Editorial Calendar Basics

Editorial calendars are a GREAT resource for PR pros. An editorial calendar is a calendar that magazines, some newspapers and publications use to schedule what topics they will be covering during what day, week, or month. For example, if you are the PR coordinator for an organic beauty company, you can use Cosmopolitan Magazine's editorial calendar to see when they will be covering organic beauty products. It gives you the opportunity to carefully craft your pitch and perhaps even meet with the beauty editor, knowing in advance that your product would fit their beat. Much easier than sending out mass releases, right?

Now, some blogs are using editorial calendars as well. Blogs are everywhere, and are often considered a media outlet as well. Does your client have a blog in need of a editorial calendar? Below are some questions PR Daily contributor Carrie Morgan suggests when drafting an editorial calendar:


1. Who is my audience?
2. What interests them?
3. What are other blogs in the same category or with the same target audience writing about?
4. What are the trade publications writing about, and what’s on their editorial calendar?
5. What industry news/posts are shared and retweeted the most?
6. What are my client’s competitors writing about?
7. What topics are tradeshows covering in their workshops and round tables?
8. What trends are your client’s seeing?
9. What types of articles interest your clients?
10. What pubs do your client’s read, and what are they writing about?

Unlike a magazine, you have the opportunity to freely move things around, especially when a hot topic arises in your area of interest. Editorial calendars are great because they prevent the dreaded writer's block while still staying relevant and interesting.

Is Penn State’s THON now a PR Tactic?

It has been quite the year for Penn State with Jerry Sandusky’s sex abuse charges and the death of Joe Paterno. From a human perspective, it has been a year full of tragedy but from a public relations stand point, it has been a year of crisis management. Everyone’s question: Can Penn State recover?

While the answer is still not entirely clear, it is more than possible for Penn State to come back better than ever. A perfect example of this: Penn State’s THON raised $10.6 million for childhood cancer research this year and exceeded its goal by $1.1 million. The entire Penn State community banded together to support a cause they believe in.

From a public relations perspective, THON can be seen as a PR tactic that helped Penn State restore its image in the higher education world. This year’s THON commercial uses very specific language that talks about the challenges of the past year. In the video, the phrase “Many things have changed” flashes across the screen while a photo montage plays in the background. By using this terminology, Penn State recognizes that the environment around the event has changed drastically in the last year. However, the next phrase to be shown was “But what’s important remains the same…our families.” This phrase conveys the message that Penn State’s mission remains the same regardless of what happened during this year. They are a unified force that will be overcome any obstacle in order to raise money for the children in need.

Despite scandals and difficulties with fundraising before the event, THON raised the most money in the history of the program. The event can be seen as a PR tactic that helped restore Penn State’s image in the mist of recent challenges. Additionally, the success of THON shows the resiliency of the Penn State community. While there are still many steps to take in order to change the perception of Penn State, THON’s success has played a key role in the process.

Do you see THON as a PR tactic for Penn State? Why or why not? Let us know!

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Alex Crispino.

Dear Netflix:

Since Netflix first launched, it has been the college students best friend. You can rent new releases on DVD while still watching endless episodes of The Office, all for one convenient price. That is, until this past Tuesday. Starting September 1st, Netflix users will no longer be able to bundle unlimited DVDs and streaming. Instead, Netflix is separating the two, and hiking the price. Understandably, this change of contract has not settled well with current Netflix users.

After the announcement on Tuesday, Netflix customers flocked to Twitter to voice their contempt. #DearNetflix became a trending topic where users tweeted their anger towards the new policy:

Seriously, WHO is running the show there? Monkeys?

Just waiting for Amazon Streaming to kick off. Then bye Netflix. You won't be missed.

So we now get LESS for MORE.

The complaints didn't stop there. On the Netflix blog, the comment capacity was far exceeded soon after the announcement. With the comment cap being 5,000, the majority of the comments were negative. The Netflix Facebook page has even fallen victim, to over 28,000 complaints.

So what did Netflix do wrong, besides the price hike? We all know that price increases happen, especially during the current economic situation. However, instead of admitting the reason for the increase, Netflix brushed it off as being a more convenient scenario than the previous. In our current environment, where social media is so prevalent, we don't like to be shuffled around the truth. That is why Facebook and Twitter are where they are, we like straightforward, clear messages with no nonsense. Instead, Netflix has beat around the bush using keywords such as "lowest prices ever" and alluding to the change being something Netflix users had elected for.

The best thing that Netflix could probably do at this point is to address its customers by updating their blog, as well as their Twitter and Facebook. All of which they have neglected since the announcement. Instead of keeping users in the dark and fuming, Netflix should quit the superficial jargon and be honest and considerate of its users, before they decide to take their business elsewhere.

To read more on Netflix's recent announcement, click here.

#SeriouslyMcDonald's?

