Bylaws Rewrite to be a Focus of PRSA’s 2009 Assembly

By Dan Keeney, APR
PRSA Assembly Delegate for Greater Fort Worth Chapter of PRSA

One of the most important organizational initiatives that PRSA is undertaking in 2009 is updating the national organization's bylaws. The initiative is intended to keep up with modern governance theories and current best practices in association management.

Amazingly, PRSA’s bylaws have not been thoroughly revised since they were first ratified more than 60 years ago. Broad and meaningful bylaws changes will help the Society continue to grow, prosper, and serve as a leading voice in the public relations industry.

PRSA established a Bylaws Task Force in 2007 to determine the changes needed. The task force felt that governance changes in three main areas of the bylaws — membership, governance, and leadership — could further strengthen the Society for the future.

MEMBERSHIP: The task force recommended that the bylaws be updated to extend membership opportunities to professionals with a broader range of knowledge, experiences and job responsibilities. This reflects the changes in what many communications professionals do. The change will increase the diversity of thought across the organization.

GOVERNANCE: The task force recommended that we open the election of the national board to all members. The National Assembly would become the “Leadership Assembly,” a body of leaders advising the PRSA Board of Directors on issues pertaining to the profession. The task force envisions a group that communicates regularly, votes electronically and helps shape PRSA’s advocacy agenda. Under the task force’s recommendations, the composition of the Leadership Assembly would remain the same as the present Assembly, with the addition of Delegates representing National committees and task forces.

LEADERSHIP: The PRSA Bylaws Task Force has recommended expanding the requirements for, and eliminating certain barriers to, board service to open board service to a broader range of individuals with diverse backgrounds. Under the new requirements, any PRSA member in good standing who is Accredited in Public Relations (APR) and/or a Chapter, District, Section or Committee leader, and/or has more than 20 years of public relations experience with increasing levels of responsibility, would be eligible to run for the board. Additionally, all board members would be elected at-large meaning that directors would no longer be elected from the specific area of the country in which they live and work. Directors would be allowed to serve up to two, two-year elected terms, which may be served consecutively or non-consecutively. Directors would still be entitled to seek additional terms as an officer.

Subject to input from PRSA members, the plans is to incorporate changes in these areas into a new bylaws document to be voted on by the Assembly at PRSA’s International Conference in San Diego in November 2009.

Member questions may be sent at any time to governance@prsa.org.

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Hack and Flack: Still Adversarial

Image via Wikipedia

From Andra Bennett, APR - Chapter President

My journalist husband and I have considered starting a blog called Hack and Flack, taking off on NPR’s Click and Clack but more like Mary Matalin and James Carville. Remember TV’s “Odd Couple” intro: “Can two divorced men {hack and flack} share an apartment without driving each other crazy?” Neil Hefti music up now.

Those sentiments were all in play at last week’s GFW PRSA luncheon when four publishers/editors of local weeklies [Lucie Allen, publisher/editor of the Spanish-language Panorama News; Lee Newquist, publisher of the Fort Worth Weekly; Blake Ovard, managing editor of The Star Group Newspapers, and Kay Pirtle, editor of the Wedgwood News] and an ex-ombuddy were corralled in a room of PR practitioners.

The weeklies were invited because Greater Fort Worth PRSA members wanted to hear how they were doing financially and how we could work together on news stories.

Oscar, meet Felix.

During the Q&A, Lee Newquist, publisher of Fort Worth Weekly, was asked how PR practitioners could be of the most value to the weeklies. As part of a longer response, Newquist answered, “PR companies, at least on the journalism side of what we do, are problematic because they’re in between (us and) the person with the real answer. I don’t want to talk to a PR person whose sole role in their career is to spin it and make it sound good." There was nervous laughter from the audience, and several Tweets.

Blake Ovard, managing editor of The Star Group weeklies, echoed: “All of the cities have a PIO, and their job is to keep you from getting the story, so they don’t understand why I don’t want to talk to them. They say, ‘Well, I have all your information.’”

At this point, neck hairs began to bristle. Marc Flake, Tarrant County PIO, took umbrage with those statements and stepped forward. He related how he had facilitated the Weekly’s requests for a recent cover story by Peter Gorman that examined issues related to the medical examiner’s office.

“I was very helpful with Mr. Gorman,” Flake said, “and told him who he needed to talk to, gave him background, gave him all the documents (and) contract information he needed. I don’t stay between you guys (and county sources). I help you get the information you need.”

Spontaneous applause erupted from PR crowd.

I found the exchange refreshingly candid -- and disturbingly enlightening. It brought home to me that the adversarial relationship between hacks and flacks is still alive and well.

Some may dismiss weeklies (and indeed all newspapers now) as non-influencers or think their constituents don’t read those papers, so who cares what they think? But with the market share of dailies falling and weeklies currently increasing, we need to have this honest dialogue to bridge the gap of misperceptions.

Maybe the panelists didn’t realize they were in a room with cream of the crop PRSA practitioners, who hold to a PRSA Code of Ethics,which state in part:

HONESTY - We adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests ofthose we represent and in communicating with the public.

