tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69931527371109536392024-03-05T04:23:48.551-06:00Next Communicationsconversations and communities: a look into communications, public relations, social media, and educationAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comBlogger241125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-85437376484798677312014-11-08T09:57:00.000-06:002014-11-08T09:57:08.663-06:00On PR, #PRSA and Professional Relationships<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="330" mozallowfullscreen="" msallowfullscreen="" oallowfullscreen="" src="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityhunter12/2700057387/player/" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe><br /></div>
When communication missteps occur, it's common to sit back, ridicule and say we're learning from the actions of others (read: case studies). But do you ever consider the individuals actually dealing with these challenges? Do you ever think about the professionals responsible for cleaning up PR messes? Real people constantly monitor public speech for misguided, incorrect or inflammatory statements. One always hopes for the best but must prepare senior leadership (and themselves) for the worst. <br />
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Among the reasons I remain a loyal PRSA member is the opportunity to foster professional relationships. Some call this networking, but it goes deeper. Being connected to other professionals who have gone through similar communication challenges creates shared experience, understanding and encouragement. Can this be done outside of PRSA or any other professional organization? Of course it can. But in my experience, working alongside dedicated volunteers is the perfect way to ripen relationships.</div>
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People matter. Their stories matter. Yes, you can <b>learn from the mistakes of others</b>, but you can also <b>learn from teaching and encouraging friends</b>. My hope this year in PRSA is that not only have we provided quality programming to help with members' professional development and award-worthy work, but also provided moments for relationships.<br />
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And we're not finished. Just like people, <a href="http://fortworthprsa.org/">Greater Fort Worth Chapter of PRSA</a> is a work in progress. I encourage each member to look for ways to plug in to the chapter through volunteerism and, more importantly, to lean in, talk and listen to one another.<br />
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<i>(Photo credit:<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cityhunter12/2700057387/in/photostream/" target="_blank"> cityhunter12</a> on Flickr Creative Commons)</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-74148406644264644032014-09-25T23:29:00.003-05:002014-09-25T23:29:35.181-05:00From School PR to Plan 'B'<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dr/2496863559" title="B by David R., on Flickr"><img alt="B" height="334" src="https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3181/2496863559_51735f0a0f.jpg" width="500" /></a>
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I've left school PR.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Sharing some personal news: After 13 yrs in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/schoolPR?src=hash">#schoolPR</a>, I've accepted a position <a href="https://twitter.com/balcomagency">@balcomagency</a>. (Sad to leave exceptional <a href="https://twitter.com/mansfieldisd">@mansfieldisd</a> team)<br />
— Richie Escovedo (@vedo) <a href="https://twitter.com/vedo/status/510120092831461376">September 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
I can now call myself a former education communication professional. It was time for a change. I found myself at a crossroads of sorts in my career. It felt like I either needed take a deeper dive into PR and public education or seriously explore other opportunities.<br />
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I chose the latter.<br />
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To be clear, I've loved my 13 years (including the last eight in a public school district) in school PR. I've worked with a truly remarkable team and I will miss working alongside those dedicated professionals with a heart for education and communication innovation, and a relentless pursuit for what's next.<br />
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It was time to see what's next for me.<br />
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After a while in school PR one starts to get the hang of things. The school years seem to come and go. While each year is distinctive, you pretty much much know how it'll end up. The trip may be a little chaotic, but you already know the general destination. It's good, some years, really good, but it's also a little predictable.<br />
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So what changed?<br />
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Me. I think I changed. I look back over the last several months and certain things strike me as being signs of things to come. I didn't notice them at the time, but looking back I believe things shifted. It's telling to me that it's been quite some time since I've sat down to write a post. It's hard to say if that's because I got lazy, busy, bored, or a combination of the three.<br />
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<b>On to plan 'B'</b><br />
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I'm heading to <a href="http://www.balcomagency.com/" target="_blank">Balcom Agency</a> next week (get it, plan 'B'). It was time to stop letting my comfort zone be a barrier for me from fully exploring my career growth. I don't yet know how it will go, but I've received some excellent feedback and support on what others see in me and what I have to offer. Having never worked in an agency setting before, I'm anxious to see how the process works with clients. But I'm loking forward to the new challenge. In fact, I think <a href="http://youtu.be/skE47_6kZZM?t=22s" target="_blank">it'll B great</a>.<br />
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It's too soon to determine what, if anything, will change about this blog other than perhaps less of a focus on PR in an education setting. If possible, I hope to come back from time to time to write as much for my sanity as it is for others' professional learning.<br />
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Thanks for reading and I hope you stick around for what's next.<br />
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<i>Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/dr/2496863559/" target="_blank">dr via Flickr Creative Commons</a></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-79596887512399029842014-06-04T23:01:00.002-05:002014-06-04T23:01:49.820-05:00Dig deeper when you know the story is close #schoolPR #mediarelations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Where did May go?! Another school year is coming to a close. I've been in school PR for 13 years now (lucky 13!) and as does most Mays in education, the month just goes. Quickly. We had some challenges and some great bright spots. One such bright spot came in the middle of the month and brought with it an important media relations lesson: <b>If you know a story worth telling is buried in obscure information, dig deeper and find your pitch.</b><br /><br />
<h3>
The Inquiry</h3>
The email was simple. I received a quick message from one of our American Sign Language (ASL) teachers that read as follows:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;">"Our ASL classes are having Deaf visitors on campus to speak with the students. I was wanting to contact the new stations and see if they would be interested in doing a story about our involvement with the Deaf community. I understand I’m to run this by you first. Is there anything specific for me to do on my end? I was planning to send out an email today."</span></blockquote>
First off, I was happy the teacher contacted me before attempting to email media outlets. That tells me the media relations procedures are being followed. That aside, this sounded like the beginning of human interest story. Maybe.<br />
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<h3>
Wanted: Context and Details</h3>
There wasn't yet enough to make it newsworthy. The teacher had not shared the basics like when, where, and why to go along with a brief who and what. <b>Without relevant details, a story stalls.</b> The bit of info that stood out to me was the teacher's use of the phrase "speak with the students" along with sign language students. I completely admitted my ignorance to the teacher about ASL and the deaf community. So the teacher and I spent a few back-and-forth emails to <b>get to the all important <u>why</u> to go along with the <u>what</u></b>. We also established the best times for photos/video as well as possible student and staff interviews. By digging deeper, our pitch was definitely starting to take shape.<br />
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<h3>
The Pitch</h3>
After working with the teacher, we came up with what turned out to be a pretty solid media pitch:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;"><b>Mansfield ISD American Sign Language students listen with their eyes and speak with their hands</b><i>Deaf community visitors join ASL students in showcase of sign language learning and experiences Friday, May 23</i> </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;"><b>WHAT:</b> Several members of the deaf community will visit the Ben Barber Career and Technology Academy in order to interact with American Sign Language students of various levels. This will give new and seasoned signers an opportunity to use their signing skills in a deaf-friendly environment. The students will showcase art work that contains aspects familiar to the deaf experience as well as give literary performances. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;"><b>WHY:</b> The Mansfield ISD ASL program provides sign language learning opportunities for over 160 students. Members of the deaf community were invited to participate and share in a learning opportunity for students. </span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #666666;"><b>VISUALS:</b> All ASL teachers and students will be available for media interviews along with the visitors at any time during or between classes.</span></blockquote>
(We also included the visitors names and titles, location of the campus, and best time for interviews.)<br />
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<h3>
The Coverage</h3>
Thankfully, the event took place on a Friday and thus helped since this was going to be a softer news pitch. Here's the story: <a href="http://www.nbcdfw.com/video/#!/news/local/Mansfield-Students-Learn-What-Its-Like-to-be-Deaf/260471291" target="_blank">Mansfield Students Learn What It's Like to be Deaf</a><br />
<script charset="UTF-8" src="http://www.nbcdfw.com/portableplayer/?cmsID=260471291&videoID=6N0w_wJc1Gn7&origin=nbcdfw.com&sec=video&subsec=&width=600&height=360" type="text/javascript"></script><br />
<i>Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/holy/10675342/" target="_blank">holy</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-34411031786589198942014-04-08T18:40:00.004-05:002014-04-08T18:40:55.594-05:00On Working Together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSrq2Am-wc_WhGbL4frSf_PQrQcIA9ph3pijSYn99KyWlaoiqb_ieAvsfN2YyNGARAtNhyGyD1E1NeCZ5SiM7HUISlPIdNaAgeEUJL5iplmxKYUtFSD7pDmbwFxAc2DQRR98JHHhyjPs/s1600/Untitled+presentation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglSrq2Am-wc_WhGbL4frSf_PQrQcIA9ph3pijSYn99KyWlaoiqb_ieAvsfN2YyNGARAtNhyGyD1E1NeCZ5SiM7HUISlPIdNaAgeEUJL5iplmxKYUtFSD7pDmbwFxAc2DQRR98JHHhyjPs/s1600/Untitled+presentation.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></div>
Our <a href="http://fortworthprsa.org/">PRSA chapter</a> recently held a joint program with our friends at <a href="http://aaffortworth.com/">AAF Fort Worth</a> and <a href="http://smcfw.org/">Social Media Club Fort Worth</a> to host author/speaker <a href="http://jackiehuba.com/">Jackie Huba</a> for a fun evening at Four Day Weekend Theater. This night on the town took well over four months to coordinate, as the organizations' presidents met and e-mailed each other to work out details.<br /><br />The groups share a few members, and we all recognized an opportunity to join forces on the March 27 event to meet our common desire to provide quality programming. We had a great time, too, as you can see by the photos on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.732066153493725">Facebook page</a>.<br /><br />One day before, March 26, the <i>Ft. Worth Star-Telegram</i> and WFAA-TV announced their own partnership. A content sharing <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2014/03/26/5683756/star-telegram-wfaa-announce-content.html">partnership</a>. <div>
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<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; margin: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
"The news executives said their companies will share a wide range of content, including breaking news, sports, business, traffic, weather, dining and entertainment from all over North Texas. They also expect their staffs to work together occasionally on joint projects."</blockquote>
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Both of these partnerships, our three organizations and the two local news outlets, caught some people by surprise. They took planning. They took not being afraid to fail. Hopefully when we look back, they will have provided positive outcomes. But if it was a fail, let us fail forward with intelligence gained.<br /><br />My point is, I believe we are stronger together than we are separate. <b>Unlikely mass communication compatriots can (should?) occasionally work together for the greater good.</b> It might be one of the things that keeps us all afloat.</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxgbc8rYFHneHnxEVCRdiXMRBgl6j8TF_g9KLIhfGGns9gTJSfOLploLZpTkgz00K7ggW0K-E-GaHcEV0GLlPriHgVXVLfxgMSzB0YGEYcCD8ZIpz7Gsw5ervEXYFFRCneF89jUUpb5o/s1600/998962_732067383493602_1961373348_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJxgbc8rYFHneHnxEVCRdiXMRBgl6j8TF_g9KLIhfGGns9gTJSfOLploLZpTkgz00K7ggW0K-E-GaHcEV0GLlPriHgVXVLfxgMSzB0YGEYcCD8ZIpz7Gsw5ervEXYFFRCneF89jUUpb5o/s1600/998962_732067383493602_1961373348_n.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">Corey Lark (SMCFW president), Jackie Huba, Rene Murphy (AAF FW president), and me.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<i>A version of this post appeared as my President's Column in the <a href="http://www.spjfw.org/ec1015/p1apr14.html">eChaser newsletter</a>.</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-10388356962942935742014-02-20T09:00:00.000-06:002014-02-20T09:00:00.799-06:00RPIE for the #schoolPR Pro: Communication Plan Checklist #tspra14School public relations programs have a much greater chance of success with proactive, strategic planning that incudes measurabIe objectives set forth by research and evaluated. The following is the <a href="http://bit.ly/RPIEschoolPR">RPIE for the School PR Pro checklist</a> I created to share with other school public relations pros to guide them through the 4-step process -- Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. <br />