The PR department of McDonald's had some serious explaining to do after a recent hoax that occurred last weekend. A picture of a seemingly authentic looking memo hit Twitter and spread rather quickly. The memo stated, "As an insurance measure, due in part to a recent string of robberies, African-American customers are now required to pay an additional fee of $1.50 per transaction."

Obviously the memo did not go over well with customers. People were so outraged that #SeriouslyMcDonald's began to trend on Twitter. After enough people complained with tweets and direct messages to the verified McDonald's USA Twitter page, McDonald's quickly addressed the issue.

Using the social media site where the scandal all began, McDonald's sent out a statement via Twitter that stated “That pic is a senseless & ignorant hoax McD’s values ALL our customers. Diversity runs deep in our culture on both sides of the counter.” They also responded directly to some of the more irritated consumers with tweets like “That picture is a hoax. We are proud of our long history of diversity.”

Proof that the memo is indeed a hoax: the number on the bottom of the memo is actually a number to contact the KFC customer satisfaction hot-line. It turns out that the picture actually surfaced awhile back, but didn’t hit Twitter until recently. With the popularity social networking sites have, it’s no wonder the picture went viral so quickly.

There are arguments over whether or not McDonald's handled the situation right. Some think they did a fine job, and others believe that more could have been done to address the situation and prove that all customers are valued. Personally, I feel that McDonald's handled the situation to the best of their ability. They used the same networking site where the scandal began—a sure way to ensure that their customers would see the statement. They also made a statement to a number of reliable publications clearly explaining that the picture was a hoax, allowing the media to quickly receive this message.

Do you think McDonald's responded in the right way to the hoax or could they have done more to address the situation?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Kaitlin Tully.

Dove's Not-So-Clean Ad Campaign

Nothing illustrates the power of the blogosphere more perfectly than a textbook PR dilemma. The Dove soap brand recently came under fire for a national ad that many claim to be racist. Before I delve into the crisis, take a glance at the ad for yourself:


See anything questionable? The ad is for Dove’s VisibleCare Body Wash, which claims to improve the overall appearance of women’s skin in just one week. Dove’s media headache began when the blog ‘Copyranter’ posted the following about the ad: “Dove body wash turns Black women into Latino women into White women.” The post explained how the ad shows black skin as bad and white skin as good, by having the skin color get progressively lighter by the ‘after’ or better side of the ad.

This dilemma brings up the question of how PR professionals should react to negative blog or social media posts. Fight back and risk saying something offensive or let the people talk and spread rumors? In this case, Dove kept a low profile by simply replying once to the original blog saying,

“…The ad is intended to illustrate the benefits of using Dove VisibleCare Body Wash, by making skin visibly more beautiful in just one week. All three women are intended to demonstrate the ‘after’ product benefit. We do not condone any activity or imagery that intentionally insults any audience.”

Little action on Twitter has been taken by Dove, and their Facebook page has been managed by one Dove commenter to defend the company. In my opinion, Dove handled this situation very responsibly, by replying to the original blog that started the chatter and to no one else. The new world of blogging creates these new types of problems for PR professionals everyday, and crises such as these are prime examples of how to deal with them.

Personally, the ad should have never seen the light of day, because when looked at closely it does give off a negative image towards darker skinned women. Looking at the ad again, it would make much more sense to have all of the women standing under the ‘after’ sign, showing that women of all skin colors are beautiful.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Mackenzie Krott.

@LanceArmstrong vs. 60 Minutes

On Sunday the 22nd, 60 Minutes premiered its weekly episode in which Lance Armstrong was featured. Armstrong has been accused in the past of using performance enhancing drugs in order to accomplish his seven Tour de France wins. The 60 Minutes episode was no exception. In response to the expose, Armstrong tweeted the following:

“20+ year career. 500 drug controls worldwide, in and out of competition. Never a failed test. I rest my case.”

In support for the athlete, the tweet was reblogged thousands of times, sweeping across the web. In a practice he had adopted following his final Tour de France win, Armstrong offered no interviews, leaving just the tweet as the only direct quote from Armstrong himself for the media to base off of.

By doing so, the 60 Minutes segment featuring Armstrong was deemed unreliable by many viewers who had seen the tweet, causing ratings to drop significantly.

To read the rest of the PRdaily article, click here.

What do you think? Did Lance Armstrong do the right thing? Should he have appeared on the show and given a full interview instead of a vague tweet, to dispel rumors?

Rookie Mistakes

It didn’t take long for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s 25-year-old press secretary to run into trouble with the media. Tarrah Cooper, a graduate from the University of Missouri’s journalism school, might be in a bit over her head, according to Chuck Goudie, the chief investigative reporter at ABC 7 News in Chicago.

Recently, Goudie posted a story about his first run-in with Cooper, who—in his opinion—failed to act professionally when he called to ask questions about a story he was investigating. Goudie said, “rather than simply answer the questions, Ms. Cooper stated that she wished to speak ‘off the record.’”

