Prologue: Summer is the Time to Make Connections and Expand Your Horizon

Greetings Colleagues:

Get connected this summer with the National Capital Channel, your free, widget-like desktop link to the latest PR news and local events! We’ve just updated the Channel with RSS feeds of the most popular PR blogs and video content on hot industry topics to keep you current. In addition, you can stay apprised of upcoming networking events, professional development programs, job postings, and podcasts—all from the convenience of a tiny icon on your desktop that downloads from our home page in about 2 minutes. If you’re a current user and already have the NCC Channel on your desktop, just go to the Menu button and click the Get Latest Version link to add the top PR blogs to your Channel.  If you haven’t registered yet for the new PRSA NCC Channel, click here to download it to your desktop.

This month I wanted to highlight two great networking opportunities. The PRONet committee is hosting another fun summer happy hour. Keep an eye out for these relaxed, enjoyable opportunities to meet with colleagues and celebrate the warm weather. In addition, our Professional Development committee has designed yet another outstanding program for July. Learn how to fearlessly pitch big league media and develop lasting relationships with journalists. Events have been selling out quickly this year, so register today! Simply click on the event in the newsletter’s Next Up section.

Congratulations to many of our savvy members who are taking the opportunity this summer to get accredited! We had a full room at our June “JumpStart” preparation course. While not for the timid, this challenging process is also a great opportunity for professional development and to further expand your career. If you have been wanting to earn your APR, NCC’s preparation course is one of the best. Our Accreditation committee members are standing by to help guide you through the accreditation process. Please check the NCC website for more information and make plans to register for the next “Jumpstart” course, which is scheduled for September.

Lastly, if you, a friend or a colleague are interested in joining you can save $75 (and get FREE chapter dues) by becoming a member this month. Click here for more details. Note that you must use the promotional code CHAP2008 to receive the discount.  This offer is also available to former members who have been lapsed for more than a year.

I hope you are all having a terrific summer. As always, if you have any comments or questions, please feel free to contact me. I look forward to seeing you at one of this month’s chapter events!

Sincerely,

Heathere Evans-Keenan, APR

PRSA-NCC President, 2008

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PRSA-NCC Members Running for National PRSA Board of Directors

PRSA-NCC members Steven Lewis Grant, APR, Senior Manager, National Education Association, and Michelle Leff Mermelstein, APR, Public Relations Manager, Sprint Nextel, have been nominated to serve as the Mid-Atlantic director on the 2009 PRSA Board of Directors.

PR and New Media: Relationship Building in a Web 2.0 World Coming July 22

PRSA-NCC and the DC Chamber of Commerce will team up to discuss how members can make new media work for them on Tuesday, July 22, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the Herman Miller Design studio in Washington, D.C.

With new Internet technologies and emerging media, the face of public relations is rapidly evolving.  Wired consumers now use blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts and other new media to gather, organize and share information. 

Panelists Brook DeWalt, APR, Lt. Commander, U.S. Navy, New Media Directorate and Adam Kovacevich, Senior Manager, Global Communications and Public Affairs, Google will discuss what new media is and what new media tools are available, strategies for using new media, risks and rewards of new media, as well as blogs, YouTube, RSS, Facebook and more, evaluating the impact of new media, as well as case studies of businesses and organizations that have successfully used new media.

The panel will be moderated by Tim Ayers, Principal, Ayers Associates, LLC.

The cost is $35 DCCC and PRSA-NCC members and sponsors/ $60 non-members. Registration fee includes continental breakfast.

Register online at www.dcchamber.org or contact Candice Hicks, DCCC Member Program Specialist, 202-347-7201 ext. 209 or chicks@dcchamber.org.

Scoring the Big Media Placement

Scoring the “big” media placement can be a challenge for any media relations professional. However, a who’s who line up of speakers including Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent, Rob Doherty, Reuters Washington Bureau Chief and Neil Irwin, Washington Post Business reporter, will discuss how to fearlessly pitch the big league media as well as how to develop lasting relationships that transcend “the pitch” on Wednesday, July 23, from 8-10 a.m. at the U.S. Navy Memorial & Heritage Center in Washington, D.C.