LOYALTY- We are faithful to those we represent, while honoring our obligation to serve the public interest.

FAIRNESS- We deal fairly with clients, employers, competitors, peers, vendors, the media, and thegeneral public. We respect all opinions and support the right of free expression.

PR practitioners are obligated to our organizations / clients and their stakeholders as well as to the public interest. Journalists are obligated to the public’s right to know, their readers and advertisers. (Yes, advertisers were mentioned several times by the panelists as being quite an important audience.)

Here’s the rub: being honest and ethical doesn’t always translate (in the private sector, anyway) to being as “open” as some of us would like. This is due to a number of reasons, including proprietary information, SEC regs, security concerns and political sensitivities.

As PR practitioners, we have to weigh the benefit vs. risk of responding to certain media inquiries. Brave responders will answer even a hostile reporter in order to provide balance. But cautious ones will favor silence if media objectivity is questionable and they are mischaracterized or taken out of context repeatedly.

In our changing media landscape and diminishing dailies’ prowess, it would behoove PR practitioners to eschew derogatory terms for alternative or community weeklies (punk rags, podunk papers) and appreciate their financial strength and scope of influence among many constituencies.

By the same token, journalists should re-examine their broad-brush generalizations about PR practitioners as spinners and blockers. In light of shrinking news staff and resources, ethical PR pros provide information, assistance and access to high-level sources that will only become more critical for journalists who want to report the truth.

Read about the financial status of the dailies and the hack’s take on it here.

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INVITATION ~ June 24th Celebration Honoring Dr. Doug Newsom

You're Invited!

Let's mix and mingle, celebrate the arrival of summer and toast one of the profession's finest individuals!

Please make plans to join GFW PRSA members and others for a Retirement Celebration Honoring
Doug Newsom, Ph.D, APR, Fellow PRSA.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 24, 2009
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: Joe T. Garcia's
Fort Worth, Texas

PRICING:*
$10 reception only
$18 enchilada dinner (includes reception)
$22 fajita dinner (includes reception)
*each price above includes a complimentary beer, wine or margarita and/or tea or soft drink, and chips and salsa.

When you RSVP, please specify your choice.

Event hosted by: GFW PRSA President's Council and Board of Directors



JUNE 24th SCHEDULE:

Event Celebration
5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Reception and "mixing and mingling"
5:30 to 6:15 p.m.

During the reception, several of the Chapter's Past Presidents will toast Dr. Newsom.

Dinner ~ We'll be seated for dinner around 6:20 p.m.


* When you arrive to Joe T's, please ask for "PRSA" and you'll be directed back to our private area. You can pay as you enter the PRSA event. (Cash or check payable to "Joe T. Garcia's." There is typically a working ATM in the restaurant. FYI)


RSVP & questions:
lauravanhoosier@msn.com
817-703-8432


Thank you!

The last PR stand

This post by Linda Jacobson, APR is cross-posted from her blog, The Saltlick.


I’ve long been a proponent for ensuring that those who practice public relations need a sound ethical basis. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to make a decision that only you can make, whether it’s for a client or for a company and its employees. And it will involve this basic question: What do we owe strangers by virtue of our shared humanity? That’s the question Kwame Anthony Appiah asked in Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of strangers.

My premise is this: Whether you’re an adherent of a communitarian or utilitarian perspective, as a PR practitioner, be smart enough to know the values you follow before the proverbial s*** hits the fan.

Recently, I accepted a position with a company to direct its communications. It’s an exciting time for this firm internally, as the company is undergoing major restructuring. Change always brings possibilities – both good and bad. Almost immediately, however, I understood a culture that was devoid of fact checking and one that assumed “fudging” – a term, when I hear it, that always gives me pause and tells me a whole heckuva lot about the person who used it. Now “fudging” can possess varying degrees of meaning – but it always involves untruth.

In addition to hearing this term, I heard other statements from employees that were worrisome to me. Here’s a list that should raise red flags for any PR practitioner:
• This is the way we do it here—we’re [insert name of department].
• If we write it that way, then that’s the way it is.
• You’re new to this industry; we don’t ever tell our true [insert noun—numbers, facts, situation].
• I don’t care if you think this is wrong. Do what I told you to do.
• You have been told to get this done and to get it done by this date. Do you have a problem with that?
• Are you refusing to do the job for which we hired you?

Even before it happened, I knew that my time with this company would be short. Sure enough, within a few weeks, I was asked to publish a press release that had material errors in it. I knew the information to be incorrect. And, in my judgment, the errors were not of the “fudging” kind. They were substantial. And in that moment, the moment that I call the “last PR stand,” I had a decision to make.

In military terms, a “last stand,” occurs in one of two ways. One situation calls for the defending force to retreat, which leads to immediate defeat, usually due to the surrounding geography or shortage of supplies or support. The other situation arises when the defending force are ordered to defend their positions. Thus, retreat is not possible without being considered a deserter.

