| The monthly newsletter for the Hampton Roads Virginia Chapter of PRSA |
November 2008 |
 November 2008 Meeting
Framing a Political Candidate: How Political PR Impacts an Election
How does public relations factor into an election? Does the way the issues are framed really affect how we vote? How much power does the communications director yield in a campaign? How is strategy created? Are the media manipulated ... are the voters manipulated?
Hear from Danae Jones-Aicher, former communications director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and Josh Noland, former communications director of the Republican Party of Virginia, on the role they played in past Virginia elections and how public relations is used to communicate and frame a candidates' stance on issues.
Cost:
$35 chapter members and active military
$45 guests
$25 full-time students
Reservation deadline: Monday, November 3, Noon.
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From the President
by Emma A. Inman, APR
 On the national stage. . .World financial crisis. A broken healthcare system. Rising grocery prices. Jobs and homes in jeopardy.
On the local stage. . .State budget woes. A broken transportation system. Faltering public education.
I don't know about you, but I think it would be hard to be a political public relations practitioner these days. The world as we've known it is rapidly changing and I'm not sure it's for the better.
A million issues bombard our elected officials and special interest groups from taxpayer activists to the unemployed and displaced want their attention.
How do our political colleagues do it? And what do they get out of it, besides a sense that they're helping to shape the landscape?
Join us on November 5 as we hear from Danae Jones-Aicher, former communications director of the Democratic Party of Virginia, and Josh Noland, former communications director of the Republican Party of Virginia, on the role public relations plays in election politics.
In our own smaller scale, we'll also be holding our own election. . .as you vote on chapter leadership for 2009. I urge you to join us for this exciting meeting and use your voice to shape PRSA Hampton Roads next year. (And don't forget to vote on November 4!)
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Chapter to offer national teleseminar at greatly reduced rate
Building Community Relationships
Overcome opposition and gain community consent
In today's opposition-rich environment, gaining and maintaining public consent to build, even to operate, is getting tougher and tougher. Public consent is an on-going top management concern. Permission for expansions, new projects, new services, and growth can be extremely difficult, even for the best companies and organizations. Constituents, public officials, even employees are asking more questions. Decisions are taking longer. Jim Lukaszewski will share the crucial knowledge and insights you'll need to develop highly effective community relationship development programs.
You will learn: How to get to 51% -- the number that means victory How to build (or bust) community trust How to win -- even when people are angry, the media are meddling or opposed, and public officials and neighbors are irritated The patterns and strategies of anti-corporate activism The five axioms of influence and the six realities of audience behavior The top 10 ways to lose trust and credibility
INSTRUCTOR
James E. Lukaszewski, ABC, APR, Fellow PRSA, CCEP, is Chairman and President of The Lukaszewski Group, Inc. Jim is one of the most widely quoted and prolific authors/crisis communication management consultants in U.S. public relations. His 1992 book, Influencing Public Attitudes, Strategies That Reduce the Media's Power, remains a classic in the field of direct communication and overcoming opposition.
LOCATION: 1341 Crossways Blvd., Suite 1168, Chesapeake, VA 23320
COST: $20
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Professional Development Conference Recap
 On October 1, PRSA HR presented Retooling Public Relations through Social Media: A Mini Bootcamp featuring Eric Schwartzman, a nationally recognized expert Web-based communications.
More than 170 public relations practitioners attended the event, which included keynote luncheon speaker Larry Hincker,Associate Vice President, University Relations, Virginia Tech who spoke about crisis communications.
 
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Volunteer Hampton Roads to hold media forum Oct. 30
This Media Forum will bring together a panel of national and local experts including representatives from TV, radio, Internet and print media to discuss best practices for nonprofit organizations to effectively communicate their mission and message. Hear from experts about how to use the latest online tools including blogs, RSS and social networking sites like Facebook to tell your story, recruit donors and volunteers and create positive change in the community through a dynamic, interactive panel discussion. More info. |
 Time is running out! Join PRSA in October 2008 and get a local PRSA chapter membership free for one year!
For details, please click the link to the left or contact Membership Chair Christine Dwyer. Certain restrictions apply.
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 Ethel the Ethics Evangelist
by Gail Kent, ABC, Ethics Chair
We've all heard the blame throwers: the Democrats blame the Republicans; the Republicans say the Democrats caused it. Main Street blames Wall Street, and Wall Street blames Main Street.
So who really is to blame for the housing debacle that is causing upheaval in the economy? Could PR be to blame?
Joseph J. Honick, an international consultant to business and government, a life director of the National Association of Home Builders of the United States and a professional communicator, recently mused in a column in the Huntington News about the role of PR, advertising and marketing in the mess.
"Lack of ethics has played a major role in our current debacle," he writes. "And many of our colleagues in the communications field chose to ignore or at least chose not to question many of the underlying fallacies being marketed to an eager consumer public."
Honick wrote that we have the responsibility as professional communicators to evaluate our own ethical behavior and to identify what we can do to inject honest and effective vigor into the current crisis, "made worse because of the absence of any singular leader to tell us the only thing we need to fear is fear itself. What we seem to need to fear is the unethical and impractical leadership that failed to lead but was marketed very competently nevertheless."
Fascinated by Honick's perspective that communicators had a role in this disaster, I emailed him and asked: So what should PR people do when they find themselves in a compromised position with their employer? What if you don't realize - until later - that what you are promoting is unethical?