Correction to June Member Spotlight

The last name of PSI’s Director of Public Affairs, David J. Olson, was listed incorrectly in the June 2008 New Member Spotlight.

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Brenda Weigel
Public Relations Coordinator
National Association of Health Underwriters

• Why did you join PRSA?

I joined PRSA because as a new PR professional, I wanted to have opportunities to network and expand my PR knowledge.

• How long have you been in the PR field?

I’m brand new! I just graduated from the University of North Carolina at Asheville with my B.A. in Mass Communication and a week later was working as a PR coordinator for a nonprofit.

• What skills are required to do your job?

I do a lot of media outreach and assist our 200+ chapters nationwide with their media relations efforts. I work with reporters to find an appropriate spokesperson to represent NAHU and also oversee our annual media relations awards.

• What’s your greatest career achievement?

Well, so far it has to be landing this fantastic job that I know will serve as a wonderful starting point for my career.

• Where would you like to see yourself in five years?

I’d like to have my masters in communication and still be doing public relations for nonprofits. I’d also like to serve on the board as a public relations professional with a charitable organization.

• How do you begin each day?

 I grab a Diet Coke and smile because I’m in the best city in the world. 

• What’s your dream job?

I’d love to be a director of communications for a nonprofit that works with social services. Maybe something with inner city schools or poverty. 

• Who’s your role model, and why do you admire him/her?

My role model has got to be my best friend Regan. She is the most talented and dedicated person I’ve ever met. She inspires me to look forward and keep my eyes open for the opportunities all around me.

• What’s the last book you read or movie you saw?

I just finished Generation Me: Why Today’s Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled—and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Jean M. Twenge. It made some excellent points about differences between my generation and past generations and I think made some wonderful ideas about how we can change our attitudes and teaching institutions to better serve the next generation.

• Tips for maintaining the elusive work/life balance?

Every day you get up, just be grateful for what you have. I’m young, I’m employed and I have wonderful friends—what more could I possibly ask for?

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.

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How do you persuade your senior management to start considering the power of the new social media versus the more traditional question of, "So how many mentions and media hits did we get this week?"—PR, Reston, VA

For readers of the PRSA-NCC newsletter who were born before 1980, “social media” or “Web 2.0” describes online activities, sites and applications that allow individuals to interact with online communities, directly exchange information with one another, and create their own content online.  It involves technologies such as:

   Blogging;

   Wikis (Websites such as Wikipedia that allow visitors to add, remove, edit and change content, typically without the need for registration);

   Social networking sites such as MySpace, LinkedIn, and Classmates.com;

   Media sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr;

   Podcasting and video casting.

In the Web 2.0 era, users no longer go to the Web to just take in information; instead, they are actively creating the information that’s out there.  Web 2.0 technologies have allowed individuals around the world to engage in direct dialog with each other—and the new question for corporations and organizations is how they can be sure they’re not left out of the conversation.  (“The Urgent Need for Companies to Adapt to Web 2.0,” Jad Hajj et al, Booz Allen Hamilton) 

Before advocating the use of social media for your organization, ask yourself: “How many of our customers or stakeholders use the Internet as a significant source of information about our business or issues?”  Unless you are unusual, the answer is probably, “Many of them.”  Therefore, you need to demonstrate to your senior management that using social media is just as effective as the traditional channels of communication (print and broadcast.)  Consider the following:

   Web 2.0 is a worldwide phenomenon, and we are in a global economy.  If your organization is part of that economy, then the Internet needs to be part of your communications strategy. 

   The Internet is increasingly seen as a reliable source of information, and users view the Internet as providing faster—and often more honest and unbiased—news and product information than do traditional media channels. 

   Social media are very similar to “word of mouth” as a way to reach and influence people.  Word-of-mouth has always been considered the most effective form of communication—with Web 2.0, it’s just on a larger scale. 

If you can provide management with ways to demonstrate and measure the effectiveness of social media, then you will have a new weapon to add to your communications arsenal. 

Regards,

Fred Whiting, APR

Do you have a question concerning the practice of public relations that would be of interest to others? Ask a PRofessional! Click on Programs/Mentoring/Ask a Professional or just click here 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.

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