Advancing the Profession Both within and Outside the Industry

PRSA-NCC continues to advance the profession both within and outside the industry.  Earlier this month, the Chapter supported a special initiative on the Hill to establish PRSA as the primary resource of the profession.  The Chapter worked with the National PRSA office to produce a joint PRSA and US Department of State reception on global communications and public diplomacy.  The event featured Ambassador Karen Hughes, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and Rhoda Weiss, National Chair and CEO, PRSA.   The event was held on the Hill with an audience of press secretaries, directors of communications and chiefs of staff of senators and congressmen. 

The event was one program to bring important communications issues into discussion, but it also increased visibility of our society among important audience members. In addition, it provided ample evidence of our expertise on communications at the national and international level.  Advocacy, the promotion of our profession and expertise is, of course, a top agenda item for the Society.

We also are continuing our series of public relations workshops for the DC Chamber of Commerce.  This popular series brings our society to dozens of business owners, executives and middle managers and helps to establish us as a primary resource.

Additionally, we continue to advance the profession as a Chapter by offering outstanding professional development workshops and networking events.  We are extending this feature this year, by introducing podcasts and videocasts on our Web site.  With this new feature, people who cannot attend the workshops can still benefit from gaining valuable insights and information presented at the workshops. We hope to grow this new technology so that more of our workshops and special events can be featured on the site.  Visit www.prsa-ncc.org and check out this exciting new benefit.

As always, we are proud to serve. Please don’t hesitate to call us with your ideas and feedback. Together, we will continue to make PRSA the “must-join” society in the industry.

Respectfully,

Sandra Wills Hannon, Ph.D., APR

Back to Top

Campaign for Pam Miles

At the Thoth Awards Gala held September 20 at the National Press Club, the Chapter held a silent auction to raise funds for the Circle of PR Friends.  This year, the funds went towards the Campaign for Pam Miles as it did last year.  Last year the chapter raised over $25,000 to assist with medical expenses for what would hopefully be a life-saving double lung transplant for former chapter president Pam Miles, who had Cystic Fibrosis.  Sadly, Pam passed away on September 7, 2007 – before she was able to be transplanted.

More than $4,000 was raised this year through the Silent Auction.  Those funds will be given, by Board approval, to Pam’s family to help them with expenses for the memorial services for Pam.

A local memorial service to celebrate Pam’s life will be held on Sunday, September 30 at 5:00 p.m. at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, 4444 Arlington Blvd., Arlington, VA.  There will be a reception following the service, and both the service and reception are open to anyone who wishes to attend.

Tap IPRA for Your Public Relations Needs

The Independent Public Relations Alliance (IPRA) is a resource unique to the National Capital chapter of PRSA.  This group of seasoned professionals is made up of independent consultants and virtual agencies that provide services to a full range of clients from associations to corporations. 

The benefits of using IPRA members are that they are senior-level professionals, many of whom have held top jobs in other organizations, and are experts in various industries, from health care, sports or technology, as well as event publicity.    

New IPRA member Deborah Deal, APR, is an example of the unique expertise that our independent members bring to the table.  Deborah is the CEO of Saint Blackwell, Inc., which offers public relations and business development services, and partners with other independent practitioners to form customized teams to serve as a virtual agency to meet client’s needs. 

Consider IPRA the next time you are looking for PR expertise. You can learn more about IPRA and other independent practitioners at http://www.ipralliance.com, or by contacting IPRA Membership Chair Sandra Remey, APR, at (sandra@remeycommunications.com).

Back to Top

Melissa A. Hurley

Program Manager, Public Relations, American Industrial Hygiene Association

1. Why did you join PRSA?
   I did some research before choosing what organizations I wanted to be a part of. I spoke with colleagues and mentors until finally deciding on PRSA. I joined PRSA primarily because it’s the world’s largest organization for public relations professionals. I felt this was a great opportunity for me to stay connected with the trends, perceptions, issues, and challenges of the profession. It was also a great way for me to develop and strengthen my skills and to network with peers.
   
   
2. How long have you been in the PR field?
   I’ve worked in the communications/visual media field since high school. However, only these past two years have been focused solely on public relations efforts for an association.
   
