CES, Black History Month, Politics and Other Public Interest New Trends 

A look at the policy and public interest news from PR Newswire in January and February that you might have missed.

By Nikita Lero | Published March 6, 2024

2024 is off to a busy start with tons of news in the first two months of the year in the policy and public sectors. In this recap, we will cover some of the biggest trends in the industry, like animal safety/protections, and share some of the must-read content in these areas.

We'll start with a review of the most-read releases over the past two months you may have missed. 

Some of the Most Popular Policy & Public Interest Releases

PR Newswire issued more than 3,150 press releases tied to policy and public interest in January and February, with some of the most viewed including:

• Montefiore’s Albert Einstein College of Medicine received a gift donation from Ruth L. Gottesman, Ed.D, ensuring that no students at Einstein will have to pay tuition again.
• Annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards announced 4 new inductees to its ranks ahead of its award show, including Marc Parent, Fred George, Steve Hinton, and Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex.
• Miss North Carolina, Hanley House, was crowned the winner of Miss America’s Teen Competition. 

Policy and Public Interest News Trends

Let’s dive into a few of the biggest trends from January and February.

CES

CES was held in Las Vegas Jan. 9-12 with companies and organizations coming in from all around the world to share their latest technology and products. CES offers a first look at the newest tech advancements around the world and this year was nothing short of amazing.

We saw more than 500 releases related to CES cross the wire in January and February, including:

• Imagry announced its new autonomous driving function, aimed at teens and other drivers who could use assistance behind the wheel.
• SWEAR unveiled its technology that provides proof of authenticity for digital media, a significant milestone in the battle against digital misinformation and deepfakes.
• DeepBrain AI delivered the first AI avatar that represents a young woman recently diagnosed with ALS, helping to empower people with disabilities.
• One of CES’s 2024 Innovation Award Winners, Timekettle shared its latest product at CES 2024: X1 AI Interpreter Hub, which allows users to have hands-free conversations across languages.
• TORRAS shared its latest phone case innovations at CES 2024.

Black History Month

February is Black History Month and has a long history dating back to 1925 when historian Carter G. Woodson founded, at the time, a week-long event celebrating the birthdays of two predominant figures in African American history: Abraham Lincoln and Federick Douglas. In 1976, it was expanded to last the month of February.

During the past two months, we saw over 90 press releases sent out related to Black History Month, including:

• Los Angeles Rams, Its Bigger Than Us, Pepsi and the Los Angeles Regional Food Bank came together to provide food and essential resources to Leimert Park and surrounding communities to celebrate Black History Month.
• Pronghorn introduced the #AllBlackBar platform in honor of Black History Month.
• Meijer continued its commitment to Black-owned and small brands by growing its selection in stores by 35% since 2021.
• The Peanut Institute celebrated Black History Month by recognizing George Washington Carver, the father of the peanut industry.
• Crowe LLP and Intuit collaborated on a new initiative to enable minority-owned small businesses to grow, enhance financial maturity and become more capital-ready.

Animal Safety/Protection

Over the past two months, we noticed an increase in the number of releases about animals, primarily regarding safety and protection initiatives. From South Korea passing a bill to ban the eating of dog meat to China planning to send a pair of pandas to the San Diego Zoo in the next year, animal news was a hot topic!

Over 100 releases regarding animal welfare were distributed with us in January and February, including:

• Impact Dog Crates played a crucial role in the successful reintroduction of gray wolves by Colorado and Wildlife into Grad County, Colorado.
• Last Change for Animals and Animal Liberation Wave celebrated South Korea’s decision to ban dog meat.
• MiDog Animal Diagnostics expanded its capabilities to encompass diagnostic solutions for more than 270 animal species.
• The U.S. Postal Service shared its new Save Manatees stamp ahead of Manatee Appreciation Day.
• San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and China Wildlife Conservation signed a new giant panda cooperation agreement to begin the process of bringing giant pandas back to the zoo.

Politics Recap and Trends to Watch

We are gearing up for a busy election year with primary elections occurring all year leading up to the General Election in November. Not surprisingly, we've seen an increase in releases regarding politics, including:

• Dr. Serina Floyd, Chief Medical Officer at Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan Washington, DC, spoke at a U.S. Senate Democrats briefing ahead of the 51^st anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
• The National Press Club shared a statement on the House’s passing of The PRESS Act, which creates a federal shield law protecting journalists from being compelled by federal law enforcement to reveal their sources.
• Veterinarians met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to discuss the importance of legislation that will help increase the availability of vet services in rural areas and protect against the spread of diseases that threathen animal and public health.
• Civic Nation and Run for Something Civics hosted National Run For Office Day to encourage underrepresented people to run for elected office.
• A new poll from YouGov, commissioned by the Center for Economic and Policy Research, shows that 23% of respondents who voted for Biden in 2020 reported they would hold the president responsible for increasing gas prices due to a widening of the current conflict in the Middle East.
• Pulp and Paperworkers’ Resource Council workers met with Congress representatives, discussing several issues regarding the impacts of legislative and regulatory decisions on the environment, local communities and manufacturing jobs.
• TargetSmart and Comscore, Inc.'s partnership empowers campaigns, causes and nonprofits to more effectively reach their target audiences as the 2024 election begins.

As 2024 continues and we get closer to the primaries, we expect to see more and more news regarding politics, Congress and political campaigns. We will keep you posted on these trends and more in the following months, so stay tuned to keep up to date on all things policy and public interest-related. 

About the Author

Nikita Lero is a Senior Distribution Customer Support Specialist at Cision PR Newswire and been with the company since 2014. Outside of work, she enjoys creative writing, reading, checking out the latest restaurants, gaming, and cuddling with her cat, Ambrose.