Honick admitted that it would be "naïve and foolish" to say that it is easy to "jump ship" if you find something to be "not merely inelegant, but downright shabby and on the line of illegal. I know it is not that easy, though I have personally done that at considerable cost temporarily."
But, he pointed out, there is no excuse for "just following orders" if what your firm is doing is unethical and may even be illegal and legally actionable. He pointed to the examples of major lobbyists and PR firms who were "lushly" paid by the admitted murderer, Muammar al-Gaddafiof Libya, or those selling energy policies they know to be questionable.
"In the end, it is up to you and your conscience - and not me - as to how you should act if and when you find something you are helping to promote is simply fraudulent, attached to nefarious people or otherwise shameful," he wrote in his email to me. "You may not know something is tainted going in, but the moment you do know, you have to decide who you are and what you will do, because the memory lingers on."
If anything good can come from this economic meltdown, perhaps it is this: Preserving trust, morality and ethics not only protects our way of life, but also allows us to look at ourselves in the mirror in the morning without shame.
To help us with our ethical issues, our chapter has enlisted the help of Ethel, the Ethics Evangelist (a.k.a. Gail Kent, Ethics Chair)! In future issues of News & Views, Ethel will bring you ethics articles, including guidelines for decision-making, quizzes and case studies ripped from the headlines. If you have a particular issue you would like to see Ethel tackle, please contact her! |
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 PR Marvels & Miscues
Who Stepped Up: Web site Newsrooms Essential to Great PR
I recently had a conversation with a gentleman who's been in public relations for more than two decades. Lots of information and ideas were flowing and then we got on the subject of website Newsrooms. When I explained how I manage them for clients he said, "I don't do that IT stuff." Wow! Get me a phone! I'd like to order one ticket to the future for my colleague, please.
Public relations agencies and public relations consultants need to be updating client website Newsrooms and not outsourcing the work. Why? - Newsrooms are the bread and butter of a timely and informative Web site - Technology has made updating Web site Newsrooms fifth-grade easy - It eliminates outsourcing and leaves more money in the pockets of you and your clients - It keeps your value to the client high and relevant - It saves your IT folks for the big, fun stuff Newsrooms are the bread and butter of an informative One of the most important sections of a website is the Newsroom, which should contain a minimum of a News Release section and a Media Coverage section. The benefits of the News Release section are:- Businesses and organizations always have a ton of legitimate things to write about. - Post those items as consumer or media news releases. - This highlights your expertise in a particular area. - It also updates your Web site and makes it look fresh and timely. - Plus, it adds a new, relevant page for search engines to find. - SEO is the name of the game on the Internet. Gone are the days of loading your business name with four AAAAs and listing high in a phone directory. The new game is: who has a correctly built Web site and knows how to optimize it by adding new pages that are correctly coded for high search engine results. The benefits of the Media Coverage section are:- Demonstrates your organization's relevance to customers. - Allows a credible third-party to talk about your product, service, issue or cause -- not just clients talking about their own accomplishments. - Shows reporters who may want to use you as an expert resource that you've been quoted by other media and indeed are an expert in your field. - Updates your Web site, making it look fresh and timely. - Adds a new page for search engines to find; Google likes big, relevant sites. Technology has made updating website Newsrooms fifth-grade easyWe've all pretty much come to the conclusion that the Internet is not a fad. That's great news for PR agencies and PR consultants who know how to update Web sites. If you don't have that ability yet, don't hyperventilate on me. It's so simple I could teach a fifth-grader to do it in less than an hour. The only tool you need is Adobe Contribute, which costs around $160 and is a game-changer. This tool allows you to instantly edit the text on most Web sites. It also allows you to add pages, photos and graphics. And, the public relations consultant needs absolutely no IT/Web master experience. It is one of the most powerful PR tools I've come across in a long time. It eliminates outsourcing and leaves more money in the pockets of you and your clientsUpdating the Newsroom on your own saves time and money for you and your clients by cutting out the webmaster or IT person. Their feelings won't be hurt (more on this below). This also removes one more person from the communications loop. Keep your operation tight, efficient and profitable. It keeps your value to the client high and relevantIf you're not consistently relevant to your clients, you'll find yourself in a vicious cycle of clients constantly coming and going through your front door. One important way to stay relevant is through the Newsroom. You're only going to get so many bites at the media apple, and in-between those bites, you need to be providing value. . .not just waiting around. Those who wait around get kicked around. It saves your IT folks for the big, fun stuffWhen you update client websites with day-to-day items, you save your IT folks and webmaster from being tortured. What's gold for us is junk for them. They hate being burdened with little things and would rather be challenged with the big stuff. Plus, they're not trained in public relations and a website is a 24-7 PR tool. All Rourk Public Relations' clients have stepped up and embraced active Newsrooms. Here are three Newsrooms to browse through that help make my point: L. Steven Emmert
Each of these clients takes their Newsroom seriously and each has enjoyed the fruits of continually gaining inches and relenting none on the public relations front.
Web sites are either alive or stagnant. A Newsroom adds timely, relevant information. How is the world seeing you?
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Welcome New Members!
Amy O. Dagnall, PR Manager
Norfolk Botanical Garden
Daniel F. Drummond, General Manager
Allison & Partners
September 2008 Treasurer's Report
Mindy Hughes, APR, Treasurer
September income: $13,059.87
September expenses: $5,787.38
YTD income: $32,153.42
YTD expenses: $25,185.24
Total assets: $22,308.37 | |
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