Media Relations

The Question I Can't Stand to Answer: "What do you do for a living?"

 

 

Noemi Pollack just posted about an experience very familiar and uncomfortable to me.  What do you do when someone asks what you do, and you no longer have a clear definition of that - yet everybody else seems to?

 

By the way, I'm Jeri Cartwright, this is my blog and I'm in public relations.

Here's Noemi's story:  "At a recent dinner party, the conversation at our table of eight, centered politely on the introductory question — 'what do you do' — and went slowly around the table to each guest. When it was my turn and told that I am in public relations and marketing, my dinner partner to the left, a dentist, probed further as to what that really means and exactly what do I really do. By the time dessert came around, I had given him a detailed rundown of all the tools and strategies the we, PR professionals, employ to impact marketplace perceptions and changed behaviors. It didn’t make a dent. He was still at it when dessert came around and, in total defeat and exasperation, I made a lame excuse and left the table."

 

Noemi, I relate.  When people ask me what I do, I've given up trying to answer.  On the back of my business card, I list my best guesses:

 

• Media & community relations
• Image & issue management
• Crisis communications
• Executive counsel
• New media/blogging/social networking

 

And yet, every time I redo business cards, the list changes. I have noticed when someone chooses to refer to me as "in marketing," I am beginning to correct them. When a client calls and tells me about a situation, then says...here's how I want you to "spin it," I respond with a softly spoken, "I do not spin.  I carry your messages to the public.  I work to understand what you want to convey to your publics and then find the most effective and lasting ways to do it." 

 

Over the years, I've watched as political strategists, advertising/marketing agencies and a number of other professions have adopted the tools PR once called its own.  Are we now also regarded as "able to get free advertising," or "able to ruin the reputation of a political candidate?"  Sure hope not.

 

Let me conclude with a question to the masses of people surely to be reading this gripping post (smile).  Which of the following fall under public relations?  Which ones should not?  I can honestly say...I'm not sure anymore.

 

• PR
• Media relations
• Community relations
• Government relations
• Lobbying
• Public affairs
• Marketing
• Advertising
• Campaign strategy (elections)

 

If you are in PR and are interested in participating as PRSA (Public Relations Society of America) seeks to redefine PR for the first time in 30 years, you'll find a link in the following article.  Think away!

 

 

 

 

Photo copyright: Poppy Thomas-Hill

My September 11 "Where was I?" Story

My crossing guard, George, said, "they got us, in New York, in D.C., and who knows where else!" 

What? 

George had assumed I already knew something.  I didn't.  I was dressed in my best with a dark briefcase, headed to make an important presentation to a group of attorneys. 

Then George explained the rest. 

What should I do?  The world had stopped and asked if I wanted to get off.  Well...I should...well...I don't know.  When going into shock...stick to the schedule?  I jumped in my car and turned on a news station in Salt Lake City.  As I sped downtown towards my meeting at the top of a local skyscraper, I heard on the radio, "Senator, it sounds as if we are literally under attack!" said the morning commentator.  Utah's senator responded, "we are!" 

The World Seemed To Go On

I drove into the high-rise parking garage. I wondered if I was safe.  I thought the same thing in the elevator.  Hitting one of the top floors, I went to the reception desk of the law firm.  An attorney greeted me and gestured toward the presentation room.

"Given what has happened, why don't we do this another day?" I said.  He looked at me, puzzled.  "No problem, let's do it now," and he gathered the others.  I said, emphatically, "are you sure?"  He was firm with his, "yes."

I slammed shut that part of my brain that registers fear, sadness, mourning.  I gave the presentation of my life.  I had to.  It was the only way to stop thinking about the unthinkable.

Presentation over...the lawyers quietly thanked me and I was out the door.  Not one mention of what had happened in New York.  I have great respect for many lawyers...but I will never understand them.

The World Wasn't Going On

Rushing back to my car, I noticed the deadly calm in Salt Lake City.  No busy streets, just one woman wandering aimlessly through a not-yet-open downtown mall. No expression on her face.  It was stone cold.

That night in front of the TV, my husband blew up.  "I don't want to see yet another repeat video of those plane crashes anymore!  Can you imagine what this is doing to the families of those who were killed?"

The Halftime of a Lifetime

Months later on Superbowl Sunday.  Bono of U2 screamed out a song as the names of those killed were beamed in tribute onto a giant high-tech scroll in the background. I wept with a depth I'd never experienced at any funeral, with any death or any tragedy.  At the end of his tribute, he screamed just one word to the crowd: "America!"  He slowly opened his leather jacket, which was lined with an American flag.  

 Share your story. We all have one.