In my case, I knew I had no support for refusing to include incorrect statements. In fact, I was told to issue the release with the incorrect statements. I opted to retreat – resign – thus deserting. I turned in my security badge and my electronic gadgetry without the slightest thought of surrendering to the edict.

I’m now happily unemployed. I say this not because I am pleased about being unemployed – I’m not, and Lord knows in this economy, I could use the income – but because I know the worth that integrity brings to a PR professional and, by extension, to a client or a company that demands it.

If you’re in the PR or communications field, take the time to understand or to review your ethics perspective. In today’s troubling environment, you’re better served to be prepared.

Recommended resources:

Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a world of stranger :: Kwame Anthony Appiah
Contemporary Media Ethics :: A practical guide for students, scholars and professionals :: Bill Hornaday and Mitchell Land (editors)
Public Relations Society of America :: Ethics resources

@The Forefront: Successfully Navigating Social Media - Slideshows

Thank you to all of the attendees of the chapter's May 13, 2009 Professional Development Workshop -@ TheForefront: Successfully Navigating Social Media

As PR professionals, strategy underscores all our methodologies, so why would social media be any different? If you’ve been waiting to take the social media plunge, now’s the perfect opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts, best practices, strategy, planning and measurement.

Below are the presentation slideshows from the day:

@TheForefront: Successfully Navigating Social Media

View more presentations from Beth Harte.

The Nuts and Bolts of Twitter (updated)

View more presentations from Richie Escovedo.

The GFW PRSA professional development workshop was led by Beth Harte (@bethharte), Twitter maven and marketing and communications professional, with help from our own Richie Escovedo (@vedo) and Terry Morawski (@morate).

Plus, a post-workshop interview with Beth Harte:

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Fort Worth PRSA and Social Media Club DFW welcome Beth Harte

It is with great pleasure that we welcome friend and social media maven, Beth Harte, to Dallas/Fort Worth. Beth will be in the metro as a guest of Greater Fort Worth chapter PRSA and will be speaking at the May professional development workshop and luncheon, Wednesday, May 13.

Graciously, Beth is game for a tweet-up on May 12! Come join us!

Where: Sherlock's Pub in Arlington; 254 Lincoln Square Center

When: 6:30-8:30pm

Please RSVP for the tweet-up via Facebook or in the comments on Lauren Vargas' event post.
(Note: a tweet-up is just another name for meet-up for those non-Twitter types.)

Don't forget to also RSVP for Greater Fort Worth Professional Development Day and Luncheon.

Everyone’s doing it: Facebook and Twitter, that is. Does that mean it’s right for you? As PR professionals, strategy underscores all our methodologies, so why would social media be any different? If you’ve been waiting to take the social media plunge, now’s the perfect opportunity to learn the nuts and bolts, best practices, strategy, how to get started and how to do it well. And, if you’re already involved, we’ll help you learn how to do it better, more effectively and efficiently.

These topics and more will be center stage at the May 13th GFW PRSA professional development workshop to be led by Beth Harte (@bethharte), Twitter maven and marketing and communications professional, with help from our own Richie Escovedo (@vedo) and Terry Morawski (@morate).

Following the morning workshop, after we’ve learned who, what, where, when and why of social media, we’ll learn how to measure our efforts during a social media ROI seminar.

About Harte Marketing & Communications | Harte Marketing & Communications, located in the Philadelphia suburbs, specializes in marketing, communications and social media programs–from strategic planning to execution of branding, public relations, analyst relations, product marketing, international marketing, lead generation (direct mail, e-mail marketing), Web site management and SEO/SEM.
www.theharteofmarketing.com

About Beth Harte | As principal of Harte Marketing & Communications, Beth offers nearly 15 years of experience in strategic planning, branding, public relations, analyst relations, product marketing, international marketing, business development, lead generation (direct mail, e-mail marketing), Web site management, SEO/SEM-in short, all things marketing and communications. And she’s applied that experience for a range of companies-from startups and SMBs to mid-market and Fortune 500 companies. When Beth began her marketing and communications career, companies barely had e-mail. Having experienced Web 1.0 first hand, she also enjoyed the mad dash toward integrated marketing communications and SEO/SEM. Today, she enjoys the challenge of helping clients use marketing, communications and social media to take their marketing–and their businesses–to the next level of customer engagement.

In addition to running Harte Marketing & Communications, Beth speaks at industry conferences and event and serves as adjunct professor at Immaculata University where she’s taught Marketing in a Global Economy, Marketing Principles and Practices, Introduction to Public Relations, Writing for Public Relations & Social Media and Issues in E-Commerce. Beth will also be teaching Community, Government and Global Relations and Writing for PR & Social Media in the new Master’s in Applied Communication program.

A firm believer in “walking the walk to talk the talk,” Beth shares tips, opinions and observations on her blog, The Harte of Marketing. She also writes for Marketing Profs’ Daily Fix Blog and Search Engine Guide. Beth holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Chestnut Hill College and a Master of Science in International Marketing from Saint Joseph’s University.