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<a href="http://bit.ly/RPIEschoolPR" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7SclfFqidtS1xcLERbOGIelKW5NdVlNG83Gx-cl4YmqJre3-Jkon1Ldsp9K6Ax-lQ5X2oWJfhQl0M62P9VdKMsEilHZZcIGgY-GewWd5W9A1YNeqgJUH5TreFtWI8yC7iKMh_eX3Kd3E/s1600/RPIEschoolPR.png" /></a></div>
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This checklist was first prepared and shared at the 2014 Texas School Public Relations Association conference during the roundtables session.</div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-3492799801632459372014-02-05T22:02:00.000-06:002014-02-05T22:02:45.354-06:00Stuck between a shock and a tarred place<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1016/1110715241_4e0ce58894_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://farm2.staticflickr.com/1016/1110715241_4e0ce58894_b.jpg" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I first considered writing another column about the solid program we have for members and guests at the next luncheon. But that seemed like fluff when put up against a local, sensitive topic, the discussion of which substantially advances the PR profession and professional.</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>Sometimes working in PR and strategic communications sucks.</b> That's where I believe the leadership and communications teams at JPS Health Network found themselves over the last few months. The situation of a patient and family leading up to <a href="http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2014/01/24/jps-hospital-ordered-to-take-pregnant-brain-dead-woman-off-life-support/">a judge's ruling</a> and <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/fort-worth-hospital-will-end-life-support-for-marlise-munoz-242083601.html">follow-through on the order</a> is unbelievably sad. To be clear, I have no interest mulling in print the thorny sociopolitical issues of this episode because it is so emotionally charged. Instead I would point to the well-presented and effective updates JPS <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/health/fort-worth-hospital-will-end-life-support-for-marlise-munoz-242083601.html#statement">released to the media</a>.</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>JPS was stuck between a shock and a tarred place.</b> No outcome was pleasant. Whether you're an in-house PR pro or hired consultant, in health care or nonprofit, a corporate communicator in education or in any part of the vast PR realm, <b>at times things will go wrong</b>. And the pain, the hurt, the confusion can last months.</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><b>Communication professionals provide strategic value</b> to an organization in situations like these by being the voice of reason, conscience or even dissent to help leadership through the thicket. At such moments I appreciate the colleagues I know through PRSA who can help me strengthen an idea, clarify some wording, or just be a friendly ear. It’s great to know I’m not alone.</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">I tip my hat to the JPS Health Network communications and community affairs team. </span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">You do good work.</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;">Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brookenovak/1110715241/">brookenovak</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</span></div>
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<span class="text23" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><i>The content for this post first appeared in the <a href="http://spjfw.org/ec1015/p3feb14.html">February eChaser newsletter</a> as the my submission for the monthly President's Column. The eChaser is a joint digital newsletter for the Greater Ft. Worth Chapter of PRSA, SPJ of Ft. Worth, and IABC Ft. Worth.</i></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-49675123086692891612014-01-12T09:38:00.000-06:002014-01-12T09:38:20.106-06:00Children, it's ok to be in PR. Just be ethical.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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When things go wrong in politics, things tend to go right for the media. Political corruption lead stories and exposés (local and national) can be the stuff on which journalism careers are made.<br />
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Because of this duality, it's no surprise that a well-respected (and well-followed) journalism academic and commentator, <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis">Jeff Jarvis</a>, would chime in on the recent #bridgegate scandel in New Jersey. Quick recap: NJ Gov. Chris Christie fired a deputy chief of staff as part of some fallout over what apparently was a politically motivated George Washington Bridge toll booth and lane closure issue.<br />
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On Friday evening, Jarvis was tweeting screen captures from <a href="http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/local&id=9388529">released government staff emails</a> involving <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis/status/421833764218490880">early reporting</a> and a <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis/status/421836422123769857">Wall Street Journal inquiry</a> into Fort Lee toll booth topic that lead to "<a href="https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis/status/421835398289948674">stonewalling</a>." Most of his commentary was about what one would expect from a journalism associate professor.<br />
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However, one of his tweets raised the hairs on the back of my neck when he wrote: "Children, this is why you don't want to be a flack for a living."<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en">
Children, this is why you don't want to be a flack for a living. <a href="http://t.co/nmaIVQWYJ1">pic.twitter.com/nmaIVQWYJ1</a><br />
— Jeff Jarvis (@jeffjarvis) <a href="https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis/statuses/421835634446057472">January 11, 2014</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
Well thanks, Jeff. </sarcasm><br />
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Let's just go ahead and paint the PR profession with the same damaging brushstroke because some political staffers (perhaps with questionable ethics) wrote some internal emails trying to figure out their next steps. Of course they <b>should know by now that electronic communication within government agencies falls under FOIA rules and tend to eventually see the light of day.</b> Duh.<br />
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What bugged me is that Jarvis picked this episode to flippantly dismiss thoughts by students of going into public relations, strategic communications or really any career in which one might be referred to as a "flack" for an organization. To be clear, I do not believe for a second that his remark will be the deciding factor for a student exploring the field of mass communications to scoff at PR. To me, it's just sad (infuriating?) reminder that our profession gets a bum rap. <br />
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<b>It's up to us as PR professionals to practice strategic communications in an ethical manner.</b> We should be among the chorus of calls for transparency, honesty, and open communication. I'll leave you with the charge given to us from the <a href="http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/ethics/#.UtKt7YuzKpg">PRSA Code of Ethics</a>. The Code advises PR professionals to:<br />
<ul>
<li>Protect and advance the free flow of accurate and truthful information.</li>
<li>Foster informed decision making through open communication.</li>
<li>Protect confidential and private information.</li>
<li>Promote healthy and fair competition among professionals.</li>
<li>Avoid conflicts of interest.</li>
<li>Work to strengthen the public’s trust in the profession.</li>
</ul>
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Perhaps even academics like Jeff Jarvis can appreciate their future <i>hacks</i> working with ethical <i>flacks</i>. (tongue-firmly-in-cheek!) Or at the very least, I hope he understands that <b>ethical PR pros actually do exist</b>.<br />
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Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/tracylee/3737376/">tracylee</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-19679332861495680402013-10-18T00:12:00.001-05:002013-10-18T00:12:58.334-05:00Agenda-setting theory: helped or hindered by social media?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/3/2497564_a59b4bf66f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/3/2497564_a59b4bf66f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I frequently read the editorials and columns in the opinion section of my hometown <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/">newspaper</a>. I like their digital subscription option these days since the print version mostly ended up in the recycling bin unless I needed to wrap something breakable. But that's a different story. I like catching up on what those veteran newspaper journalists have to say in and about this city.<br /><br />Recently, Jim Witt, executive editor, included an intriguing <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/10/15/5249681/former-star-telegram-features.html">bit of insight into working in the media</a> in a piece about a former colleague who left the newspaper business. <div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“When you work at a newspaper, you get to be around a lot of smart people every day. You get to be “in the know” about almost everything going on, and — until Facebook and Twitter — you decide what the public knows. You can do things that help the community by pointing out problems and offering solutions.”</blockquote>
Did you catch it? He's alluding to a disruption to agenda-setting theory by a couple of social media tools. Agenda-setting theory describes the "ability [of the news media] to influence the salience of topics on the public agenda."<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">1</span> </div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“In other words, the media shape top-of-mind presence regarding issues. The typical news consumer focuses on a handful of topics daily, and these topics are presented to him or her, in one form or another, by the media. With the next news cycle, a topic from the day before may disappear, and so does its importance among news consumers.” <span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">2</span> </blockquote>
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Now, PR pros understand that we play an important function in this multi-directional process since journalists cannot possibly cover all of the possible angles, stories, or topics. It's our role to augment and advance the issues through media relations that impact the communities and organizations we represent. </div>
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But what about Facebook and Twitter? The behemoths of the social web. As the editor mentions, journalists used to have the market cornered on what the public knows. As masters of mass communication, media outlets laid out the news of the day. And then new media tools changed things. Over time, the eyeball economy has shifted to what some might describe as a democratized system of attention. </div>
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A local reporter told me recently their assignment editor had been coming down on all of the reporters about being more entrepreneurial with the development of stories. Translation: dig deeper into those Facebook messages and Twitter leads. Sources are just waiting to help tell a story. (This reporter was not thrilled at this concept but understood the expectation.)</div>
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I believe it's important for PR people to understand that this shift has taken place. We need to use this to frame our thinking for issues management since their are tools to help monitor some of these very same sources. We still need to follow the conversation, streamline access to the facts, truth and subject-matter experts as needed, so we ultimately position our organizations for success.</div>
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The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agenda-setting_theory">agenda-setting theory</a> is still spinning today, it just has a few (million) more spokes in the wheel.<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">1 McCombs, M; Reynolds, A (2002). "News influence on our pictures of the world". Media effects: Advances in theory and research.</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;">2 Study Guide for the Examination for Accreditation in Public Relations (Communication Models and Theories)</span></div>
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<i>Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/russmorris/2497564/in/photostream/">rustman</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-67322712809256540062013-09-12T21:18:00.000-05:002013-09-12T21:18:40.567-05:00Ft. Worth @StarTelegram requires Facebook for comments; good for discourse, bad for trolls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/139/321902708_0d240586ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/139/321902708_0d240586ed.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
In a move that I hope will send some of those online trolls to cower under their bridges away from the light, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram announced this week that they will now require users to log in to Facebook to use their commenting system.<br />
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In his announcement, S-T executive editor, <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/09/10/5150931/star-telegram-changing-method.html">Jim Witt explained </a>that the reason was pretty simple: "Facebook requires account holders to use their names, and we believe that anyone who wants to contribute to our public forums should put their name on it."<br />
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He then went on to bolster the argument for signed (in) online comments because of the difference in discourse between those that were anonymous vs those that come in with real names attached.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In signed letters for our print editions, writers make their points using reasoned and usually reasonable arguments. But online, comment threads too often devolve into a cesspool of name-calling. On some stories, we are forced to turn off the commenting feature because the language becomes too offensive. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"In talking to readers, I’ve found that many have been discouraged from commenting because they are turned off by the nastiness."</blockquote>
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<div>
I believe this is a smart move for my local paper and one that hopefully will raise the intelligence quotient a bit on stories that matter to communities across DFW covered in the paper. It seems to me the S-T recognizes that for at least the near future, Facebook doesn't appear to be going anywhere. And other media outlets use it as their commenting system of choice for some of the very same reasons as outlined in the S_t announcement. </div>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
I get this 100% RT <a href="https://twitter.com/MonicaNagyFWST">@MonicaNagyFWST</a>: Why <a href="https://twitter.com/startelegram">@startelegram</a> wants you to use Facebook. <a href="http://t.co/OMACdyaOsJ">http://t.co/OMACdyaOsJ</a><br />
