The Rocky Mountain News published its last issue today.

The venerable daily is a victim of the terrible economy and the current upheaval in the newspaper industry. Its closing is not good news for Denver, and it’s certainly not good news for the publication’s staffers, some of whom were said to cry at the news.

I can identify with the pain they’re feeling. Newspaper closings and newsroom layoffs always fill me with a sense of loss. My father, prior to starting his own public relations firm, worked for the Newark Star-Ledger. I spent many early mornings as a child delivering that paper and, all these years later, my mornings still begin with the rustle of newsprint and ink stains on my hands. 

Continue reading " Public Relations Stares Down the Shrinking News Hole "

Updating PRSA’s bylaws in keeping with modern governance theories and current best practices in association management is one of the most important organizational initiatives that PRSA is undertaking in 2009.

For the uninitiated, PRSA’s bylaws were drafted by the Society’s founders, under the authority of its Charter, to govern areas such as membership, dues, the election of directors and officers, accreditation, and the establishment and operation of Chapters, Districts, and Sections, among other things. Amending PRSA’s bylaws requires a two-thirds vote of the delegates present and voting at the annual meeting of the Assembly.

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The PRSA Board of Directors launched 2009 with its “Pulse of the Profession” project. Each of us interviewed 10 public relations practitioners regarding the impact of the recession on their careers, their thoughts on what’s happening in the public relations profession, how they define success in public relations, and how PRSA can help them in this difficult economic climate.

Our sample was not random, but we sought diversity in terms of age, gender, geography, and employment sector (e.g., PR agencies, corporate, nonprofit, higher education). Most respondents are PRSA members, and many have been leaders in the Society. As one of the board’s three team leaders for “Pulse,” I’m sharing some of our findings.

Continue reading " Recession Impacting PR “Unevenly,” Study Shows "

You may have seen the article/book review in the Feb. 10 issue of USA Today, in which public relations is characterized as “amoral, difficult to define, and difficult to measure,” and in other unflattering and uninformed ways. If you have not seen the article, you may access it here.

What appears below is a Letter to the Editor defending our profession, which is in keeping with an important part of our Member Code of Ethics:  Public relations professionals are obligated to strengthen the public’s trust in what we do as a profession.

Please take a moment to read the article and our response and, if you’re so inclined, to add your voice to this discussion of our profession.

Continue reading " USA Today’s Cynical View of Public Relations "

The election of Barack Obama as the country’s first black president has put the issue of diversity under increased public scrutiny. That’s a good thing for industries—like public relations—that can benefit from attracting more African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and other minority professionals to its ranks.

Over the past few years, our industry has made a serious commitment to solving its diversity problem. But as the latest PRWeek Diversity Survey shows, much work remains to be done, especially in the areas of recruitment and retention.

Continue reading " Public Relations’ Diversity Problem "