy company GoldieBlox released a viral commercial that used a rewritten version of the Beastie Boys' 1986 track "Girls." The lyrics
For thirty years, communications timing operated on one clock: the news cycle. A statement issued at the wrong moment lived for days, sometimes weeks, until coverage faded and the brand returned to a slightly altered ba
Originally published: November 22, 2013 · Updated: June 16, 2026 In November 2013, Lululemon founder Chip Wilson went on Bloomberg TV after a sheer-pants recall had embarrassed the company and said the problem was not t
Pasta maker’s inept PR only makes it worse Ronn Torossian for RonnTorossian.com on Oct 8th, 1:07pm Recently a world-renowned pasta company – who shall remain nameless, just in case they eventually fix this – decided to
Originally published: July 24, 2012 · Updated: June 16, 2026 On July 20, 2012, a gunman opened fire during a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises at the Century 16 theater in Aurora, Colorado. Twelve people were
Kudos to Nike for removing Joe Paterno’s name from the child-care center named after him in Beaverton, Oregon. Sherwin-Williams and Cars.com dropped their sponsorship of Penn State many months ago - and many more will ri
Originally published: June 27, 2012 · Updated: June 16, 2026 The June 2012 post covered two threads. First, a case unfolding in Sydney involving sexual harassment allegations against then-Speaker of the Australian House