— Torrey McGraw (@torreymcgraw) <a href="https://twitter.com/torreymcgraw/statuses/378283621339000833">September 12, 2013</a></blockquote>
<b>Why is this important for PR?</b> Since a function of PR includes media relations, it's part of our job to know how the stories are getting developed, sourced and told. We should also know to whom we connect a journalist in order to provide the trusted source they need. (Hint: it's often <b>not</b> the PR person.) We've seen that a growing number of journalists are finding and using sources from social channels.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"...51 per cent of journalists worldwide say they use microblogs (e.g. Twitter, Facebook and Weibo) to gather new stories – provided the source behind those accounts is known and trusted by them (2012 figure, 54 per cent). As was the case in 2012, reliance on these sources falls dramatically when the sources are not known to the journalist: 25 per cent say they source stories in this way." [<a href="http://www.oriellaprnetwork.com/sites/default/files/research/Brands2Life_ODJS_v4.pdf">Oriella PR Network Global Digital Journalism Study 2013</a>]</blockquote>
The study also indicates that in certain respects, a journalist's success on stories now <a href="http://www.oriellaprnetwork.com/sites/default/files/research/FINAL-GRAPHIC4%5B1%5D.pdf">tends to be measured in</a> the number of unique visits, number of views, increase in social followers, likes/tweets on articles, and number of online comments along with advertising revenue and exclusive features.<br />
<br />
I hope our journalist friends over at the Star-Telegram will take this shift to Facebook commenting as an opportunity to engage in what could be ongoing dialogue on the important issues in the community. It is not out of the realm of possibility to have a trusted source from within the organization chime in through article comments (if it's in the best interest of the organization s/he is representing) to provide clarifications, corrections, or contextual additions. This might give pause to some especially for those who don't like to mix work life with home/community life. I believe we've reached the point that our online professional and personal selves are blends now and we should treat online communication as such.<br />
<br />
<b>TL;DR</b><br />
The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram now requires Facebook for article comments. It's a good thing and online trolls beware.<br />
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<br />
<i>Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/34585748@N00/321902708/">Doug Wildman</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-72342855147748905332013-09-02T09:02:00.001-05:002013-09-02T09:02:32.621-05:00Public Relations Roles of the #schoolPR Pro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3262/2746196990_0674a6325f.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="348" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3262/2746196990_0674a6325f.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
I consider myself a life-long learner and as such I'm (still) in the process of studying to take the APR exam and preparing my materials for the readiness review in order to be an accredited PR professional.<br />
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This is not a post arguing for/against APR credential. Rather, it's based on reading the PR Roles and Responsibilities portion of the study materials that happened to coincide with the first week of a new school year.<br />
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I've been in school public relations since 2001 and each year look forward to new challenges and opportunities to improve or expand communication between my organization and its stakeholders (or publics). This year, I thought it would be good to share what it is we do in school PR.</div>
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The following definitions are based on a list found in the <a href="http://www.praccreditation.org/documents/aprstudyguide.pdf">APR Study Guide</a> which I think is a valuable tool even if you are not considering the APR.<br />
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<b>Public Relations: A Management Function</b></div>
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<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #990000;">School Public Relations is the management function that establishes and maintains mutually beneficial relationships between a school district/educational institution and the publics on which its success or failure depends. (adapted - Broom, 2009, <i>Effective Public Relations</i>)</span></blockquote>
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<b>Advertising:</b> (paid content) Information placed in the media. It is a controlled method of placing messages in the media. It is useful as part of large campaigns that require detailed explanations such as bond/levies, technology, new/expanded programs, etc.</div>
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<b>Brand/Branding:</b> A product, service or concept that is publicly distinguished from other products, services or concepts so that it can be easily communicated and usually marketed. A <a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2009/08/school-districts-sell-trust.html">school district sells trust</a> and as such its branding must reflect ways in which it's distinguished from others.</div>
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<b>Community relations:</b> An area of school public relations with responsibilities for building relationships with constituent publics such as faith-based organizations, charities, clubs and activist interests of the neighborhoods or metropolitan areas(s) where a school district. Dealing and communicating with citizens and groups within district boundaries is typically the responsibility of the school PR team. </div>
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<b>Controlled communication channels:</b> Self-sponsored communication channels, media and tools that are under direct control of the sender. Examples include paid advertising, newsletters, brochures, some types of e-mails, organizational websites and blogs, leaflets, organizational broadcasts and podcasts, intranets, teleconferences and videoconferences, meetings, speeches, position papers, and all other channels and communication products under organizational control. In short, <a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/07/media-shmedia-be-your-own-newsroom.html">be your own newsroom</a>.<br />
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<b>Counseling:</b> Advising management concerning policies, relations and communications. Senior-level school PR practitioners should be among the rest of executive-level team in direct communication with the superintendent. In an advisory role, the school PR person often needs to <a href="http://draft.blogger.com/"><span id="goog_2123718626"></span>act as organizational conscience<span id="goog_2123718627"></span></a>. </div>
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<b>Crisis communication:</b> Protects and defends a school district facing a public challenge to its reputation. These challenges can involve legal, ethical or financial standing. There are many potential issues that can flare up into full-blown crises. The school PR pro must be attuned to various facets or the organization in order to be aware of issues. </div>
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<b>Employee relations:</b> Activities designed to build sound relationships between a school district and its employees, and a critical element in fostering positive attitudes and behavior of employees as ambassadors for the organization. The school PR person should be aligned with the HR team so that existing or new programs or topics are well-communicated with staff.<br />
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<b>Financial relations:</b> An aspect of school public relations responsible for being well-versed in the business of school districts. How education is funded from local, state, national perspectives and being able to explain it (or know who in the organization that can) in order to communicate finance topics.<br />
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<b>Government relations:</b> An aspect of relationship-building between a school district and other government agencies at local, state, and/or national levels, especially involving flow of information to and from legislative and regulatory bodies in an effort to influence public policy decisions compatible with the local school district's interests. Understanding legislative priorities is an important role for school PR.<br />
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<b>Issues management:</b> The proactive process of anticipating, identifying, evaluating and responding to public policy issues that affect school districts and their publics now and in the future. This is an important role for school PR for those that can accurate anticipate and analyze problems before they flare up.<br />
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<b>Marketing:</b> The management function that identifies human needs and wants, offers products and services to satisfy those demands, and causes transactions that deliver products and services in exchange for something of value to the provider. Targets customers.<br />
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<b>Marketing communications:</b> A combination of activities designed to sell a product, service or idea, including advertising, collateral materials, interactive communications, publicity, promotion, direct mail, trade shows and special events. <br />
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<b>Media relations:</b> Among strategic communication functions for the school district, the school PR pro coordinates the exchange of information with media outlets and the general public. This position maintains a dynamic newsroom and media lists as well as various information channels though which news releases and stories are posted and distributed. These enable media outlets and school district community members to keep up with what's happening in the school district.<br />
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<b>Multicultural relations/workplace diversity:</b> Relating with people in various cultural groups. Understanding multicultural and workplace diversity continues to increase in importance. Diversity in the workplace continues to provide challenges and opportunities to public relations practitioners and other managers impacting messaging, perceptions of ideas, and services. These considerations may include issues of household composition, ages, gender, ethnic and religious backgrounds, language, technology fluency, health status or disabilities. <br />
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<b>Press agentry:</b> Creating newsworthy stories and events to attract media attention and gain public notice. <br />
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<b>Proactive public relations:</b> Taking the initiative to develop and apply public relations plans to achieve measurable results toward set goals and objectives. <br />
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<b>Promotion:</b> Activities designed to win publicity or attention, especially the staging of special events to generate media coverage. Special activities designed to create and stimulate interest.<br />
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<b>Public affairs:</b> A specialized area of public relations that builds and maintains mutually beneficial governmental and local community relations. Also applies to the military and governmental agencies due to the <a href="http://www.nku.edu/~turney/prclass/readings/government.html">1913 Gillett Amendment</a>. <br />
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<b>Public information:</b> Representation of a point of view in collected forms such as facts, news, messages, pictures or data; the process of disseminating such information to publics usually through the mass media; a designation describing persons charged with the task of such dissemination usually on behalf of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, colleges or universities. School PR pros are typically the public information officers for school districts. [Texas: <a href="https://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/pia/piasign.pdf">Rights of Requestors and Agency Responsibilities under the Public Information Act</a>]<br />
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<b>Publicity:</b> Information from an outside source that is used by the media because it has news value. It is an <br />
uncontrolled method of placing messages because the source does not pay the media for placement. <br />
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<b>Reactive public relations:</b> Response to crises and putting out fires defensively rather than initiating programs. There are varying degrees of reactive public relations with some situations requiring implementation of a school district’s crisis plan.<br />
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<b>Reputation Management:</b> Reputation management is an important function of school public relations, which is often cited in the context of crisis management. The increased use of the web and related social media has given added urgency to the practice of <a href="http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/social-media-monitoring/quick-n-dirty-social-media-monitoring-guide-intermediate-edition/">monitoring</a>, as the immediate and anonymous nature of the Internet increases the risk of communications that can damage a school or school district’s reputation. Online reputation management is a growing specialized segment of public relations. <br />
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<b>Special events:</b> Stimulating an interest in a person, product or organization by means of a focused “happening.” Activities designed to interact with publics and listen to them. <br />
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<b>Uncontrolled communications channels:</b> Uncontrolled communications channels refer to the media that are not under direct control of the company, organization or sender of messages. These include newspapers and magazines, radio and television, external websites, externally produced blogs and social media commentary, and externally produced news stories. </div>
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Related posts:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2012/09/5-reasons-to-make-your-in-house.html">5 Reasons to Make Your In-house Editorial Calendar</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/10/matte-releases-pr-branded-content-for.html">Matte Releases: PR Branded Content for the Newbie</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2012/04/pr-roles-explained-through-baseball.html">PR Roles explained through Baseball Positions</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-crisis-communication-theory-meets.html">How crisis communication theory meets crisis communication reality</a></li>
<li><a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2011/03/5-tips-to-keep-your-school-pr-job-tim.html">5 Tips to keep your School PR job</a></li>
</ul>
