Media Relations

Layoffs & Getting Fired. The Worst Ways To Do It.

 If misery needs company, today's Ragan Communications column on "Horror Stories From The Front Lines" lists real life testimonials of a layoff, or firing handled badly.

I'd like to add my own personal story to the list.  At one of the first radio stations I worked at, it was clear that the new management wanted to get rid of me.  Daily cruelty was the first attempt.  One day, after finishing my morning news, management pulled me into a very quiet production booth and accused me of "deliberately sounding bad on the air to hurt ratings."  

Whenever I run into someone going through a similar situation, I can always bring a smile to their face by saying, "Hey, if you've never been laid off or fired, you aren't an official member of the communications profession."

Now, enjoy the Ragan article here.

Social Media Vs. Corporate Web Sites - What Reporters View As Credible

Is social media trumping corporate Websites when journalists write their stories?  Thankfully, not yet. Not even close.   But recent responses from 371 reporters indicate 56% regard social media as important or somewhat important in helping them write the news.

"Almost nine out of ten journalists admitted using Blogs for their online research (89%).  Only corporate Websites (96%) are used more."

George Washington University and Cision conducted this 2009 survey of reporters.  Further findings:

Journalists appear quite concerned about social media accuracy. "Lack of fact-checking, verification or reporting standards is the number one reason (49%) for journalists' perceptions on the reliability of news and information from social media sources."

Funny Headlines. When The News Is Depressing, Read On...

Correct Me If I'm Wrong is a book full of funny blooper headlines collected by the Columbia Journalism Review.

 FYI...you won't find the book on Amazon.  Be sure to go the the Newseum Store .  I get no commission for this plug :)

Some great examples:

 

 

 

Seth Godin Speaks In Salt Lake

Just got back from the Seth Godin speech in Salt Lake. Packed house and words of wisdom:

"If what you do can be written down, you are interchangeable."

"People will pay you well if you can figure things out."

"The risk is not in standing out, it is by fitting in."

"Definition of a genius: Someone who solved a problem in a new way."

"The more you fail, the more opportunities you have to succeed."

And finally, this gem about the current economy: "Just because the tide is out doesn't mean there's any less water in the ocean."

A special thanks to Startupprincess and all those who organized, sponsored and brought the event to Utah!

Meet America's New Non-profit Investigative Journalism Network

PR professionals...gird up your loins.  Old school investigative journalism may be near death from shrinking newsrooms.  Yet, as I write, the fresh shoots of a second birth are jutting from the soil.  From what I've been reading, a number of new non-profit news producing organizations have been created in the last few years, hiring "top talent" reporters who've been laid off.  Muckraking journalism is their focus.

Leaders from 20 of these new entities held a meeting in New York last year.  All 20 inked a document that declared participants members of the first ever "Investigative News Network of nonprofit news publishers throughout the United States of America."  

Calling this a "tectonic shift," Charles Lewis comments in the Columbia Journalism Review, that an "ecosystem is emerging in which an increasing percentage of the most ambitious reporting projects will emanate from the public realm, not from private commercial outlets."  

This leaves us with a lot to think about, doesn't it?

• Reporters may find new work. 
• PR professionals may tremble.
• The little guy could have a new and powerful advocate. 

Let me wish upon a star:  May the stories this new network produces be balanced, accurate and funded by those with integrity.  If that can happen, we all win.  

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!

New YearTech Memories....The Funny, The Frightening

I knew something was wrong when, while working in a hotel room...technology gadgets spilling off the table, I picked up the TV remote and dialed it like a cell phone. 

Feel like you've crammed a lifetime of tech learning into ten short years? 

Fire up that gray matter and remember with me...

1- Remember when your fax machine was busy?  Now it’s just bored.

2- Remember when the phone rang and the air burst with lively conversation? Keyboards now click quietly in little office cubes.

3- Remember when we used to have a "live" conversation? Now a simple "yes, go ahead," "no wait…," "OK, go ahead," is pieced together via texts, voice mail, email and a Twitter.

4- Remember when you could use a "white lie" and say you never got the message?  Now the sender madly searches digital archives and emails it to you (and sometimes your boss).

5- Remember when you placed mere phone calls to line up a news interview?  Recently, I helped set up a TV story with a reporter on Facebook. I found the interviewees via Twitter. 

 6- Remember when cell phones were just cell phones?  In 2000, a new client handed me a digital phone with a large screen and said, "Guess what?  You can go online with this.  Play with it and tell us what you think."  I fell asleep in my hotel room, phone cradled in my arms...not knowing I'd accidentally ordered $250 in software from Amazon.com.

7- Remember when talking to yourself meant something might be wrong with you? 

8- Remember the world before PowerPoint?  Where do all dead overhead projectors go?  

9- Remember when you rarely knew "whatever happened to" all your old friends?  

10- And remember when life ran slower, brains were permitted to pause, and private time was a right, not a privilege? 

Happy New Year!  May we all make it through with our heads and hearts intact.

 

Humor - Funny Headlines. Laugh Into 2010

And once again, real headlines collected by the Columbia Journalism Review in a new book called Correct Me If I'm Wrong.  Recommended reading for the holidays, and for psychological survival in January 2010!

  

Utahstories.com - Meet Utah's New Media

What do you do when you want to be a journalist, yet the world of journalism is in chaos?  Like many former or laid off reporters, you can always shoot for the stars and start your own news operation.  With some sweat equity, good journalism ethics and an eye for the hyper-local news no one covers anymore, you just might get a good reputation.  You just might one day make enough money to live on.

Here's one story, right here in Utah.

Meet Richard Markosian, creator of Utahstories.com.  "Read all about it" here.

Funny Headlines From The Columbia Journalism Review

With my thanks to the Columbia Journalism Review.  The magazine collects these great bloopers from subscribers and reporters.  By the way, if you really want to see inside the news business, understand the challenges and ethical dilemmas, subscribe.

Enjoy!