 

Salt TV: High-profile TV News Reporters Launch Utah Online News Network

Coming soon to a smartphone, iPad, or computer near you - eleven extremely familiar Utah faces will once again report and deliver news and entertainment via the new Salt TV Network.  They miss their profession and they’re going online to get it back.  Last weekend, I came across their beta site on the Internet. 

Where have they been?  Some had retired, others were downsized during this great recession and revolution in communications.  You know their names, possibly as well as you know those of your children.  KSL (NBC), KTVX (ABC), KUTV (CBS) and KSTU (FOX) once spent millions in branding dollars to showcase their faces, personalities and talents.

One Deep Bench

Here’s the lineup: Dick Nourse, Ruth Todd, Terry Wood, Susan Wood, Randall Carlisle, Kimberly Perkins, Shelley Osterloh, Craig Wirth, Kim Johnson, Reece Stein, Lisa Cline, Jill Atwood, Larry Warren…and even Tom Barberi.  Yes… a radio guy snuck in!  Will they be any competition to their former employers?  Only the future will tell. 

Salt TV Network creator, former KTVX assistant news director Pat Benedict, has a contract with United Press International for national/international news and believes his business model could be franchised in other states.

They Want You To Be Involved

Each reporter will soon have a social page with a welcome video, plus tabs you can click on for bios, their most recent news stories and their personal blogs.  You can fire off your opinions and concerns, communicate via Skype and even post your own video.  Salt TV Network promises exclusive stories, local news that isn’t covered anymore, fresh content every day, along with sports, recreation and features.  And it plans to give time and attention to the issues of every county in the State.

Their Thoughts

“On Salt TV, news and information flows both ways,” says Dick Nourse.  “You won’t have to wait until 10 p.m. to get the news,” adds Ruth Todd.   Randall Carlisle calls Salt TV, “ a bold new adventure in local news.  We are not the same old boring news you watch on your local stations.  With us, you get news from a grass roots level.”  Terry Wood laments the current economic pressure that “has forced broadcast journalism as well as the print media to cut back.  Now journalists are finding they must reinvent the form of the delivery of news.”

Beat Reporting

Some have specific beats. Susan Wood will cover medical news, Carlisle will report on downtown business, development, entertainment and the people and non-profit groups doing good things in the community.  Reece Stein will have a program called Outdoor Family Fun, including hiking, camping, fishing and hunting news.  He encourages all of us to be his field reporters. Ruth Todd plans to focus on education and family issues.  Craig Wirth, Utah’s version of the famous Charles Kuralt, will offer up his  well-loved brand of personal humor.

Then there’s this radio guy...Tom Barberi, the longtime radio Voice of Reason.  Tom will be back with his own program of rants and raves.  “Have an issue with something I said?  Who doesn’t?” he says, encouraging his audience to spar via email, Twitter or Facebook.  “This is a 21st century town hall meeting in which you are front and center.”

Household Names

These individuals were my household brands.  They’ve been in my living room for decades.  Here they are again in a colorful line-up photo.  Great genes, white teeth, clear eyes and not a hair out of place.  I’d like to see them succeed.  I’d like Salt TV to give new opportunities to citizen journalists and other print journalists who’ve lost their jobs.  I hope Salt TV has advertisers and investors who will give it the time needed to establish and strengthen its audience.

Bye Bye TV Consultants

I have but one suggestion.  Relax.  Online you don’t have to be “TV perfect.”   Soften the make-up and the broadcast voices.  No TV consultant will bug you about your wrinkles, gray hair, lack of hair, or sudden extra pounds.  Even better...no more big investments in fine clothes and dry cleaning. Be real. Just have a great time doing what you love.  www.salttvnet.com

Newspapers Threaten Legal Action Against Political Blog - More To Come?

Prepare to be legally concerned if you blog about and/or link to online copyrighted material.  A group of Colorado newspaper publishers (including Media News Group, which owns the Denver Post and also the Salt Lake Tribune in Utah) have hired legal help to prevent the use of copyrighted stories.  An online blog receiving a Cease and Desist letter was ColoradoPols.com.  It probably doesn't help that the blog has this top banner ad:

Read all about it here, and advise yourself, your management team or your client about this action.  Revisit your Web sites and blogs.  Past or even current verbal permission from a news outlet may not protect you. 

Use care when you link to news stories.  An argument can be made that if you cut and paste a portion of the article, then link to it, you have given the story away and thus create no need for the reader to visit the newspaper's site.  Given the financial health of news publications today, this may be an escalating trend.

There's a good copyright attorney in Salt Lake.  I'll see if I can get him to weigh in on the matter.  Stay tuned.