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Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/ashleighozment/2746196990/">ashleighozment</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-62056441738122400502013-08-02T12:22:00.001-05:002013-08-02T12:22:44.785-05:00Burrito that cried wolf and smelly sockpuppetry: Lessons in #PRethics<div class="tr_bq">
If you are intentionally deceptive with your communications, you're doing it wrong. Two recent cases of fake identities and deceptive misrepresentation should give pause to PR pros from using these types of unethical tactics that harm the profession:<br />
<br /></div>
<h3>
#1 The Case of Burrito that cried wolf</h3>
According to <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/07/21/chipotle-twitter/">Mashable</a>, the Chipotle brand looked like its @ChipotleTweets account had be hacked due to a "series of confusing and seemingly random tweets over the course of an hour." In a <a href="http://mashable.com/2013/07/24/chipotle-faked-twitter-hack/">Mashable follow-up post</a>, the company admitted through a spokesperson that it <b>faked having its account hacked as part of a publicity stunt</b> tied to its 20th anniversary promotional campaign. <i>(Wait, what!?)</i><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"'We thought that people would pay attention, that it would cut through people's attention and make them talk, and it did that,' Chris Arnold, a Chipotle representative, told Mashable in an interview. 'It was definitely thought out: We didn't want it to be harmful or hateful or controversial.'"</blockquote>
While not getting into a content marketing/advertising debate on whether or not brands should/should not lie to generate buzz, customers, etc. I'll just go with this is wrong and it <b>fails the ethics smell test</b>.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Sorry all. We had a little problem with our account. But everything is back on track now! - Joe<br />
— Chipotle (@ChipotleTweets) <a href="https://twitter.com/ChipotleTweets/statuses/359008625051709440">July 21, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>Nope, there was never "a little problem" with their account. They knew exactly what was going on, and that's the troubling part.<br />
<br />
I sincerely hope a public relations professional was not in the vicinity of this final decision by Chipotle. A good PR pro worth her/his salt would <b>advise against an online misrepresentation tactic because it makes the brand look ethically-challenged</b>.<br />
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Related:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.21ct.com/blog/why-the-chipotle-twitter-hack-puts-us-all-in-more-danger/">Why The Chipotle Twitter "Hack" Puts Us All In More Danger</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/chipotle-fakes-twitter-hack-for-20th-anniversary-publicity-stunt_b68623">Chipotle Fakes Twitter Hack for 20th Anniversary Publicity Stunt</a></li>
</ul>
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Speaking of failing the ethics smell test...<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4125/4990902139_8150afa2de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4125/4990902139_8150afa2de.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<h3>
#2 The Case of the smelly Sockpuppet</h3>
A former well-known Dallas/Ft. Worth TV news anchor turned communications consultant was recently outed for work "as a consultant for Dallas police-fire pension lawyers, used online aliases to attack opponents and promote pension officials" as well as a downtown Dallas luxury residential high-rise. Repeat after me: c<b>reating and using fake social media profiles for the purposes of misrepresentation and obfuscation is wrong, wrong, dirty and wrong</b>.<br />
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Thanks to the <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/news/metro/20130727-fake-social-media-profiles-part-of-dallas-pension-funds-public-relations-fight-with-nasher.ece"><i>Dallas Morning News</i> for investigating this</a> sockpuppetry and special thanks to <i>F<a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/30/5042902/for-mike-sockpuppet-snyder-a-lesson.html">ort Worth Star-Telegram</a></i><a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/07/30/5042902/for-mike-sockpuppet-snyder-a-lesson.html"> columnist, Bud Kennedy</a> for shedding light on this from a communications professional perspective referrencing the PRSA Code of Ethics.<br />
<blockquote>
Communications professionals call it other names. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
“The use of deceptive identities … constitutes improper conduct” under the ethics code of the New York-based Public Relations Society of America, the leading professional organization. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
A word is underlined for emphasis: Professionals “should not engage in … anonymous Internet postings.”</blockquote>
Thanks, Bud.<br />
###<br />
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<h3>
A "special obligation to operate ethically"</h3>
PRSA affirms its <a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/">commitment to ethical practices</a>, stating that “the level of public trust PRSA members seek, as we serve the public good, means we have taken on a special obligation to operate ethically.” Members are called to “serve the public interest by acting as responsible advocates for those we represent” and “provide a voice in the marketplace of ideas, facts, and viewpoints to aid informed public debate.”<br />
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But haven't the rules changed a bit because of social media, culture, and online activities? The short answer for PR pros: No! <b>The ethical values of advocacy, honesty, expertise, independence loyalty and fairness are still true today for professional communicators.</b><br />
<br />
In 2008, PRSA issued among its <a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/ProfessionalStandardsAdvisories/">advisories</a> one that <a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/ProfessionalStandardsAdvisories/Documents/PSA-08.pdf">directly addresses the question of deceptive online practices and the misrepresentation of organizations and individuals</a> and includes the following statement:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The use of deceptive identities or misleading descriptions of goals, causes, tactics, sponsors or participants to further the objectives of any group constitutes improper conduct under the PRSA Member Code of Ethics and should be avoided. PRSA members should not engage in or encourage the practice of misrepresenting organizations and individuals through the use of blogs, viral marketing, social media and/or <u>anonymous </u>Internet postings.</blockquote>
<i>Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/darrenkw/4990902139/in/photostream/">darrenkw</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-2546279472596305262013-07-20T13:12:00.004-05:002013-07-20T13:12:54.204-05:00In defense of (and clarifying) #schoolPRSome people really don't get school public relations (or even PR in general). Repeat after me, <b>public relations is greater than media relations</b>. It's even worse when someone has worked in the field and still doesn't get it.<br />
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Public has no clue what school PR pros do. "New York Taxpayers Foot the Bill for <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SchoolPR&src=hash">#SchoolPR</a> Services" <a href="http://t.co/gvGrqHgYTQ">http://t.co/gvGrqHgYTQ</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23edchat&src=hash">#edchat</a><br />
— delainanicole (@delainanicole) <a href="https://twitter.com/delainanicole/statuses/349529963524923395">June 25, 2013</a></blockquote>
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Thanks to <a href="https://twitter.com/delainanicole/status/349529963524923395">Delaina Biernstein</a> for sharing an article that perpetuates a silly mischaracterization and miscalculation of what is/is not school PR. In the Yahoo! Contributor Network article, "<a href="http://news.yahoo.com/york-taxpayers-foot-bill-school-public-relations-services-165400543.html">New York Taxpayers Foot the Bill for School Public Relations Services</a>," the writer suggests:<br />
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School public relations specialists are essentially hired to spread the word about the good things being done by students, <b>with the hope that getting the information out into the media</b> will help districts get their budgets passed.</blockquote>
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These specialists do photography at student recognition nights at school board meetings, write press releases on the latest district news, and assist with school publications. </blockquote>
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They prepare newsletters, flyers, posters, brochures, and articles for district websites. Additionally, school public relations specialists attend major district functions, such as board of education meetings, homecoming, and graduations, to compile stories and photos <b>for dissemination to local media outlets</b>. <i>[emphasis added]</i></blockquote>
<h3>
<b>Tactics, tactics, tactics</b></h3>
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That brief description above is just a bunch of boring tactics. School PR is more than what this writer purports. I believe<b> school PR pros must approach the position from a strategic communication vision</b>. </div>
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The Texas Association of School Boards HR Services Division defines the Communications Officer [school PR] function as one that: </div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
“Manages and directs the dissemination of public information regarding the district. Coordinates the exchange of information with media outlets and the general public. Develops public relations programs and materials to promote a favorable image of the district and its activities.” [2012 Position Detail Report for Communication Officers]</blockquote>
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Did you catch that? Coordinates the exchange of information with media outlets <b>and the general public</b>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcV8KkB8VVruQ2zAVEVgHSfUPJR4d3bmyDfUwVgeBUAAJrdMeSKsG_fBctFSK9kV4qRZoHC2vSIC_Hams21DVaUy5AhfJc47aLAGBXLSVcKk7y0ImjtYiW01fBKfxy9VCmsX8a38dfvk/s1600/pr-mr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpcV8KkB8VVruQ2zAVEVgHSfUPJR4d3bmyDfUwVgeBUAAJrdMeSKsG_fBctFSK9kV4qRZoHC2vSIC_Hams21DVaUy5AhfJc47aLAGBXLSVcKk7y0ImjtYiW01fBKfxy9VCmsX8a38dfvk/s1600/pr-mr.jpg" /></a></div>
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To be fair, I'll cut that writer some slack since he claims to have three years of experience working in school public relations. My guess is he likely served in a tactics-driven specialist job and was never given the great professional opportunity to <a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2012/02/let-them-eat-rpie-communication.html">write PR plans using the RPIE process</a>. What he described is the implementation of some tactics that, whether he knows it or not, are from a strategic vision for a district. </div>
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It's also worth noting that in New York, as in other states, a school district's operating budget must be approved annually by vote. This no doubt adds an interesting (challenging) dimension for school communicators, but a strategic process is still in play.</div>
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Education leaders must keep school PR in and around their vision and strategy discussions if they hope to have any success in program or campaign implementations. The media may well be a key audience, but it's certainly not the only audience to consider.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-14019773782116503382013-06-02T08:40:00.001-05:002013-06-02T08:40:58.594-05:00Smart PR save from a high school yearbook mistakeHigh school yearbooks these days are massively creative homages to the school year. Yearbook editors are carefully selected and with the help of their staff piece together pages with the days in the lives of their peers. The vast majority of times yearbooks are published and distributed to classmates without problems. <b> </b><br />
<br />
<b>But</b> sometimes there are problems, <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/highschool-prep-rally/unfortunate-yearbook-typo-labels-little-league-photo-slugger-221507309.html">big problems</a>, <a href="http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/Irving-High-yearbooks-were-changed-at-the-school-no--209728111.html">media-attention problems</a>, problems having <a href="http://www.9news.com/news/article/336059/188/Teen-labeled-freak-in-high-school-yearbook">serious</a> <a href="http://www.isciencetimes.com/articles/5283/20130529/yearbook-prank-felony-kaitlyn-booth-arrested.htm">implications</a> for teens. <i>(Yikes.)</i><br />
<br />
So naturally <b>my heartbeat quickened when one of our high school's journalism/yearbook teachers called me last week asking if I had seen some of the negative reaction to their yearbook</b>. <i>(Uh oh.)</i><br />
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Their crime: misspelling our school district's website address on one of the first few pages. (<i>Whew!</i>)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyJZk9GU5BX9oFdAx25Uz1azcPXY-G9q-IYYvCCM7xPsWIkZrtTfGxCzRm4cqmUO0-G3lWVhuxwu1IE3Vr0PKTdthbNExp8cVhinwx_gxx0ksBAzXTTV1kkO_oy_EvvwULAgsTNUNoiw/s1600/LHSyearbook-typo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="96" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEyJZk9GU5BX9oFdAx25Uz1azcPXY-G9q-IYYvCCM7xPsWIkZrtTfGxCzRm4cqmUO0-G3lWVhuxwu1IE3Vr0PKTdthbNExp8cVhinwx_gxx0ksBAzXTTV1kkO_oy_EvvwULAgsTNUNoiw/s400/LHSyearbook-typo.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Yeah, that's supposed to read <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.mans<u>field</u>isd.org</span></span></span> instead of <span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">www.mans<u>filed</u>isd.org</span></span>. Oops. Thankfully, the typo really isn't that big of a deal. According to the teacher, the editors and staff started to see some students at their school and from the out high schools in the district making fun of the typo and posting on social media.<br />
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Instead of tucking tail and hiding their faces in shame, the yearbook editors, staff, and teacher took a more proactive and creative response and turning the joke on the detractors. <b>They bought the misspelled domain and set up a website to poke a little fun at themselves for the mistake</b>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqjW6QZz1iywgtlJvZMFQjOKkq17djY219JDMLYcaIy_nLTchJ3gnysZ5f96eu6llxtAUHrt8vzU-drGeyeDNKfQzb7EQIvrxCebTgw_oGHFLkTvGhsDDSZxqIEGhYKneZCZqV7Tk9Xs/s1600/LHSyearbook-typosite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBqjW6QZz1iywgtlJvZMFQjOKkq17djY219JDMLYcaIy_nLTchJ3gnysZ5f96eu6llxtAUHrt8vzU-drGeyeDNKfQzb7EQIvrxCebTgw_oGHFLkTvGhsDDSZxqIEGhYKneZCZqV7Tk9Xs/s640/LHSyearbook-typosite.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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From the '<a href="http://mansfiledisd.org/about-this-site/">About This Site</a>' page:</div>
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Hey Bronco Nation, we at the Arena and the Rider Online realized that
very often parents, teachers and even students misspell ‘Mansfield.’
