PKPR News
Character Day in Parents, EdSurge
Sep. 30, 2019
For the past ten years, Character Day co-founder Tiffany Shlain, her husband, and her two kids (16 and 10) have unplugged from their devices every Saturday. In her new book 24/6: The Power of Unplugging One Day a Week (Simon & Schuster/Gallery Books), Shlain chronicles how the weekly tech break changed their lives, giving them more time, productivity, connection, and presence. Taking place in classrooms and schools nationwide each year, Character Day focuses on helping students develop character strengths like grit and gratitude. This year’s Character Day on Friday, September 27, will culminate with students nationwide turning off their screens for 24 hours, with the goal of continuing it on a weekly basis.
PKPR secured coverage for this year’s Character Day and Tiffany’s book in a range of outlets including a feature in the print issue of Parents Magazine and stories in outlets from EdSurge (”Can putting away devices build character?”) to Mommy Nearest (”Here’s how your family can go screen-free for one day a week”).
This Mozilla-Funded Film Watches You
Sep. 26, 2019
Over a year after the approval of a U.S. patent, Snapchat users still don’t know if the app is using facial emotion recognition technology to detect and profit off of their moods. To put pressure on Snapchat, Mozilla premiered “Stealing Ur Feelings,” a short documentary that uses the same technology to analyze viewers’ emotions as they watch it. Check out some of the coverage in Adweek, Engadget, and The Inquirer.
Echoing Green on The Today Show
Sep. 06, 2019
A 2019 Echoing Green Fellow, Antoine Patton is a 32-year-old father who taught himself to code while he was incarcerated and then developed an app with his 13-year-old daughter that makes it easier for kids to communicate with their incarcerated parents.
As a result of PKPR’s work, Antoine and his daughter Jay Jay, as well as Echoing Green President Cheryl Dorsey, were featured in an amazing segment on The Today Show. It was part of Lester Holt’s Justice for All series looking at the state of justice in America.
Restore Oakland in CityLab, Architectural Digest
Sep. 05, 2019
In 2017, PKPR client Deanna Van Buren delivered a TED Talk - What a World Without Prisons Could Look Like— that has been viewed more than one million times. This month, her vision moves closer to reality with the opening of Restore Oakland, a 20,000 square foot center in Oakland’s Fruitvale neighborhood that is home to one of the nation’s first spaces dedicated to restorative justice.
Restorative justice brings together the victim and the perpetrator to resolve the harm caused. Restore Oakland will work with the Alameda County District Attorney’s office to divert cases involving people aged 15 to 24 into the restorative justice program. The process takes place outside of traditional courthouses and government buildings, which tend to be windowless, oppressive, and punitive. At Restore Oakland, the Restorative Justice Rooms are painted in a peaceful and calming sky blue, there are multiple large windows, and chairs are arranged in a circle in the tradition of peace circles used by many Native American cultures.
PKPR secured coverage for the opening in The Atlantic’s CityLab, Architectural Digest, YES! Magazine, and Common Dreams.
ESI Design on The Weather Channel
Aug. 15, 2019
PKPR secured an appearance on The Weather Channel for ESI Design founder Ed Schlossberg to discuss a massive light-art installation that draws on local weather data to create abstract light patterns that recall sunlight rippling through trees, rain falling, and clouds scudding across the sky. The installation at Chicago’s 35-story skyscraper at 151 North Franklin turns the concrete wall that once made the outdoor terrace feel narrow and cramped into an urban oasis.
Other coverage highlights include Curbed, NBC Chicago, Dexigner, Art Critique, SEGD, and AV Magazine.
Trint scores 2020 candidates
Aug. 13, 2019
Bernie Sanders’ accent may sound strange to some people outside of New York, but it doesn’t pose any comprehension problems for artificial intelligence.
In a Trint test of how well AI can understand the 2020 presidential candidates, Sanders landed a perfect score, with AI transcribing all of his words correctly, including recognizing “faw-tee” as “forty” and “pov-a-tee” as “poverty.”
Check out some of the coverage in Metro, Axios, Washington Examiner, and Poynter.
Momaday wins 2019 Dayton Literary Peace Prize
Aug. 01, 2019
Writer N. Scott Momaday, who is widely credited with spearheading the breakthrough of Native American literature into the mainstream, will receive the Richard C. Holbrooke Distinguished Achievement Award, organizers of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize announced this week. A Kiowa Indian, Momaday is the author of Pulitzer Prize-winning novel House Made of Dawn (1968) and The Way to Rainy Mountain (1969).
Coverage highlights include USA Today, PBS NewsHour, Houston Chronicle, Native News, BookWeb, Poets and Writers, and Lit Hub.
Trint unveils new features
Jul. 02, 2019
Trint has unveiled a series of new features that takes automated transcription to the next level. These features include call recording, a host of new collaboration tools, and a brand new video player. Coverage in industry publications has included MediaPost, Poynter, Broadcast Bridge, Mobile Syrup, TechRadar, Podcast Business Journal, and Inside Radio.
Echoing Green announced 2019 Fellows
Jul. 01, 2019
PKPR helped facilitate the announcement of the 2019 Echoing Green Fellows, the Fellowship program that counts former First Lady Michelle Obama, CNN host Van Jones, and Teach for America founder Wendy Kopp.
The Echoing Green Fellowship provides unrestricted seed funding of up to $90,000, training, and programmatic support for two years, as well as lifelong access into a global network of leading philanthropists, investors, and entrepreneurs.
PKPR secured coverage for Black Male Achievement category fellow Antoine Patton in Black Enterprise, Colorlines, and WNYC . Other fellow coverage included Philanthropy News Digest, Inside Philanthropy, Revolt TV4, Impact Alpha, and Crain’s Cleveland Business.
The Knight Foundation announces Public Space Fellows
Jun. 21, 2019
Seven innovators from across the United States were named Knight Public Spaces Fellows this week. The Fellows include leaders who created or influenced great public spaces that strengthened community engagement and connection, including Robert Hammond, Co-Founder and Executive Director of the High Line, and Erin Salazar, Founder and Executive Director of Exhibition District. Fellows each received $150,000 in recognition of their contributions and to advance their work.
PKPR helped coordinate coverage for the overall announcement, as well as individual coverage for each of the seven fellows.
Highlights included: Architect Magazine, Philadelphia Inquirer, San Jose Mercury News, The Architect’s Newspaper, SF Gate, Smart Cities Dive, Generocity, The Registry, Smart Cities World, and East Bay Times.