People "Perspiration"...A Neat Research Approach For Campbell's Soup

No...no...say it isn't so!  We will soon be saying farewell to that familiar little red Campbells soup can label.  The company chose to perform what it calls neuromarketing research...hooking up people in a focus group with wires and a vest measuring heart rate, perspiration, etc. as they shopped for soup.

What an interesting new direction for research to take - measuring physical and emotional engagement before it is filtered through the brain and delivered verbally by the person. 

New media, social media is successfully teaching product producers to build more personal and warm-hearted relationships with their consumers, something display ads have a hard time doing.

I will miss the old Campbell's labels...they contain so many childhood memories.  But to tell the truth, the label has not persuaded me to buy it in my adult years.  Did I have a bad childhood?  Have my taste buds changed?  Am I buying heartier, perhaps more adult-tasting soups?  Or am I overwhelmed at the store?  Too many choices for me!  I found one brand I liked and stuck with it.  Some people love variety.  I have trouble ordering coffee at Starbucks.  I'd like some simplicity in a detail fixated world.

See the article and video here, in the Wall Street Journal.

If Everyone's A Celebrity, Who Is The Audience? Do All Social Media Dreams Come True?

Disclaimer:  Don't get me wrong.  Social media is amazing. I love it and respect those who've harnessed its power. 

When you meet a high-level blogger, Tweeter, FBer, etc., can you see the stars in their eyes?  They've tasted the drug of celebrity.  Addiction levels are off the charts.  Visions of speeches at conferences, their books sold at the back as the audience exits. Webinars, Amazon orders & profits rolling in.  Attorney level consulting fees and the joy of the freebies.  It's a heady rush.

When Seth Godin spoke in Salt Lake several years ago, an audience member cried out, "we want to be like you!"  For some reason...that made me sad.  It seemed to bother him a bit, too. 

The slice and dice of once powerful media into cell sized morsels has brought power to the people.  May we use it wisely.

Can this be sustained?  Some questions I'd like you to ponder with me.

1. If we can all get our 15 minutes of fame, who will be our audience?
2. If we each publish our own newspaper, blog, have our own TV & radio (podcast, YouTube) outlets, how many followers can we attract before the excitement levels drop?  How much information can one human consume in a day, let alone generate? 
3. And now that we have all written and published a book (or plan to), who will read it?  What profit, if any, will we see as our copy joins the thousands of advice books outdated within mere months?

Online activity resembles a blur of swarming bees, all buzzing around each other, all frantically trying to give each other attention....and asking the same in return.  Pedestrians, drivers, people on dates, kids at the dinner table...eyes locked on mini-screens as their latest Google alert, Alexa rank, and online analytics confirm their new star status.

So it has come to this.  A country that strives to be so respectful of individual rights is now packed with citizen celebs.  In the anxious grab for audience...any audience...whatever audience is out there, to what lengths will people go?  Balloon boys?  Crashing presidential dinners?

PR Job Prospects For 2010 Are "Very Good" - The Latest From CareerCast.com

New research by job search site CareerCast.com indicates that of 200 selected careers, public relations is ranked #79 of 200 professions (#1 being the best, #200 the worst).  The best part?  PR job prospects look very good for the coming year.

The rankings compare physical demands, the work environment, income, stress and the future hiring outlook.  Each profession is scored in all areas.

Guess what profession comes just before us, at #78?  Cosmetologist.  Guess which one comes after at #80?   Attorney...(gasp).  AND, the PR salary listed (which I assume is an average) is about $90,00.

Being sandwiched between such different careers does make me question the research a bit.  But read on....

PR Has One Major Flaw

Surprisingly, according to CareerCast.com, "there are more high-paying, well-respected jobs ranked between 61 and 80 than there were from 41 - 60. However, while positions such as attorney, federal judges, psychologist and public relations executive boast average median salaries ranging from approximately $89,000 to $152,000, each career has at least one major flaw that prevents it from finishing higher in the rankings. Judge, for example, is the highest-paying position in the group but suffers from a poor hiring outlook, while attorney is hurt by high stress levels and a difficult work environment."

Go here to see the top ten jobs.  Click here for the ten worst.  And if you'd like to see all of the research, here you go!

Social Media Exhaustion...Observations

I've been bad in the eyes of social media experts.  I haven't posted on my blog for a few weeks.  Why? Too busy, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY - I didn't have much to say.  Sure, I inhaled a lot of new information, and exhausted myself with FB and Twitter.  Some observations for your entertainment.

