Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent public relations professionals to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the sixth post in the series. A compilation of previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

A major highlight of my Fleishman-Hillard career was the privilege of not only knowing our co-founder, Al Fleishman, but calling him a mentor and friend. He was a man of many gifts: A great instinct for communication. A sharp, strategic mind. A big, big heart. He, along with his friend and business partner, Bob Hillard, became a pioneering force in public relations.

But Al’s greatest passion extended well beyond our profession. He was a great champion of diversity in all its forms. He was recognized as a tireless fighter for human rights who devoted much of his life to supporting the less fortunate and to helping people communicate with and understand one another better. It was a commitment that played out in many ways — from Al’s relief effort with European refugees after World War II, to his lifelong involvement with the nation of Israel, to his work with at-risk young men and women on the streets of St. Louis.

So, when we needed a name for an ambitious new diversity initiative at our firm, we didn’t have far to look.  We were proud to announce earlier this year the launch of the Alfred Fleishman Diversity Fellowship initiative. Under this program, we are reaching out to both ethnic and non-ethnic colleges and universities to generate a pool of qualified minority applicants at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Continue reading " Diversity Matters: Addressing Public Relations’ Diversity Deficit "

Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the fifth post in the series. A compilation of previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

Since the 2008 election of the first African-American president, there has been a constant drum beat about the emergence of a more tolerant and accepting societal construct where everyone is colorblind and the sophistications of race and background differences are just interesting side notes unworthy of further focus. Now if I had a nickel for each time I’ve heard someone say this, I would be a pretty wealthy guy.

While I would love nothing more than to live in a world that respectfully accepts individualism and uniqueness, I don’t think were completely there yet. That’s not to say we’re not making progress—we are. My trepidation, however, is if we buy into the notion that we’ve arrived at some magical “diversity” destination because we have a president that doesn’t look like those preceding him, it would be a disservice to those struggling and fighting to see themselves in boardrooms and halls of power. If anything, we’ve only just begun.

Continue reading " Diversity in the Age of Obama "

Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the fourth post in the series. A compilation of previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

An old faithful in the industry, media relations mastery is a necessary skill for PR professionals. Social networking and other digital platforms are hot topics, but many clients still want their product or event splashed across headlines. As midsize outlets are muscled out by online giants like Huffington Post and New York Times, smaller publishers are forced to get more and more niche-oriented. Those newspapers and magazines cultivate large readership bases when content is developed for a specific audience, not the masses. And with $1.1 trillion in projected African American spending power by 2015, black people across the U.S. are a market well-worth reaching. What does this mean for your media relations campaign? Whether local or national in scope, black publications are necessary components.

Having worked at a black newspaper, I know why pitching these publications can present challenges. First, most of the largest black outlets have fewer on their editorial staff than general market outlets. You will likely find one editor or writer responsible for covering multiple news topics. More responsibilities mean they have less time to hear your pitch, and a smaller newspaper or magazine means fewer stories get published. The good news is that publications are hungry for content. Tighter staffs mean reporters only get sent out to cover major stories. Editors often depend on PR pros to feed them relevant content for their audience. Here is how to maximize that relationship and get your stories published:

Write your press release as a story

Editors and writers have less time to develop a story, so do the work for them. Mainstream publications usually see the press release as a jumping-off point – they will take the content and follow up with their own research or interviews. Black publications do this as well (for larger, or investigative stories), but are also open to publishing your full press release. Editors appreciate when they only need make a few copy tweaks before a release is ready to print. The more your release reads like a completed story, the better.

Continue reading " Pitching the Black Press: Tips to Get Your Story Published "

Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the third post in the series. A compilation of previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

At the writing of this blog, it had been roughly 24 hours since the untimely death of singing star Whitney Houston. I carry an extensive background as a trained musician and as a professional in various levels of the entertainment industry. So, I have always found the passing of any influential and prominent musician to be a very sad occurrence. But somehow, Houston’s passing struck me as being much sadder and more poignant than many. I found myself reflecting on my own contribution to my community, and to the world.

For the past three years the New York chapter of the National Black Public Relations Society (BPRS-NY) had been totally inactive. Some wondered what happened to the chapter, but never investigated. There were those who were not aware that the chapter ever existed. I was focused on my special events design and production business, but felt I had made my contribution to the chapter with years of work I had put in as a chapter member, vice president, and diversity officer on the board of directors.

Last July, it became clear to me that it was totally unacceptable that in New York City, media capital of the world, there was no active Black Public Relations Society chapter. I decided to try and  re-boot the New York chapter.

Continue reading " Back To The Future "

Editor’s note: In celebration of Black History Month in February, PRSA invited prominent black leaders in the public relations profession to offer their views and ideas for achieving greater racial and ethnic diversity in the profession. This is the second post in the series. Previous PRSA Black History Month blog posts can be found here.

With February marking Black History Month in America, it’s worth examining the state of diversity in public relations, a profession that like many others, has had fits and starts when it comes to progress made toward racial diversity.

Black practitioners have been performing PR duties for nonprofits, social movements, corporations and other institutions for decades. Like every group, African Americans practiced public relations before the anyone even bothered to call what we do “public relations.” For example, anti-slavery associations used emotional appeals and testimonials to persuade audiences about the evils of slavery.

In the 20th century, there were several pioneering practitioners who dared to find their own space in the profession by starting their own firms, landing prominent clients eager to build relationships with non-majority audiences, becoming well-regarded counselors, and challenging the derogatory images of African Americans that were prevalent at one time in our nation’s history.

African-American practitioners are still in the public relations trenches. It may appear that present-day practitioners have little in common with those who preceded us. We have a president who claims his African-American heritage; Black men and women are CEOs of global companies. Although this is true, there remains a layer of invisibility for Black practitioners and other practitioners of color.

A 2010 census of PRSA’s 22,000 professional members shows that 14 percent of the membership self-identified as Hispanic, Black/African American, Asian/Asian American. That percentage has doubled since 2005.

In a report given at the PRSA Educators Academy Conference, Bey-Ling Sha, Ph.D., and I noted that “a very real possibility exists that minorities are not entering the public relations profession because the industry has failed to explicate to professionals the viability of this career option.” As a professor, I have seen this firsthand. I encounter students of color who question if there is room for them in this profession because they do not see others who look like them in the places where they wish to work.

Continue reading " Diversity and PR: Progress Made, But Challenges Remain "