This is a very New York-specific story, but it contains a larger PR lesson that we’d like to share. NY1, pronounced “New York One”, is a 24/7 local news channel that is very helpful for those who want breaking news on traffic, subway delays, New York-area politics and more. It also includes some great talks shows, etc. But you get the point.

NY1 owner Time Warner Cable, on the other hand, is definitely one of the least popular brands among New Yorkers (just ask Twitter users and a certain Sir Patrick Stewart about its customer service record).

TWC–facing revenue declines as more customers cut their cords–is currently engaged in a battle with competitor Verizon Fios for market share. In order to convince customers not to switch providers, TWC is rebranding NY1, renaming it “TWC News” and changing the graphics, logos and theme music.

Read more

Hurricane Sandy is already old news to most Americans, but it’s still a big deal to thousands, if not millions, in the northeast. Some entities (like the MTA) managed to turn the storm into a PR win, and the much-hated Time Warner Cable now appears to be one of them.

It was a multi-step process: First Time Warner deployed mobile power stations around New York City in order to “allow people without power to charge up their phones, use our WiFi”, etc. Then its reps announced a plan to “automatically credit many” area customers who lost power during the storm, effectively paying them back for service they didn’t receive. Some customers whose accounts weren’t caught by Time Warner’s technical sweep may need to call the company in order to receive their credit, but the vast majority of accounts will be credited automatically.

This week brings more encouraging news: The cable giant and several other companies sponsored food trucks that continue to visit the storm’s hardest-hit areas, delivering free grub to those left without power and/or shelter. Selections include pizza, cheese steak and souvlaki–we approve of their taste in comfort food even more than their humanitarian efforts!

We’d love to hear more customer service stories. Has the company made good on its promises? Can a fickle public forgive Time Warner?

Set phasers to annoyed (we know, we know)! Classic British theater vet Sir Patrick Stewart–best known for his appearance on that one episode of “Frasier” where his character thinks Frasier is gay and Frasier goes along with it because he desperately wants to hang out with the director of the Seattle Opera–has something in common with every other member of the Western world: He doesn’t much care for Time Warner Cable’s customer service!

Stewart has been blowing up the Internet lately. His recent move to Brooklyn’s favorite baby-making factory, Park Slope, inspired a hilarious Tumblr page, and this week he used his Twitter feed to express his frustration in seeking help with his new Time Warner Cable account and hearing…crickets!

Stewart tweeted “All I wanted to do was set up a new account with @TWCable_NYC but 36hrs later I’ve lost the will to live” before engaging in a fruitless back-and-forth with Time Warner’s Twitter representative. We like this guy–and, given the fact that his message was favorited nearly 300 times and re-tweeted more than 600 times, we hope Time Warner got the message!

We did have a larger point, though: Read more

When being interviewed, it’s OK to admit that there are things you don’t know or need to follow up on. But when you’re the CEO of a company and you’re unaware of the big things happening in your industry, that’s a big ‘ol fail.

Case in point: Time Warner Cable’s CEO Glenn Britt says he has a dream to put the Internets in the TV. “Britt went on to lay out his vision for the future, seemingly oblivious to the fact that it basically reads like a product description for AirPlay, a service that wireless[ly] streams videos from your iPhone, iPod or iPad to your television via the Apple TV box,” Business Insider reports. And also, The New York Times reported it. Zoinks.

Sad news to report (we have too much of that lately): The New York Times’ Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize winner covering events in Syria, died yesterday of an asthma attack. He was 43 years old. The Times has more detail.

Pat Buchanan and MSNBC have “parted ways.” Buchanan, a conservative political commentator, had been suspended for the past four months after the publication of his book Suicide of a Superpower, which many called racist, homophobic, and anti-Semitic. MSNBC president Phil Griffin said the book should not “be part of the national dialogue.” Buchanan says it’s a win for blacklisters. He’s also said this.

Crazy news to report (we’ve had a little of that as well): Nancy Grace went on Good Morning America this week in a wrong-headed attempt to defend her implications earlier this week that Whitney Houston’s death wasn’t an accident. Despite Dan Abrams’ voice of reason, Grace refused to see the error of her ways. [via TVNewser]

CNN has canceled a March 1 Republican debate after Mitt Romney and Ron Paul decided not to participate. [via Yahoo News]

In other CNN news, the network has broken up with Larry King.

The MSG Network is heading back to Time Warner Cable. Thanks Jeremy Lin! (And Gov. Cuomo.)

Click through for more media changes.

Read more

To judge from Time Warner Cable’s director of digital communication Jeff Simmermon, the answer to the question above is “often.”

Simmermon was one of the speakers scheduled to take the stage today at Ketchum‘s daylong “Respect the Internet” event, which is being livestreamed here as well. After a few audio glitches during the opener, the discussion “Brands as Creators and Innovators” began, with a chunk of the discussion focused on the uses of consumer feedback.

The other panel speaker, Erik Martin, a GM at Reddit, (someone from BoingBoing was also slated for the panel, but he wasn’t on stage) talked up the importance of listening and reading what people have to say about your company and brand online. In his opinion, a lot of marketers and brands aren’t taking full advantage of what’s online.

“I see a lot of conversations that end just as it’s getting interesting,” he said.

Simmerson, while not dismissing the importance of being “immersed” in what’s online, was much more critical of the value of a lot of UGC.

“I can’t wait for the fetish for user-generated content to begin to fade,” he said.

Read more