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

Sad Times For Public Relations - A Utah Mayor's Ethics Lapse

photo by royal constantine

I don't need or want to rehash this situation.  It has been covered in more than 300 news articles and blog posts across the country, and even by the BBC.  I belong to an organization called the Public Relations Society of America, or PRSA, and I've been red-faced this week after learning about the actions of a part-time elected official in Utah.  He also works for a high profile PR firm but he is not a member of PRSA.  At this PR firm, even though he emphasizes he does not serve a PR role but works in "public affairs," I'm not sure there's much difference.  UPDATE: He has resigned from the PR firm on the evening of November 15.

PR professionals I know are wincing and wondering...how will this impact the reputation of what we do?  I'm also watching the media coverage and public reponse with a careful eye. What worries me most?  When I hear someone say this is no big deal.

For the record, those who do belong to PRSA are asked to abide by an ethics code modeled after the one adopted by the Society of Professional Journalists.

1. If you aren't aware of the Mayor's actions, here's a pretty detailed article by the Deseret News.
2. If you would like to see how the national and Greater Salt Lake PRSA offices responded, here are the statements.
3. And if you'd like to read blog reactions by those who have received their APR, Accredited Public Relations certification from PRSA, go here.

And may we all regularly "check in" with our inner compass. 

Be Sensitive, Not Defensive - Rules for Talking With the Media

I pulled this wonderful list, which is less about technique and protection and more about being human, from a recent edition of the Deseret News. 

Rules for Talking With the Media  

-by Richard Bushman

1. Be generous, not defensive.
2. Acknowledge problems.
3. Find new ways to say things.
4. Remember reporters want to get it right.
5. Don't try to prove, try to tell the truth.
6. Who you are is part of the message.
7. Speak from the heart.

Richard, I hope you don't mind, but I'll be using this with my clients - giving you credit, of course. 

photo credit: Fractalznet

                                                                                                                 

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.

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."

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.  

Bloggers: Are You Now Legally Vulnerable?

If you blog, the government has now recognized the power of blogging by issuing an 80+ page document  you need to be aware of.  On December 1, in American Fork, Utah, there will be a free seminar for local bloggers (seating limited to 25).

Why attend? Newly released Federal Trade Commission guidelines may:

1) Affect the way you advertise on your blog or in social media.

2) Require you to declare when you have been paid to blog about a product.

3) Require you to reveal when you've received free product.

4) Require certain disclaimers on your blog.

5) Make you more cautious when blogging about news, products, businesses and people.

Lunch will be provided.  Register here for a FREE ticket through Eventbrite by Nov. 30. Space is limited to 25 attendees.

Full disclosure: I do PR for Bank of American Fork.  This event merits space on my blog.  It is designed to reach out to local bloggers, and at the end, the Bank will discuss its annual charitable event.  The synergy here - bloggers come, get up to date legal information to help them with their online ventures.  In return, the Bank hopes to get them to blog about its 10th annual Project Teddy Bear to benefit thousands of Utah's at-risk children.

Schedule

11:30 a.m. - noon: Lunch, bloggers introduce themselves and their blogs.

Noon - 12:30: Legal advice presented by John Rees of Callister Nebeker & McCullough

12:30 - 1:00 p.m.: Learn about Project Teddy Bear, networking

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]

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.

Forbes Forming Network Of Women Business Bloggers

I just received an email asking me to join the ForbesWoman Blog Network (FWBN).  This is a very interesting trend - several months ago I discussed General Mills' efforts to creat a blogging network of individuals willing to try and write about General Mills products.

The Forbes proposal is very different.  Its team wants to be my "sales force" and approach blue chip advertisers...ultimately putting ads on this blog.  Think about it.  What if you had created a company blog and its content was so popular that you received a similar proposal from Forbes?  I'd call that good PR. 

The new world we've been predicting is here NOW.  The big guys are stepping into the non-traditional media mix.  I applaud this and plan to give it careful consideration.

A portion of the ForbesWoman Blog Network contract:

"We will promote the FWBN to our roster of blue-chip advertisers and while we will only run campaigns that are appropriate for your audience, our technology gives you the ability to review and approve every campaign, if desired.   Our advertising platform enables you to:
 

1. Review and approve any advertisement; 
2. Access to on-demand, real-time reports regarding the performance of campaigns and naturally your earnings; and 
3. You set your own rate card"

In addition, Forbes will provide me with a blog network badge to denote membership.  It then prompts me to go to a link to apply and accept the terms and conditions of the Ad Network Member Agreement.

This is the portion of the agreement that I REALLY liked - an effort to bring credibility to blogging content:

"You shall not display or make accessible on Member’s Site(s) materials that: (A) infringe or otherwise violate any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secrete or other intellectual property right; (B) are libelous, defamatory, indecent, obscene, threatening, libelous, abusive or hateful; (C) are fraudulent, deceptive or intentionally misleading, or (D) violate any applicable law, rule or regulation or any other right of any third party, or suggest, encourage or intended to incite any criminal conduct."