My suggestion would be to cordially invite Ted Hall to speak at an upcoming
local chapter meeting (I'm only half-way kidding when I say this).
TITLE: "Avoiding the Spin: A Journalist's Perspective on PR in the New
Millennium."
Melissa Copelan
Marketing/PR Manager
Fort Sanders Foundation
Phone: 541-1224, Fax: 541-2878
Member, Public Relations Society of America
> -----Original Message-----
> From: McCormick, Gary [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Monday, February 25, 2002 7:45 AM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: WBIR promo is an insult to PR professionals
>
> I have a better idea on how to deal with the promotion of WBIR. Would all
> the "spin doctors" who have pitched a story within the last year that was
> covered by WBIR please forward the release and the date of the story to
> WATE
> and WVLT, demonstrating that WBIR does "indeed" use the work of spin
> doctors
> and, in addition, uses untruths to promote its station and ratings.
>
> While I'm sure no reputable station would use the information, can you
> imagine the word on the street. Just a evil thought that I couldn't help
> expressing.
>
> On a positive note, I suggest working with National, Tom Looney (current
> president), Mary Beth West (national board member) and myself (district
> board member) to make an appointment to sit down with WBIR promotion and
> discuss this ad and why we object to its use and insinuations.
>
> Gary McCormick, APR
> Coleman Research Corporation
> 865-690-0383
> 865-690-0639 FAX
> 865-659-9743 CELL
> [log in to unmask]
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Ann Hinch [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Sunday, February 24, 2002 8:16 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: WBIR promo is an insult to PR professionals
>
>
> > Rant over. Would love to see others' opinions of this disgusting promo.
> I
> am
> > highly offended and wonder if any of you are, too.
>
>
> Perhaps it would be far better to do something that shows the public what
> positive contributions PR makes to society, rather than criticizing the
> media for denouncing the profession. As you said, the public already has a
> skeptical view of PR professionals and corporate America and their
> relationship to each other; if you get upset with the station, I have a
> feeling the station could turn that to its advantage somehow, and people
> would be left thinking, "Aha! They (PR people and companies) DO have
> something to hide!"
>
> Why not denounce the term "spin doctors" and emphasize "public relations?"
> Point out how PR people are valuable in getting correct information out to
> the media and the public, and how a real professional concentrates not on
> covering up something bad that happened, but on admitting mistakes and
> reassuring the public that it's being handled well (and HOW it's being
> handled) and why it won't happen again. Point out how valuable public
> relations offices are to company employees, when a good PR office can
> handle
> a situation both truthfully and professionally that saves the company and,
> in turn, those workers' (the common people's) jobs. Point out how valuable
> PR people help those at the top of a company understand better their
> employees' and the public's needs, and how the company's policies are then
> geared toward benefitting the employees and public. Point out how PR
> people
> are responsible for getting new product and service information out to the
> public in a timely and helpful manner by working with the media.
>
> I'm not sure what form this self-promo would take, whether an ad or some
> sort of public service campaign on the parts of the PRSA or maybe
> charitable
> contributions from companies that specialize in public relations.
>
> Now I feel like I've gone from "preaching to meddling," as a county
> commissioner I once knew used to say, so I'll button up. Just my two tiny
> cents, as a journalist for eight years.
>
> Ann
>
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