Statistically, it’s bound to happen. In typing just those two sentences
we hit the backspace button twelve times. Now, normally we would just
suggest simply retyping the url and continuing on your way to <a href="http://mansfiledisd.org/about-this-site/www.mansfieldisd.org">mansfieldisd.org</a>,
but we came to the realization that there was an entire untapped market
of people who came to mansfiledisd.org and were very saddened and
confused when it led them to a giant 404 error. We felt this was a grave
injustice, and we dedicate this page to those poor, lost souls.
Welcome, friends, to Mansfiled ISD, home of the typographically
challenged.</div>
</blockquote>
In addition to funny bits about yearbook mistakes, Photoshop disasters, headline errors and Funny Sloth Video, they included a downloadable page to print and place in yearbooks with the corrected web address. This page printing or in some cases, printed stickers to cover up offending mistakes has become the norm since reprints can often cost in the tens of thousands of dollars for many schools.<br />
<br />
No harm, no foul.<br />
<br />
I think the yearbook sponsor and his students learned a good PR lesson: <b>How you react to mistakes determines your ability to recover and move on</b>.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-76492822783987952742013-04-30T15:28:00.000-05:002013-04-30T15:28:45.086-05:00First Follower Leadership and the Communications ProIn the last few months I've had various people share or present on the (now widely popular) video, <a href="http://youtu.be/fW8amMCVAJQ">First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy</a>. <div>
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It's a pretty simple, great video<a href="http://sivers.org/ff"> lesson on leadership from Derek Sivers</a>. If you haven't already, take three minutes and watch it:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/fW8amMCVAJQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<i>"...Being a first follower is an under-appreciated form of leadership. The first follower transforms a lone nut into a leader. If the leader is the flint, the first follower is the spark that makes the fire..."</i> [<a href="http://sivers.org/ff">full transcript</a>]</blockquote>
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So why is the first follower leadership lesson important for communication professionals? We have dual roles for movements within an organization: <b>Communicators should serve as (one of the) first followers or promoters of the first follower(s) for senior management.</b> From an internal communication perspective, the communication and public relations team should be on the front-line to help propel a movement for employees. We should <b>look for and share the bright spots</b> in programs and initiatives to fan the flames of positive progress so others can see the how and the why and importance of things.</div>
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Sivers sums it up nicely: </div>
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<i>"It was the first follower that transformed a lone nut into a leader. There is no movement without the first follower."</i></blockquote>
Are you a first follower?</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-48623956015972227792013-04-12T12:36:00.001-05:002013-04-12T12:36:58.713-05:00Scope media coverage before sending your news release<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Bus-Crash-in-Irving-bush-turnpike-sh-161-202519541.html" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhx06oo_Cp9cqeXo1O1CbrOFJfBQ2W50_4qMVHrMCxkq2Ga126HOyUTB6bjIZFIF5WYsxSoK3SMA_emZpr24M1FiV0f3oGLcfAMsngg6uZHtRZm4jA9i0W7PI58sqmi744S4ntjZzNs404/s320/dfwbusaccident.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Yesterday, a horrible bus accident occurred in Irving, TX on a major highway. A <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/04/11/4769446/2-killed-41-injured-as-bus-bound.html">private charter bus carrying seniors</a> to an Oklahoma casino veered across a busy DFW freeway and crashed. First responders, onlookers, and local media outlets quickly portrayed a chaotic scene for rescue of <a href="http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/04/11/people-trapped-in-overturned-bus-in-irving/">dozens injured</a> or trapped inside and unfortunately, recovery of two people who lost their lives.<br />
<br />
As the story developed, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/04/11/irving-texas-bus-crash_n_3061311.html">national</a> <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/12/bus-rolls-over-in-irving-texas-up-to-40-people-may-be-trapped/">news</a> coverage broke with local affiliate footage from the scene as well as area hospitals where trauma teams awaited the arriving ambulances. The media echoed the calls from first responders to alert area motorists to avoid that and nearby roads. Additionally, reports came in citing the clean record of the bus company. The investigation will continue, but for the most part, I think it was a solid example of textbook media coverage for area outlets. As residents in DFW, our hearts go out to the victims and their loved ones affected by the accident.<br />
<br />
<b>So what does this tragic accident have to do with public relations?</b> Yesterday was <b><i><u>not</u></i> </b>the day to send irrelevant news releases to local media. I was reminded of this as we had some district information to share in partnership with a local hospital on something pretty fun for elementary students. But...yesterday was not the day to send out our news release. It was not the time to bother with something lighthearted in comparison to the day's events on the roadway.<br />
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<i>The lesson:</i> PR pros must pay attention to what's happening in local media coverage before pushing send on news that will fall on deaf ears because of something much more important. Situational awareness is a valuable asset.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-78123178614486829602013-03-17T14:42:00.003-05:002013-03-17T14:42:38.747-05:00Get to know the PRSA Code of Ethics like the back of you hand<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVM2mLpnE2j1YFj-ai0wd61NtJsIBU13pKSfdmXCnV12T0aakC1hwex3QgBCveRYrxLvlAebVAVXLmL6uA7Xd6eqnP4HAq7qcjmYiN519q2j_ReIzPA89lhDgog7eww3h_pqt89U7ZF8/s1600/2013-03-14_15-13-08.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOVM2mLpnE2j1YFj-ai0wd61NtJsIBU13pKSfdmXCnV12T0aakC1hwex3QgBCveRYrxLvlAebVAVXLmL6uA7Xd6eqnP4HAq7qcjmYiN519q2j_ReIzPA89lhDgog7eww3h_pqt89U7ZF8/s320/2013-03-14_15-13-08.png" width="192" /></a></div>
Score one more for the value of the Public Relations Society of America. Last week, <a href="http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/2013/03/14/theres-an-app-for-that/" target="_blank">PRSA launched an app</a> for the <a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/index.html" target="_blank">Code of Ethics</a>.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>Oh no, public relations ethics. How boring.</i><br />
Wrong!<br />
<br />
<b>PR ethics is what separates the wheat from the chaff.</b> It separates those public relations professionals who are useful and valuable to an organization from those that are all but worthless.<br />
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<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.015625px;">The Public Relations Society of America (<a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/CodeEnglish/index.html" target="_blank">PRSA</a>) is committed to ethical practices. The level of public trust PRSA members seek, as we serve the public good, means we have taken on a special obligation to operate ethically...</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.015625px;">Each of us sets an example for each other - as well as other professionals - by our pursuit of excellence with powerful standards of performance, professionalism, and ethical conduct.</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.015625px;">...</span><span style="color: #333333; font-family: Tahoma, 'Bitstream Vera Sans', Geneva, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 16.015625px;">We believe our professional values are vital to the integrity of the profession as a whole.</span></blockquote>
Codes of ethics are not unique to PRSA, a quick search of a few other related communication organizations, <a href="http://www.nspra.org/code-ethics" target="_blank">National School Public Relations Association</a>, <a href="http://www.iabc.com/about/code.htm" target="_blank">International Association of Business Communicators</a> and the <a href="http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp">Society of Professional Journalists</a>, found well-crafted and robust ethics guidelines.<br />
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According to the announcement, the ethics app provides easy reference to PRSA’s Code and Statement of Professional Values and Code provisions. It also includes:<br />
<ul>
<li>PRSA <a href="http://prsay.prsa.org/">ethics-related blog posts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.prsa.org/AboutPRSA/Ethics/ProfessionalStandardsAdvisories/">Professional Standards Advisories</a> which offer timely guidance on emerging ethics issues such as illegal recordings, ethical use of interns, professional conflicts of interest, use of VNRs as a PR tool, etc.</li>
<li>Email access to members of PRSA’s Board of Ethics and Professional Standards</li>
<li>A short Ethics Quiz</li>
</ul>
The PRSA Ethics app is available for free for <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.prsa.android" target="_blank">Android devices on Google Play</a> and Apple iOS devices. Is this mobile ethics app a game-changer for the profession? Probably not. What it tells me is that the PRSA continues to find ways to provide resources to its membership for the benefit of the public relations profession.<br />
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Good work and thank you, PRSA.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-35421075188898513872013-03-15T09:25:00.002-05:002013-03-15T09:25:51.857-05:00We Choose Texas Public Schools<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvTJJ0Fw5QjLoHUOj8fU2iG58Zzdj_Pz-DZJiBuQiNHo_5ppf-_XlptOtzEGV74f7A_cPj8dk5O6QnfuYu2qG5XV-9RttIJM2b9zWMD-7ccK5MwmcZlxqmmaXunyRdKgXkvNta6DzwM8/s1600/857895_10200301346352027_1899647774_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWvTJJ0Fw5QjLoHUOj8fU2iG58Zzdj_Pz-DZJiBuQiNHo_5ppf-_XlptOtzEGV74f7A_cPj8dk5O6QnfuYu2qG5XV-9RttIJM2b9zWMD-7ccK5MwmcZlxqmmaXunyRdKgXkvNta6DzwM8/s400/857895_10200301346352027_1899647774_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Over the last decade, it seems numerous groups have thankfully formed to advocate for public school districts across Texas. While these groups have strong commitments to public education, each has its own vision, mission, and objectives, often leaving school districts, parents, employees and public school supporters without a simple unifying message or call to action. My hope is for more people to stand up and say, "<b>We Choose Texas Public Schools</b>."<br />
<br />
We Choose Texas Public Schools is a concept campaign offered freely for public school district communities, parents, students and staff. I came up with it for a public <a href="http://mansfieldisdpics.smugmug.com/Community/Celebration-Rally-TX-Schools" target="_blank">education celebration rally</a> in February that my school district hosted with four other districts in North Texas. We had yard signs (pictured above) made to distribute to attendees. (The cost of these signs was covered by a sponsor.)<br />
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School choice continues to be a major topic of debate and conversation both in the Legislature and out in the public space. <a href="http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/advocacy/legislative-agenda/" target="_blank">Texas public schools educates nearly 5 million students.</a> I'm not going to delve into the arguments for/against restoring state education funding, school vouchers, high stakes testing, or other un-funded mandates in this space. Again, there are other <a href="http://www.schoolpriority.com/" target="_blank">public</a> <a href="http://www.raiseyourhandtexas.org/" target="_blank">education advocacy</a> <a href="http://fotps.org/" target="_blank">groups</a> already making positive steps for these debates. Healthy debate is good in my opinion. I offer this simple idea as a counter-message to the negative notion repeated again and again that students are “stuck” in public schools. In actuality, <b>many families simply choose public education</b>. I want to give a unifying message for those parents who freely <i>choose</i> Texas public schools.<br />
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Be proud, Texans and share that choice.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExgiwFMXgaJcJXB9vypy5jjbtuDI2pVOWNUi9ZB_8pyMKs4siftFfJle3cjqJoO9dEZ67pfguDFEvJLnoZWpWufaG7MpC5WwUZcWZS-9judJVE6KefcoHbiRJxzwZTtdDDse5X2AmAOU/s1600/ChooseTXPublicSchools.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjExgiwFMXgaJcJXB9vypy5jjbtuDI2pVOWNUi9ZB_8pyMKs4siftFfJle3cjqJoO9dEZ67pfguDFEvJLnoZWpWufaG7MpC5WwUZcWZS-9judJVE6KefcoHbiRJxzwZTtdDDse5X2AmAOU/s320/ChooseTXPublicSchools.png" width="320" /></a></div>
Please feel free to share, use, distribute the <b>We Choose Texas Public Schools</b> concept. I've shared the <a href="http://bit.ly/XNNlQX" target="_blank">PDF of the yard sign art</a> for others to use. I look forward to seeing how this concept develops.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-45000525184656238212013-03-07T22:43:00.000-06:002013-03-07T22:43:55.383-06:00Texas Rangers Ryan-Daniels Drama Power Play or Publicity Stunt? <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7162150887_dcc32a3e86_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7072/7162150887_dcc32a3e86_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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</div>
