Info, links and comments from a Texas Public Relations professional (Houston, Pasadena, Harris County).
If you’re anything like me, you’re always on the lookout for sources or free stock photos to use on Web sites, etc. Digital Image Magazine has compiled a list of 25 Free Stock Photo Sites that worth bookmarking and exploring. There were some I recognized and some I didn’t. Regardless, it’s a good list to review.
The Austin American Statesman reports that Gov. Rick Perry may soon begin webcasting press conferences. They quote his press secretary as the source of the info, who states that they are currently in testing. Should be interesting.
Don’t know if something is protected by copyright? Check out this handy little sliderule, it may answer your questions.
PRWeek blogs report that the Chicago Tribune is cutting 8o newsroom positions. “The Tribune Co. cuts continue. Management of the flagship Chicago Tribune began telling staffers on July 8 that it will cut 80 of the current 578 newsroom positions by the end of next month, as well as at least 13% of pages published per week. The only semblance of a silver lining is that management will only have to trim between 55 and 58 positions because it did not replace other recently departed employees.”
All of us took internships in college. Many of us took internships without pay. Here’s an article from the Houston Chronicle that cautions us against trying to use unpaid interns like real employees.
Internships without pay have pitfalls for employers
– Houston Chronicle2
Summer interns are ripe for exploitation.They’re desperate for real-life experience to help them land a permanent job, at a time when the economy is slowing and positions are scarce. Many are willing to work for free or below market rates, just to get a foot in the door.
But that doesn’t mean employers should do that.
“It’s very tempting to try to come up with unique ways to get more out of your company, but the way to do it is not to bring in people who are unpaid,” said Jay Zweig, a labor lawyer at Bryan Cave in Phoenix. “An internship, to be unpaid and legal, needs primarily to be a learning experience for the intern and not something where the intern is expected to produce work product that is going to benefit the employer.”
“All it takes is one disgruntled intern, or their parent or spouse or friend, to call the U.S. Department of Labor, and the company who follows this type of exploitative advice is toast,” Zweig said.
[snip]
Footnotes
2 = article may expire in a few weeks.
N. Scott Jones & Associates Inc. officially opened its doors to clients in Houston, specializing in stakeholder and corporate public relations. Though it actually opened in March, they are now announcing that they’re open.
Interestingly enough, the Houston Business Journal reports that they’ve signed on six clients since their formation in March.
So, I guess there is still work to be had for new PR agencies.
Source: New public relations firm launched in Houston, by the Houston Business Journal
The San Antonio Business Journal reports that, while many industries are cutting back on advertising and public relations, one industry is actually turning to PR in an efforts to start up buzz: real estate. Developers are engaging public relations professional, ever-increasingly, trying to build up enthusiasm for their projects.
Nice to know that there are still some opportunities for us out there.
Resources:
The New York Times ran a story on the fine art of writing a news release. It was, in my humble opinion, dripping in condescension. Just lovely.
Found via Catching Flack.
Tips on writing an RFP executive summary
Bloghound give us a list of the 10 Most common mistakes in writing an RFP executive summary, which makes this a tip in reverse I guess. The shortlist:
My favorite:
Effective executive summaries are about the prospect– not you. How you’re going to solve their problem. Advice on how to burn down their obstacles. How much money they are going to save. New ways for them to be innovative in their industries.
It’s definitely worth a read or bookmarking.
Track open records requests in Houston
The Houston Chronicle’s Houston Politics blog reports that blogHOUSTON has “launched a new forum to let readers post their open-records requests for everyone to read.” Worth watching, even if you aren’t subject to TPIA requests.
Public relations best practices
From BNET’s Catching Flack column:
The authors of the USC-Annenberg study of PR departments compiled a list of 13 best practices among the more than 500 PR departments that responded to their survey:
- Maintain a higher than average ratio of PR budget to gross revenue.
- Report directly and exclusively to the C-Suite.
- Optimize the C-Suite’s understanding of PR’s current and potential contributions to the success of the organization as a whole.
- Establish an effective social responsibility strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective digital-media strategy for your organization.
- Establish an effective issues-management strategy for your organization.
- Optimize integration and coordination within the PR/Communications function, and between it and other organizational functions.
- Encourage highly ethical practices across the organization, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a long-term strategic point of view, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a proactive mindset, beginning with communication.
- Encourage the organization-wide adoption of a flexible mindset, beginning with communication.
- Optimize the integration of PR and reputational considerations into top-level organizational strategies.
- Measurably contribute to organizational success.
If you’re not already reading Catching Flack, you should add it to your list.
Learn better pitching from Hollywood
Another Catching Flack feature, “A Hollywood Exec Teaches Business Pros to Pitch Their Ideas.”
- It’s more important to be interested than interesting
- It might be counter-intuitive but focus more on relationship
building than the immediate outcome of a meeting- Brevity has value, but don’t pitch your idea in an elevator (or at
the dentist, or in the men’s room)- Traditional networking is a waste of time
- Send hand-written notes in non-business sized envelopes: assistants
will automatically put small envelopes at the top of the mail pile.
Don’t use old rules to pitch new media
Dan Schawbel give us tips to keep in mind when pitching bloggers:
Let me repeat that last one: “Relationships still trump everything.” Just a reminder.
Brand yourself
Looking for ways to enhance your personal brand? Chris Brogan has “100 Personal Branding Tactics Using Social Media” that has some very practical and easy-to-use tips. Even doing just a couple will help.
If you don’t already have Copyblogger on your reading list, add it today. There are always good tips to help your writing.
Today’s tips are given in a post entitled “Three Questions Your Copy Must Answer to Succeed“:
These are things that need to be answered when creating a sales pitch in copy. And, remember, all our copy is sales… we’re trying to produce an action, a result.