A PR Pro’s Social Media Blunder: Rejecting before accepting

Nine factors that determine news value
It’s always important to be reminded of the basics. Earlier this week I sat in on a presentation for new newspaper writers. The presenter went over the basics of news writing and what journalists should look for when thinking of stories. The following are nine major factors that determine news value. As PR practitioners, we need to craft our pitches with the following factors in mind: Timeliness – Don’t pitch or send a news release about an event that happened two weeks ago. New news is always better than old news (unless it’s a source pitch about an anniversary of a major event) Proximity – Don’t p

A “typical day” in PR
Usually twice a month I receive e-mails from PR students. Some have questions about the industry; others have to interview a practitioner. No matter what type of inquiry I receive, the most common question asked is “can you describe a typical day in public relations?” The answer is I can’t. Every day presents a new task. As a PR practitioner you are usually working on multiple initiatives for multiple clients (Yes you need to know how to multi-task in this industry). I would say the only daily routine I have is checking news hits and watching the news. Everything else (press releases, media advisories, newsletters, social media etc…) is diffe

Is your boss on Twitter?
I’m not a comic strip fan, but I thought this was funny. This goes to show how mainstream Twitter has become – it’s in Dilbert. *comic strip courtesy of Dilbert.com

The Office tackles crisis communication
Communication professionals should watch the 2007 episode of The Office “Product Recall.” The episode shows Dunder-Mifflin (the company featured on the television show) in crisis communication mode. I know I’m a little late to the game, but I saw the episode for the first time last night. In the episode, an inappropriate watermark is printed on a paper product that was shipped to Dunder-Mifflin clients.

Throwing away your PR sins?
Yesterday was Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days in the Jewish calendar. On this High Holiday, Jew’s go to temple and throw away their sins from the past year. As I sat in temple, I think to myself – how do PR pros throw away their PR sins? How can PR pros be forgiven for the mistakes they have made? The answer is a little complex. I think you can be forgiven temporarily, but never permanently. Let me explain…