In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views on race and public relations and their ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the industry. This is the fifth in the series.

In our dynamic professional environment, it is crucial for African-American women to understand the history and heritage of their journey as they emerge as leaders in the public relations profession. Not only has this history shaped my personal career choice, but it also has propelled African-American women whose actions and ideas have made significant contributions to the industry.

Continue reading " African-American Women: The Next Generation of Leaders in Public Relations "

 In celebration of Black History Month, PRSA has invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views on race and public relations and their ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the industry. This is the fourth in that series. 

Reflecting on the many contributions of African Americans during Black History Month, it is with shameless abandon that I place the spotlight on the public relations profession. I imagine I’d receive no argument from my peers by saying “embracing diversity represents a way of life for an organization, company or individual to ensure long-term success.” My life is enriched, my community is enriched and our nation is enriched when we view our world through the unique prism of diversity.

When I entered this profession in the early 1980s, I was struck by the lack of diversity across all sectors of the public relations arena. Among organizations created to generate a sense of community and elevate the value of my chosen profession, I found no safe haven. Determined to become an insider and grow as a professional, I sampled several groups, finally choosing the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for its rich resources. In my early twenties, I wasn’t quite sure how to carve out a career path, network with peers or bring more diversity to the profession.

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I was honored to convene the first 2010 meeting of PRSA’s Board of Directors this past Friday and Saturday. We took stock of our organization, participated in engaging discussions and planned for the coming year. I think I speak for the entire Board in saying that we left PRSA’s headquarters energized, excited and enthused about the year ahead, both for the Society and our profession.

We began the meeting by discussing the top-level trends impacting our members. To prepare for this discussion, I had asked the Board to canvass PRSA members and other public relations practitioners in their geographic areas to determine how the economy is affecting them, the biggest challenges they are facing and how they measure success in their places of employment.  The findings from this informal, “Pulse of the Profession” research, our third such study, will be the subject of a future blog post.

Continue reading " PRSA’s Priorities for 2010: Easy as “A, B, C, D, E” "

Ask a public relations professional, “What do you do for a living?” and you may get as many different answers as there are practice specialties and organizational settings. Ironically, defining the discipline can be nearly as tough as combating the persistent stereotypes that denigrate its value and reputation.

To foster more accurate and better-informed perceptions surrounding the value and roles of public relations, PRSA today rolled out “The Business Case for Public Relations™.” This advocacy campaign, which was created with input from senior industry leaders, is intended to drive industry recognition and growth by helping professionals in the field educate key stakeholders about public relations’ functions and outcomes, demonstrate its strategic value and enhance its reputation.

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This week, the Federal Trade Commission recognized social media and the new ways consumers get information. The result was a quick initiation into the regulatory fold.

After 30 static years, the FTC revised its guidelines for endorsements and testimonials to keep communicators on the right side of unfair competition and false advertising laws (see sections 45 and 53). The new guidelines are advisory, but they will change the way public relations, advertising and marketing professionals need to approach certain strategies, tactics and heretofore best practices.

Essentially, the FTC applied longstanding principles to new media realities. This conceptual leap has, not surprisingly, left bubbling uncertainties in its wake. Further muddying the waters are hosts of snap analyses in the press and online that have left professionals misinformed, confused and quite concerned. Bottom line, no blogger will be dragged off in chains nor any time soon be hit with stiff civil penalties, except in very extraordinary cases. 

Continue reading " The New FTC Guidelines: Cutting through the Clutter "