The Texas Rangers issued <a href="http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130301&content_id=42160784" target="_blank">a press release at the end of the day on Friday, March 1</a> at 4:54 p.m. CST with a headline that read, "Jon Daniels Named President of Baseball Operations/GM - Rick George Named President of Business Operations." This left the obvious question hanging out there of what's going to happen with Nolan Ryan, who up until Friday was President/CEO? The release explained that like this:<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The Texas Rangers announced today the promotions of General Manager Jon Daniels to President of Baseball Operations/General Manager and the promotion of Chief Operating Officer Rick George to President of Business Operations.</blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In their respective roles, Daniels and George will continue to oversee the day-to-day baseball and business operations of the Rangers organization under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Nolan Ryan.</blockquote>
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And so the Dallas/Ft. Worth sports media proceeded to go absolutely nuts. One of the first to do so was longtime baseball writer/columnist and ESPN radio host, Randy Galloway who was quick to <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/01/4654379/does-jon-daniels-promotion-signal.html" target="_blank">speculate that this move might signal the end for Nolan Ryan</a>. Others <a href="http://www.rantsports.com/mlb/2013/03/03/texas-rangers-rumors-could-nolan-ryan-soon-be-leaving-the-ball-club/" target="_blank">piled</a> <a href="http://www.dallasnews.com/sports/columnists/kevin-sherrington/20130303-sherrington-in-trying-to-keep-jon-daniels-in-town-rangers-must-be-careful-not-to-squeeze-out-nolan-ryan.ece" target="_blank">on</a> <a href="http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/blog/eye-on-baseball/21806193/report-nolan-ryan-could-soon-leave-rangers" target="_blank">over</a> <a href="http://newsok.com/does-daniels-promotion-mean-exodus-for-rangers-nolan-ryan/article/3761121" target="_blank">the</a> weekend and well into <a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/blog/morning_call/2013/03/could-nolan-ryan-be-out-with-the-texas.html" target="_blank">this</a> week in the <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/03/4657206/nolan-ryan-could-leave-rangers.html" target="_blank">local</a> jock media kingdom and <a href="http://www.sportstalkflorida.com/nolan-ryan-squeezed-out-of-texas/" target="_blank">abroad</a>. </div>
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The media has portrayed this move as a <a href="http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2013/03/04/the-rangers-power-struggle-and-outlook-for-the-season/" target="_blank">power struggle</a> between Jon Daniels and Nolan Ryan. At one point we've heard Nolan Ryan could be out by season's end or as early as the end of spring training. Speculation and rumors have been swirling since day 1 and it has truly been interesting to observe locally as a sports (and Rangers) fan and as a public relations pro. </div>
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<b>Bungled PR or Savvy Publicity Stunt?</b></div>
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One of the common themes that's out there is that the Rangers front office had bungled the public relations aspect of this news. At first, I was on board with this assessment. First, they release the news at the end of the day on a Friday anticipating some level of attention, but hoping the weekend takes care of most of the issues. I didn't see/hear/read anything from the Rangers organization until Tuesday of this week with the new President of Baseball Operations/GM, Jon Daniels basically saying all is well, nothing really has changed. By that point, the narrative of major speculations and rumors had taken over. </div>
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The media had settled on this was either a power grab by Jon Daniels or ownership being more interested in keeping Daniels (the young baseball mind) over Ryan (the Hall of Famer and well-loved veteran). If you frame this as a fiasco waiting to happen, then the Rangers' ownership has seriously miscalculated the fans' potential for push-back and disdain. </div>
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At least that's how the media has portrayed this mini-drama will/would play out.</div>
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<b>But what if it was orchestrated this way?</b> What if the Rangers ownership, Nolan Ryan, Jon Daniels, and Rick George (who ever that is) were all in on this as a way to get major media attention. Since the announcement, the Texas Rangers have been at the top/front page of most local media outlets sports pages and newscasts. If it is/was an elaborate ruse to get tons of coverage while in spring training, it's working. </div>
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A quick look at the local sports landscape is good for this type of play. The Dallas Cowboys are not major news right now, the Dallas Mavericks are struggling to keep playoff hopes alive, and the Dallas Stars are trying to get people to remember they like hockey. The Rangers lost some key players, personalities, and bats. They are continuing with their youth movement. The team, in my opinion, will be contenders again, but will do so with the strong players on the 40-man roster as well as minor league talent. But all that doesn't keep the attention of the casual sports fan until the season starts (or well into the season). This team news provides that narrative of controversy and puts the Rangers front and center. </div>
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Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this <b>is</b> a sign of real fissures within the team management and foreshadows rough days for the team in the very near future especially if the fans revolt. But all it would take for this to stop would be for Nolan Ryan to come out and say publicly, in his classic country drawl, "everything is good, I'm fine and we are looking for another great season of Texas Rangers baseball." If he said that, the story would have nowhere to go and we'd move on. If he said that, this episode might have just been all a publicity stunt. And it will have worked.<br /><div>
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<i>(Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/phoca2004/7162150887/" target="_blank">phoca2004</a> via Flickr Creative Commons)</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-79513764936037603782013-01-28T21:09:00.002-06:002013-01-28T21:29:49.029-06:00Duality of Conscience and Credibility for the PR Pro<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/198/491167754_db09f043b6_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://farm1.staticflickr.com/198/491167754_db09f043b6_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Public relations professionals who provide ethics counsel to senior management do so out of an understanding that they serve their organizations as well as the public interest. Advocacy of truth and honesty from within the organization should be among the primary functions of senior PR pros. A recent study takes a look at some <i>how's</i> and <i>why's</i> of this PR role as organizational conscience.<br />
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The study, "PR Professionals as Organizational Conscience," published in the <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08900523.2012.746108">Journal of Mass Media Ethics</a>, was conducted by Marlene S. Neill, Ph.D., APR a lecturer in the department of journalism, public relations and new media in Baylor's College of Arts & Sciences and <a href="http://advertising.utexas.edu/faculty/minette-drumwright">Dr. Minette Drumwright</a>, an associate professor of advertising at the University of Texas at Austin. The authors conducted in-depth interviews with 30 senior PR practitioners from 10 states in the U.S. and Australia, who had an average of 27 years of experience.<br />
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Their findings indicate that being an effective PR practitioner and being able to provide ethics counsel work in tandem due to the similarities in skills and competencies required for each. In fact, PR professionals willingly embraced an ethics counsel role even it was not specifically outlined in their job descriptions. The authors note,<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Their duty to the public interest was not an option; it was a <b>mandatory professional obligation</b>, and they were at least as fervent about it as they were about their obligations to their organizations, perhaps even more so." [emphasis added]</blockquote>
This research points to the need for PR pros to view themselves as independent voices in senior management which can cause uncomfortable situations when the practitioner must ask critical questions and address sensitive topics. Essentially, a PR person cannot be a "yes" man/woman. Also, situational awareness (being counted on to identify, analyze, and articulate issues before they become problems) is an important talent to foster.<br />
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Another major aspect of the study was how their respondents avoided the "kill the messenger" predicament when they had to provide ethics counsel to senior management. From mock news conferences, the headline test, and offering ethical alternatives to actions and playing devil's advocate, the study responders found ways to attempt to persuade leadership from taking undesirable steps.<br />
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I recommend PR pros take some time to <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/08900523.2012.746108?journalCode=hmme20" target="_blank">review this study</a> for these and other important themes that have an impact, both positively and negatively, on a PR pro's ability to serve as organizational conscience.<br />
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Additional Reading:<br />
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.baylor.edu/mediacommunications/news.php?action=story&story=126460" target="_blank">PR Professionals Are Not 'Yes Men' When Pressured to Be Unethical, Baylor Study Shows</a></li>
<li><a href="http://prsay.prsa.org/index.php/2013/01/22/why-and-how-senior-public-relations-officers-raise-ethical-concerns/" target="_blank">Why And How Senior Public Relations Officers Raise Ethical Concerns</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/13630.aspx" target="_blank">Report: Most PR pros are ethical and honest</a></li>
</ul>
Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/peskylibrary/491167754/" target="_blank">peskylibrary</a></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-9995332425250274382013-01-14T23:07:00.001-06:002013-01-14T23:07:20.119-06:00Thoughts from a blogging hiatus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2234/2190959624_c9a8a9ea43_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2234/2190959624_c9a8a9ea43_b.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<b>Hiatus </b>- <a href="http://www.thefreedictionary.com/hiatus" target="_blank">n</a>. 1. A gap or interruption in space, time, or continuity; a break<br />
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I took a break from blogging. The holidays provided a much-needed opportunity to enjoy my family and recharge. It also gave me a catch up on some things professionally. The first was the transition from being in charge of programs to membership for the Ft. Worth PRSA. This led to some reflecting on what volunteering means for professional development. The second was time to consider the local implications of recent news-making issues in education (campus safety and security, testing, and funding). And lastly, I came across an intriguing idea for blogging worth exploring: <i>topic buckets</i>. </div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Volunteering and Professional Development</span></div>
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In 2012, I was the VP of Programs for <a href="http://fortworthprsa.org/" target="_blank">Ft. Worth PRSA</a> and I think we put together a solid mix of luncheon programming and evening mixers for networking and knowledge. Over the break, a group of chapter members volunteered at a local mall manning the Salvation Army Angel Tree table for our service project. We assisted people in the Angel Tree donations process who wished to bless some families in need. If your group has opportunities to serve your communities, don't limit yourselves to the specific roles for which you gather. Instead of helping a nonprofit by crafting press releases or writing communication plans, a simple service project with peers met a need and made a difference.<br />
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I'm looking forward to 2013 and continuing to serve alongside a dedicated <a href="http://fortworthprsa.org/board-of-directors-prsa-fort-worth/" target="_blank">board members and committee chairs</a> intent on continued growth for the professionals and profession. If you are a <a href="http://www.prsa.org/" target="_blank">PRSA</a> member (or any professional communication or public relations organization), please consider giving back as a volunteer. It can be a great opportunity to network with regional PR pros, learn from the experiences of others, and gain valuable feedback on your own work through connections and conversations.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Education issues and School PR</span></div>
