How can we carry on PR and communications when budgets are being cut and resources tight? Why not just put the whole thing on hold until business improves?

Tough times like we're experiencing now have always been a challenge for PR and marketing -- which are often the first to experience budget cuts. But take heart. Good communications can continue.

That's why we're launching the free newsletter, "In Difficult Times." In it, we will show readers how to do more with less. In some cases, it's a thoughtful approach to existing tools and workflow.

In other cases, it's embracing Web 2.0 distribution channels, which tend to be far cheaper than their traditional media brethren.

I just read a report in The Wall Street Journal that Chrysler's top spokesman is resigning, and it struck me that this is a pretty odd subject for a news story.

The piece focuses on the resignation of Jason Vines, VP of Communications, who reported to CEO Robert Nardelli, who joined Chrysler when the private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management bought Chrysler. The Journal, citing "people familiar with the matter," writes:

A former stand-up comedian with a flare for showmanship, Mr. Vines clashed with a more tight-lipped approach to media relations advocated by Mr. Nardelli and Cerberus, they said. He had been pushing Mr. Nardelli and Vice Chairman Jim Press, who was recruited from Toyota Motor Corp., to speak to the media about Chrysler's turnaround efforts, but Mr. Nardelli opposed him, they said.

If you're convinced that new technologies are not only transforming communications but are also well on their way to rendering paper completely obsolete, consider this:

A new survey conducted for by Pitney Bowes by International Communications Research (ICR) shows that for some purposes, consumers still prefer snail mail.

Among the survey's findings:

• A large majority (73%) of consumers would rather receive new product announcements or offers from companies they do business with by mail. Only 18% prefer email.

I've just posted Episode 20 of our talking communications with farrell kramer podcast.

My guest is PR practitioner Linda VandeVrede, who has just come out with the second edition of her book, Press Releases Are Not a PR Strategy.

VandeVrede discusses some misconceptions about what PR is and how it should be handled as well as pointing out the right way to bring PR into an organization. It is an interesting interview, particularly for anyone considering the adoption of a PR strategy.

Internal communications should be kept internal. This seems obvious, but so often when internal documents leak out they look silly -- or worse -- when taken out of their proper context.

Valleywag recently posted on an internal AOL slide presentation for a new service the online company launched.

First came blogging, which started as a hobby for a handful of individuals and is now widespread among companies and professional communicators. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey and Sun Microsystems President & CEO Jonathan Schwartz are but two examples of corporate bloggers, and most newspapers have also launched into the blogsphere.

Next came podcasting, which now can be seen supplementing news releases and broadcasts and is emerging quickly as a full-blown corporate communications tool.

The trend's curve is pretty clear. First, technology catches on with the public. Then, businesses pick it up. A quick glance around today’s tech landscape leaves me thinking that another new tool is getting ready to move into the corporate space: Web-based video.