1. 1. Tried to buy the book, "The Four Hour Work Week."  After 30 minutes of keyboard arguing..couldn't get Amazon to let me (didn't recognize me as a regular customer...which I am).
2. Hired a virtual assistant in Kentucky. I live in Utah. This feels weird.  Maybe I'll learn to like it a lot.
3. Helped hold a blogger seminar for a client.  Fast and furious debate.  It was really cool ;)
4. For the first time, sent a news release with this wording: Media/Blogger Contact Numbers.
5. For the first time, sent a client news release to reporters via Facebook and Twitter...THEN proceeded to do some emailing and phone calling.
6. Hired an SEO consultant. Exhausted myself over Thanksgiving following all his advice.
7. Got mad about no longer being the top spot if you search Google for Cartwright Communications.  A tech firm and a PR firm in England now beat me out  :(
8. Helped a TV station coordinate a story on the new FTC guidelines for bloggers.  Couldn't get through to bloggers for the story via phone or email.  It was twittering them that got response.  Oh yeah, the reporter and I went back and forth through Facebook.  He said to me, "don't any of these bloggers have phone numbers?"

And life, however hectic and hard on the hands, arms, neck and back, goes on.  What's your week been like?  I'd love to hear about it.

Meet Utah's New Media - Utah Mama and Today's Mama

Two moms once pondered why there wasn't a more central information site for parenting issues and info.  Today, they manage employees in Utah and have 27 licensed Websites in the U.S.  This "Mommy Blog" network started with Utah Mama and moved into a more global "Today's Mama."

They have a payroll to meet, they have advertisers and you can read all about them here, on Utah Pulse or on Utah Policy Daily. 

Bloggers Be Warned, Time To Be Crystal Clear About "Blogola" ....Freebies, Payments

This is a big one. Pay attention. Bloggers...this means us too.  This week the Federal Trade Commission issued new and final guidelines that reach into social media, PR and marketing.  After clarification discussions with an FTC staff attorney, the Public Relations Society of America issued the following letter today. I hope it helps you in your business decision-making.  Thanks PRSA!

[Email begins]

Dear Members,

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued final changes to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. While advisory in nature, the new guidelines will reset standards of behavior that public relations, marketing and advertising professionals should adopt to avoid violating underlying laws against unfair competition and false advertising.

The Guide changes, as set out in the FTC's notice, make three key departures from previous guidance that could impact public relations practice:

• The FTC advises that "endorsers" as well as advertisers can be held liable for false or unsubstantiated claims or for failing to disclose material connections between the parties.

• The Guides no longer offer the "safe harbor" whereby testimonials can be qualified by a "results may vary" disclaimer.

• Regarding endorsements, the Guides specify that celebrities should disclose relationships with advertisers.

While the FTC will approach each potential violation on a case-by-case basis, the new guidelines will impact how professionals should approach some common practice scenarios. Here are some applications of the guidelines:

• Bloggers who receive cash or in-kind payment (including free products or services for review) are deemed endorsers and so must disclose material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.
  

• Any firm that engages bloggers by paying them outright to create or influence editorial content or by supplying goods or services to them at no cost may be liable if the blogger does not disclose the relationship.

• Advertisements or promotions that feature a consumer who conveys his or her experience with a product or service as "typical" should clearly disclose what results consumers can generally expect or specify how the results were unique to the individual circumstances.

• If research is cited in an advertisement or promotion, any sponsorship of the research by the client or the marketer should be clearly disclosed.

• Celebrities who make endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media, should disclose any relationship with the advertiser or marketer.

From an ethics perspective, the new guidelines parallel key transparency principles in the PRSA Code of Ethics, as well as Professional Standards Advisory PS-9 condemning "pay for play" practices. However, for practitioners, the guidelines go beyond ethics to recommended practice to avoid legal liability. While the ethics are clear, the triggers and nature of adequate disclosure are not fixed. As I recommended in a recent PRSAY post, thorough understanding and self-regulation can help public relations professionals avoid legal repercussions.

While the guidelines are advisory in nature, failure to comply increases the risk of professionals finding themselves in violation of the law. Moreover, non-compliance can result in a communication from the FTC warning professionals against the potential offending action. If that warning is not heeded, it may be followed by a cease-and-desist order. Intentional violation of that order may result in referral to FTC enforcement, which may include civil monetary penalties.

There has been information circulating publicly on the new guidelines that is confusing and conflicting. With this notice, PRSA hopes to bring members up to date on the facts as currently understood. This information is based on FTC documents and an in-depth conversation with a Commission staff attorney. Going forward, PRSA will continue to provide you with information, clarification, case studies and interpretations as they unfold.


Best regards,



Michael Cherenson, APR

[End of email]