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Working in public education always has its challenges and mandates from revised curriculum, accountability and testing, funding, extracurricular, attendance zoning, school choice (school vouchers in disguise) and the ever-popular, local taxation issues. Those challenges are magnified in Texas when the Legislature is in session. To be honest, school district employees in Texas hold our collective breaths when lawmakers come together every two years. We wonder what new <strike>ridiculous </strike> unfunded mandates will befall educators, schools, and districts this time? Or, as in the last session, how much will the state cut in education funding <i>this</i> year? (During the last session, the Legislature cut $5.4 <b><u>b</u></b>illion from public education.) </div>
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This time, the realities are clouded even more because of major campus security debates across the country following the elementary school shooting in Connecticut in December. There are absolutely no easy answers to these and other issues for public education. That said, I absolutely believe school districts need to lean on professional communicators to help explain, explore, and expand on important topics facing public education. </div>
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My advice for school PR pros is to pay close attention to the major issues and potential laws impacting education. Thankfully, we work with experts in curriculum, testing, finance, etc. at our districts that each of us should turn to for briefings on these areas. I'm also thankful for the Texas School Public Relations Association (TSPRA) has some plain-English <a href="http://www.tspra.org/news-and-reports" target="_blank">resources for school PR pros</a> on many of these same issues.</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Topic Buckets and Blogging</span><br />
On January 6, 2013, I caught a random tweet from the <a href="http://www.mackcollier.com/social-media-library/what-is-blogchat/" target="_blank">#blogchat</a> Twitter chat about <a href="http://www.mackcollier.com/blogchat-topic-for-sunday-how-you-can-use-topic-buckets-to-blog-more-often/" target="_blank">Topic Buckets</a> as a way to organize and plan your blog. From mackcollier.com:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #666666;">"...You want to blog more often, but coming up with ideas is sometimes tough. Something that has helped me is organizing your blog’s focus into <a href="http://www.mackcollier.com/learn-how-to-improve-your-blogging-and-seo-with-topic-buckets/" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" target="_blank">Topic Buckets</a>.</span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #666666;">The basic idea is this: Pick 2-5 main topic areas that you want to cover on your blog...</span><span style="color: #666666;">Now the great thing about Topic Buckets is that they really help you organize your posting patterns. You may be trying to think about how you can blog 2-3 times a week, but if you can create 2-3 Topic Buckets, then all you have to do is write one post a week for each topic, and you are set! Also, it’s a good way to keep track of what you’re blogging about..."</span></blockquote>
I let that idea simmer a while and have concluded that using Topic Buckets is an idea worth trying and sharing. I'll need to leave that idea unfinished at this point until I can come back with more details on how topic buckets can improve my blogging experience on this one and the <a href="http://yourmansfieldisd.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">blog I manage at work</a>.<br />
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See, taking breaks is good.<br />
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<span style="color: #666666;">Photo: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/svenwerk/2190959624/" target="_blank">svenwerk</a> </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-59223018983690099042012-11-16T16:08:00.000-06:002012-11-16T16:08:03.999-06:00PR lessons from 'Kate' and Tarrant Area Food Bank's hunger campaign<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs3YGIJtA6PTHpFtkQk3f8FYnIEwLHCQG3ZsEWpuX0Pwt1r2aVg_vAKtpjNSZ7-ofMmkhfwpLVqQAoLtuQ03sKWo3LoUfQQ3rHKj6AbXy_848D7G87gLPkf9s342YHzwrbXt2RTHa7uA/s1600/Kate+Billboard-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUs3YGIJtA6PTHpFtkQk3f8FYnIEwLHCQG3ZsEWpuX0Pwt1r2aVg_vAKtpjNSZ7-ofMmkhfwpLVqQAoLtuQ03sKWo3LoUfQQ3rHKj6AbXy_848D7G87gLPkf9s342YHzwrbXt2RTHa7uA/s400/Kate+Billboard-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The billboard asks a compelling question: <b>What does hunger feel like? <a href="http://justaskkate.org/" target="_blank">JustAskKate.org</a></b><a href="http://justaskkate.org/" target="_blank"> </a><br />
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It strikes me that putting a (cartoon) face to hunger with a compelling narrative is a creative way to generate curiosity and hopefully leads to awareness, donations, volunteers, etc. The video component is simple but effective:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="270" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TSQAuSckJhk" width="480"></iframe>
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I reached out to Andrea Helms, Director of Communications for the <a href="http://www.tafb.org/" target="_blank">Tarrant Area Food Bank</a> and a Ft. Worth PRSA member for some insight into the campaign. I'm so thankful that she was wiling to share since I believe there are some interesting lessons and processes from this effort for PR and communication professionals:<br />
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<b>Why did TAFB implement the 'Kate' concept campaign? </b><br />
<a href="http://www.akroncantonfoodbank.org/" target="_blank">Akron Canton Regional Food Bank</a> in Ohio shared the Kate video concept with the Feeding America network of regional food banks, to which Tarrant Area Food Bank (TAFB) belongs. TAFB decided to customize this video for the organization not only because of the impact of Kate’s message, but to also join in creating a sense of unity across the network.<br />
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<b>What are some of the strategic objectives you hope to achieve?</b><br />
<u>AWARENESS.</u> We would like Kate’s message to be shared all over our community, through our Partner Agencies, donors and volunteers, and the general public. As part of our annual awareness initiative, we hope the community learns that hunger and food insecurity exist right here in our own neighborhood and we, together, can do something about it.<br />
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Through various print ads, billboards, and social media, we seek to increase awareness about hunger and direct people to the Kate video. We hope the Kate video and her message goes viral. The more that people share the video with their networks, the bigger the awareness of hunger we can create within our community. The video not only educates the public about the face of hunger--for example, Kate could be your next door neighbor, a co-worker or friend--but it also educates them about Tarrant Area Food Bank’s role in fighting local hunger.<br />
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<b>When did it start and how long will the campaign run? </b><br />
The campaign started mid-October and will run through December. We will do another flight of the campaign in the Spring of 2013. The Kate video will remain active on our website and on justaskkate.org and through social media when the campaign is not active.<br />
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<b>How would you say your version of the campaign differs from the original version?</b><br />
We are the first <a href="http://feedingamerica.org/" target="_blank">Feeding America</a> food bank to launch a traditional marketing campaign around the video. Up until now, the Kate video has been used as a tool in food banks for educating volunteers and donors and has been used through social media and word of mouth.<br />
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<b>What communication channels are you using to share Kate? </b><br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151331254912868&set=a.193941682867.159979.99930512867&type=1" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/TAFoodBank/status/264744168310599680" target="_blank">Twitter</a> posts, Facebook ads, billboards, print ads in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Fort Worth Business Press, the Just Ask Kate web page, the TAFB website, YouTube, e-blasts, email signatures, volunteer training and exclusive showings at TAFB related events.<br />
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We also have several collateral pieces our staff use for various audiences, such as children’s activities and giveaways, including Kate as a fan with suggestions on the backside for taking action to build awareness about hunger. Our life-sized Kate cut-out is being used for photo opportunities with key people in our community for posting on social media.<br />
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<b>How will you determine the success of this campaign?</b><br />
Because this is an awareness campaign, we are most interested in how viral the campaign becomes. The more video views, shares and likes we get from the Kate video, the more we know the word is being spread around our community. We have been using Facebook and Google analytics to track where our viewers are coming from and what actions they are taking after they view the video, such as visiting our website or liking our Facebook page.<br />
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What do you think? Is this a compelling campaign to help generate awareness for the food bank's fight against local hunger? As always, the comments are yours.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-20355185480380333792012-10-30T21:32:00.001-05:002012-10-30T21:32:23.412-05:00'The Mom Next Door' and School PRA recent study found that more moms make in-person recommendations (83%) than recommendations via social media (53%) which should cause school PR people to pause a moment and think about your school district's in-person contact with parents, especially moms.<br />
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The recently released study entitled <a href="http://www.360publicrelations.com/momnextdoor" target="_blank">The Mom Next Door: Why and How Moms Make Recommendations</a> by <a href="http://360publicrelations.com/parenting" target="_blank">360PR</a> and <a href="http://momitforward.com/" target="_blank">Mom It Forward</a> provides interesting data on how moms make recommendations in-person and online. I can see it being useful for brands to dig into for thoughts on trustworthiness.<br />
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Among the <a href="http://www.360publicrelations.com/momnextdoor" target="_blank">Mom Next Door</a> survey findings:<br />
<ul>
<li>71% of moms make recommendations about brands, products and services to other moms at least monthly; </li>
<li>50% of moms making recommendations about brands daily; </li>
<li>93% of moms are influenced to some extent by other moms’ recommendations.</li>
</ul>
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The parts of the survey I found most relevant for school PR pros relate to trutworthiness and where moms meet-up. According to the survey, the majority of moms rate in-person recommendations as more trustworthy than recommendations via social media.<br />
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<li>59% of moms give in-person recommendations the highest possible rating for trustworthiness; and</li>
<li>only 14% of moms rated recommendations via social media as “most trustworthy.”</li>
</ul>
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Moms interact with other moms most often at their child’s daycare or school (58%), at a friend’s house (54%) or another off-line get-together (48%) – meeting for coffee, shopping, working out, etc.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACqpFTom5XU2ypkNewROTO3-cGsWV0qvQhM8uFwfkxICI7P_YQc1PrPBlDP05P3nVet_afqXoyi4BRaP6qqXezADGgsy_kIpat2TIxN-BEj01IDA6y5144ALBo4RIiPKKyV1yUOgM3o4/s1600/momsurvey1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjACqpFTom5XU2ypkNewROTO3-cGsWV0qvQhM8uFwfkxICI7P_YQc1PrPBlDP05P3nVet_afqXoyi4BRaP6qqXezADGgsy_kIpat2TIxN-BEj01IDA6y5144ALBo4RIiPKKyV1yUOgM3o4/s400/momsurvey1.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<b>Why this is important for school PR</b></div>
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The data on in-person recommendations and locations of interactions with other moms at daycare or school should perk up the interest of school communicators. That 58% of moms interacting with other moms at their daycare or school is a useful data point because it points to an easily ignored truth when it comes to communication: moms come to the schools. </div>
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We spend so much time thinking about how to leverage the digital communication channels through online outreach, social media tools, e-newsletters, etc. which is all well and good since we can be highly efficient with our efforts by using these channels. We should definitely keep using online tools to hopefully provide that 35% of moms meeting-up online with timely, honest, accurate, relevant information. But, we must be mindful of our in-person communication touch-points with moms (parents) so that the larger percentage get the information they need as well. Think of it this way with a few types of campus-parent interaction opportunities for communication success or failure: </div>
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<li>campus/district special events, activities, or sports; </li>
<li>before/after school drop-off and pick-up;</li>
<li>anytime volunteers are on campus; </li>
<li>PTA/PTO meetings;</li>
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How a campus appears, how its staff interacts with parents and the available messaging and signage locations are all three things never to be overlooked. I'd argue that many problems or misunderstandings could be mitigated with some consideration to communication. Sometimes we get caught up in the luster of the shiny objects and forget a simple explanatory handout would suffice. </div>