   
3. What skills are required to do your job?
   I have to demonstrate excellent oral and written communications skills. It’s important to be a self-starter with strong organizational and multitasking skills. In this position, you really have to be able to meet deadlines, work under pressure, and be able to work with many different personalities. Because I’m in regular contact with our outside PR agency, my position plays a key role in supervising the day-to-day work of the agency. I write routine reports and correspondence, as well as news articles, communications plans, and press releases. I develop press kits and other materials to support the work of the communications program. I serve as the primary media contact and assist reporters. I interpret documents such as safety rules, operating and maintenance instructions, legislation, and procedure manuals. Someone in my position has to be able to generate newsworthy hooks for various media outlets and pitch stories to national and trade press. I also conduct media training events and create the content for those presentations. Lastly, as program manager, I track all PR efforts to measure results.
   
   
4. What’s your greatest career achievement?
   I would say my greatest career achievement lies in the many relationships that I’ve built throughout my experiences thus far. Every encounter seems to create another relationship, which is very important in the PR world given that much of our success relies on relationship building.
   
   
5. Where would you like to see yourself in five years?
   It’s still early in my career, and I’m not quite sure where I want to be five years from now. My background varies from nonprofit PR to film and video production to corporate communications, so I don’t really have one single passion. I think my varied work experience allows me to have a different perspective than others might have. It has also given me the opportunity to experience creativity and strategic thinking on many different levels. I’d like to expand my leadership skills and truly recognize what I’m good at and what fulfills my overall professional and personal goals and interests. Five years from now, wherever life takes me, I’d like to see myself being very happy, successful, and fulfilled at what I’m doing.
   
   
6. How do you begin each day?
   It’s funny because I can honestly say that each morning is different for me. It really depends on who’s in the office and what’s made the news that day. I generally skim the headlines to see if any news content relates to my present association, which helps me to stay current with trends and emerging issues. It pays to be well-informed.
   
   
7. What’s my dream job?
   My dream job would entail working for an entertainment company, perhaps doing some public speaking or acting, maybe writing a book or an award-winning script. I can dream, right?
   
   
8. What was the last book that you read or movie that you saw?
   I went on vacation to Portugal this summer and had a great deal of downtime to totally immerse myself in a book. It was great! The book was titled “The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls. Walls’ memoir tells of triumph against all odds but is also a moving account of unconditional love in a family that, despite its profound flaws, gave her the determination to create a successful life on her own terms.
   
   
9. Tips for maintaining the elusive work/life balance?
   I’m not one to give advice on this; I’m still learning. I just always try to remind myself of what’s important to me and never to lose sight of that. Balance in everything is vital. It’s just learning how to maintain that balance that I think will be a lifelong lesson for me.

If you've joined the Chapter within the past six months and would like to receive a questionnaire, please contact newsletter@prsa-ncc.org. To view past new Member Spotlights, visit the membership section of the Web site.

Back to Top

What is the current protocol for using reprint in PR efforts? If we are an ethical company, is it necessary to purchase rights to reprint every article we are featured in? What do you do? Are there special rules relating to the web and public domain?—KL

Dear KL: I’m glad to hear that yours is an ethical company that is sensitive to such matters as the copyright laws.  In the law, there is something called the “fair use” provision.  It’s there to accommodate journalists who want to quote from copyrighted material in a way that doesn’t require getting permission from the copyright owner.  In most cases, it is sufficient to quote a short portion of the material (a paragraph or two) and credit the source, either in the article or as a footnote. 

If your company is featured in an article that appears in print, on TV or radio or on a Web site, you usually need to ask permission from the media outlet to reprint the entire article.  In most cases, permission will be granted, but in many instances the outlet will require that you pay a fee.  If you want to avoid that, then you can make use of the “fair use” provision and just use the paragraph or two that mentions your company and credit the source. 

There is no special exemption relating to the Internet, but you can also get around the fee payment situation by briefly summarizing the article with a link to the posting online.  You don’t need to ask for permission, but the link will work only as long as the article’s URL is still active.  For Web sites of major daily newspapers, they are usually transferred to an archive after a short period of time.  However, there is an exception for material that is in the public domain.  Anything that was published by a government entity or is no longer copyrighted is fair game – you can quote from Shakespeare, the Bible or the U.S. Government as much as you like!  (And you have permission to quote me.) 

Regards,

Fred Whiting, APR

If you have a question concerning the practice of public relations that would be of interest to others?  Ask a PRofessional!  Go to the PRSA-NCC Chapter Web site to pose your question and receive a personal reply.  Your question and the answer may appear in a future issue of the PRSA-NCC Chapter newsletter. 

Back to Top