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If we hope to be included among the (hopefully) positive in-person interactions and recommendations between moms, we'd better not forget when, where, and how we'll get those chances.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-67214071750541688452012-09-19T20:02:00.000-05:002012-09-19T20:02:01.916-05:005 Reasons to Make Your In-house Editorial CalendarHow does your communication department function? Is it stuck in an old mindset of spray and pray (as in <i>spray</i> the press releases out to the media and then <i>pray</i> for coverage) or do you <a href="http://nextcommunications.blogspot.com/2010/07/media-shmedia-be-your-own-newsroom.html" target="_blank">treat the department like your organization's own newsroom</a> where content creation and direct communication with your community are the objectives? I'm an advocate of the latter as part of the department's function for public relations in school districts and nonprofits. <b>An internal editorial calendar is a smart way to help in-house PR departments meet leadership goals and strategic communication objectives all year long.</b><br />
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Keeping an editorial calendar for your communication department allows you to:<br />
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<li>Effectively plan around the monthly and yearly occurrences in the organization</li>
<li>Position yourself and department as the go-to source for information</li>
<li>Drop-in plans for special events and target dates</li>
<li>Establish timing for press releases, newsletters, blog posts, video production, etc.</li>
<li>Allows you to get back on track with messaging when things go wrong</li>
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<i>That's great but <u>how</u> do you do it?</i> </div>
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<b>Here's how to get started.</b> I'm sure there are other possibly better or more creative ways to make an editorial calendar but here's what I did. I found a simple <a href="https://drive.google.com/templates" target="_blank">template in Google Docs</a> (now Google Drive) for a blog <a href="https://drive.google.com/previewtemplate?id=0Ag3SW6yCibi-dHVVb2ZPQmYwNE5UbHhwMEpXX0hwRHc&mode=public" target="_blank">Editorial Dashboard</a>. Then I made the appropriate adjustments for a week-by-week calendar for the department to use all year long. </div>
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First, <b>drop in everything for which you have set dates on the calendar</b>. You're looking for those things that happen every year. For a school district, we have many items to quickly drop in such as holidays, board meetings, first and last days of school, high school homecoming dates, graduations, etc. </div>
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Next, <b>add the target or scheduled dates for any special events</b> like any facility ground-breaking events, building dedications, board elections, bond elections (referendums), etc. (Don't forget to include important weekend event dates.)</div>
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Once these items are in, it's time to work to<b> include your planned schedule for your recurring communication channels</b>: electronic and/or print newsletters (external and internal if applicable), regular video updates from leadership, blog post schedule, and planned Facebook page posts. This part is an ongoing exercise and and you never really feel finished because things inevitably get shifted and you'll have to make adjustments. The calendar just gives you a guide to bring things back in order. </div>
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We've all had those days (weeks) when things are going wrong or we're in full-blown crisis communication mode and we know in the backs of our minds some things are getting lost in the shuffle. An editorial calendar can serve as your reference tool to get back on track. I've found ours to be a solid source for making sure our timing for important announcements doesn't interfere with something already planned. We've used the calendar to remind leadership of important issues and how they play among established plans, dates, and events.</div>
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<b>What do you think?</b> Have you created an editorial calendar for your communication department? Are there any other benefits or tips you can add? As always, the comments are yours.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-88529552691825826412012-08-24T16:40:00.000-05:002012-08-24T16:40:00.783-05:00Tweet with a Sense of HumorRepeat after me, <b>it's smart to have a personality and a good sense of humor when using social media. </b><br />
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During yesterday's Mansfield Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon, <a href="http://www.davis.senate.state.tx.us/" target="_blank">Texas State Senator Wendy Davis</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/wendydavistexas/status/238688049221996544" target="_blank">accidentally tweeted</a> the wrong name of my school district's superintendent during his state of district presentation.<br />
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It was a silly mistake, but what I found particularly awesome was how she handled it. Here's how it went down:<br />
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Bravo to Senator <a href="https://www.facebook.com/wendydavistexas" target="_blank">Davis</a>. I'm glad she (or someone on her communication team) has a good sense of humor. The original tweet was funny all by itself, but the follow-up was clever, lighthearted and fun. The PR lesson: <b>If you tweet a mistake, try to admit it and move on. </b><br />
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Oh and if you can work in a reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Doors" target="_blank">The Doors</a>, do it!<br />
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<i>Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/steffireichert/5429200707/" target="_blank">steffireichert</a> via Flickr Creative Commons</i>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6993152737110953639.post-27625287314985021852012-08-14T23:19:00.000-05:002012-08-14T23:19:30.467-05:00JPS Health Network: A Changing Vision and Communication Lessons<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The best way to tour a hospital and check out its fluorescent lighting is from a standing position, not while lying on your back. At least that's what we were told by <a href="http://www.jpshealthnet.org/">JPS Health Network</a> President and CEO, Robert Earley.<br />
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For the record, he's right.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.jpshealthnet.org/ExecutiveStaff.aspx" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsT6H0JlKybiuL0EkFJvfpYQUTgtbT3u0kDXT-InsB8xNrH7l8FgHqevUvSFHHM-lbg-CFUu0L9HBL34VKZ5Z5GavYdhI0Fos7kkQZlaD3UYYhmMEHQxFuPKkFumNVUIEmStUPvK7u5Gw/s1600/RobertEarley.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
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Robert Earley, </div>
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JPS Health Network<br />President and CEO</div>
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Recently, the Ft. Worth Chapter of PRSA took its monthly lunch program on the road and got an "unfiltered view tour" [his words] of Tarrant County's public hospital with Mr. Robert Earley. This tour was our chance to hear from this local leader who is using a strategic communication and community outreach campaign to help change hearts and minds about the Tarrant County Hospital District.</div>
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"We're in the life and death business," said Earley of the work JPS does for what last year was over 1 million people. "We hope it's more <i>life</i>." </div>
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As the county's public hospital, JPS gets a bit of bad rap. There's a misconception that since it's funded by tax dollars, people tend to think the care would be sub-par and that there's no need to provide additional resources through private funding. To be clear, his pre-tour talk did not come across to me like a fundraising effort. Instead, he just pointed out parallels to other publicly funded institutions getting additional resources from benefactors to programs they support. (<i>cough</i> - college football coaches salaries - <i>cough</i>) Funding challenges are typical for public institutions and there were many of those challenges he inherited.</div>
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As for the care, he explains that he wants a cultural shift. They had previously been operating in a realm of mediocrity. "We're not there yet," he said. Earley recognized, "while the care was good, [they] weren't treating people right." So he made some changes and expected more.</div>
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He wants JPS to be a place where best-practices in healthcare are created and then followed by others. Earley expects more from his 4,500 employees: "When people walk in the front door, <i>everybody</i> gets respect."<br />
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When they hire, he says they take a "360° approach." They want people with the right skill-set <b>and</b> heart.
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Robert Earley has <b>Three Rules for the JPS Health Network staff</b>:</div>
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<li><b>Own It.</b> He wants staff to be proud of where they work. When they hear about the good, it's ok to share that they work for JPS. When there are challenges, it's still ok to share that they work for JPS.</li>
<li><b>Seek Joy</b>. He wants employees to smile. Ideally, he hopes they have reasons to smile throughout the day. Healthcare can make for a stressful environment, providing clear direction and positivity can go a long way. </li>
<li><b>Don't Be A Jerk!</b> Earley is on a personal campaign to against "jerkdom." He cites examples in our society where we seem to raise up jerks and jerk-like behavior ahead of being simply good people.</li>
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"We are trying to be a transparent organization." Earley is using what I consider to be a smart community relations tactic with on-site tours. One example of this unfiltered view was that we were encouraged to ask any question along the way; anything was fair game. He's proud of JPS being the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trauma_center#Level_I">Level 1 Trauma Center</a> for Tarrant County. We saw operating rooms, including two that stay staffed, stocked, and ready 24-hours a day, seven days a week. Honestly, it's highly impressive.</div>
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Here are some additional public relations take-aways from Robert Earley and the JPS tour:<br />
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<ul>
<li>The JPS team observe other healthcare systems going through challenges and then they look internally to see if they have the same issue(s).</li>
<li>They want to establish a network by which they can communicate directly with stakeholders and not be reliant on traditional media methods.</li>
<li>The quality and safety standards as an organization are constantly in need improvement.</li>
<li>Training is top-notch: A JPS nurse receive approximately $64,000 in training. (Trauma nurses get double that amount!) The problem they have is talent retention. Nurse get well-trained, work a while then split. Earley said they have about a 20% turnover rate, which is way too high. (I wouldn't be surprised if JPS starts an aggressive campaign to keep their talent.)</li>
<li>Earley instituted a chair policy in the hospital. A folding chair hangs behind the door of the hospital rooms and doctors are required to remove the chair and set it next to patients so that they can be at eye-level with them to talk.</li>
<li>There are so many electronic and networked aspects of healthcare in general and especially within the hospital, but not much in their communication. Yet.</li>
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During the Q&A period, someone asked how do they tell the JPS story. Earley responded with a smile, "we hired J.R. Labbe."<br />
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Jill "J.R." Labbe is the former editorial director for the <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/">Ft. Worth Star-Telegram</a>. I think this is an intriguing move for JPS and for Labbe. I'm interested to see how she can bring her skills to the other side of the news for storytelling and work from within the organization. She expressed <a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/2012/07/28/4133980/moving-on-still-making-a-difference.html">some parting words in the newspaper</a> about her new role:<br /><blockquote class="tr_bq">
While my responsibilities as vice president of communications and community affairs at JPS will differ greatly from what I've been doing the past 20 years -- and the irony of going from inflicting pain on government employees to being a government employee is not lost -- my love for this community and the people who call it home will not.</blockquote>
Wise move, JPS.<br />
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Robert Earley concluded by letting attendees know that others are welcome. They'd appreciate more people coming to JPS and seeing first-hand what's happening and how things are changing for the better. There's work to be done and it's wonderful to see organizational communications and community relations take starring roles in the process for this organization.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15504735292652768245noreply@blogger.com