According to Goudie, Cooper also supplied him with misleading and false information. Deciding that he was going to comment on this unprofessional interaction, Goudie sent Cooper some basic questions about her background and position. Cooper again asked to speak off the record and has since ceased all communication. Here are some of the questions that Goudie asked:

• Is there a set of written guidelines or protocols that you are working from in dealing with reporters and news organizations?
• How involved is Mr. Emanuel in setting the tone for dealing with the press and in what manner? Does each story inquiry get run by him?
• What qualifies you to be press secretary for the mayor of the third-largest city?
• How much will you be paid?
• What are your career aspirations?

As a student in the public relations field it aggravates me to see this type of basic communication faux pas.

Cooper’s job as a public communications official is to communicate the actions and positions of the administration with the public. I think that Cooper should have been prepared to discuss the topic at hand with Goudie, or at the very least be prepared to find out the answers and then follow up with the correct position of the administration. Saying, “Let me get back to you” is always better than asking to speak about your opinion off the record.

As for failing to answer Goudie’s inquiry into Cooper herself: I think that she did more harm than good to herself by not answering the journalist’s questions. I believe that when acting as the face of a new administration, it is crucial to paint oneself as an honest, open and frank mouthpiece in order to be effective.

But I am left wondering: Does Tarrah Cooper, or for that matter any 25-year-old, posses the necessary communication skills that a press secretary position requires? What do you think, and how would you have handled Chuck Goudie in this situation?
To read the whole article by Chuck Goudie here at the Daily Herald, click here

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Jacob DeChant.

Why Public Relations is a Great Industry for All Genders

It is hard to ignore the dwindling amount of men within the public relations field. What once was a male industry has transformed in to a business primarily consisting of females. According to the PRSA salary survey, 70% of public relations practitioners are women.

During the spring 2011 semester, I participated in an independent project with Dr. Donnalyn Pompper studying the opinions of male professionals in the field. After 15 interviews and four focus groups, I gained a lot of knowledge about how men in the business felt, but I was still curious why male students were choosing the industry.

Although the majority gender in the business has been the female sex, many of the males I interviewed highly recommended a job in public relations. They suggested the profession claiming it allowed one to practice communication in any interest area. If one enjoyed movies or food, there were jobs in public relations supporting those interests.

“What really attracted me to public relations was the ability to work in a variety of different industries,” said Evan Galusha.

Listening to the opinions of two male juniors in Temple University’s public relations department, Galusha and Jacob DeChant, I realized I was interested in public relations for the same reasons they stated. I have always had an eclectic mix of hobbies, such as technology and music, and I felt public relations would allow me to participate in those different departments throughout my career.

“I feel the great part of public relations is thinking about all the fun things you can do with it,” said DeChant.

The mainstream images, such as Samantha from Sex and the City, project public relations as a glitzy industry, ignoring the diversity of the field. Although public relations seems unappealing to many males, I feel it is a profession with a lot to offer, no matter what gender you are. There are few jobs that allow you to switch from nonprofit to corporate work.

Despite being a minority in this industry, I look forward to the future experiences public relations has to offer. Regardless of gender, this is a great profession to express your creativity and support your interests. It is the type of job that will leave you feeling gratified at the end of the day.

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Nick Stackhouse.

Becoming Culturally Aware: The New Resume Booster

The more we learn about the people in the world, the more global we become. Public Relations has progressed to the point where being comfortable in only one culture is not enough. Many large companies are beginning to train their Public Relations employees to become more culturally aware. Many innovative training techniques, such as online simulations, have become an important and even necessary method used by companies who have employees on a global scale. Some of these cultural training techniques are mandatory for Public Relation employees who must travel to other countries.

Much of this training brings employees out of their “comfort zone” and allows the process of enculturation to be a smooth transition for employees going overseas. Since global communication is so important for many industries, it is important for these companies to “bridge-the-gap” and communicate across differences. Without these innovative techniques, employees going overseas can undergo psychological distress, which can then lead to a negative experience or even worse, a negative image for the entire company.

One way to gain awareness of a foreign culture before entering the Public Relations industry is to study abroad as a student. The Public Relations field continues to become prominent on a global scale as industries continue to bridge-the-gap between cultural barriers. Studying abroad at a university level gives students everything expensive cultural training techniques would, plus more. The student who studies abroad will add to their cultural intelligence and identity. This ensures a larger comfort zone in the modern day workplace and a more well-rounded approach for working with Public Relations on a global scale in the future. Plus, it looks good on a resume!

This guest blog was written by PRSSA External Communications Committee member Kyle Nolan.

Movin’ On Up with Public Relations

With the recent state of the economy, public relations or marketing departments are often the first ones to suffer cutbacks. However, many of the events that have impacted our country in the last decade such as environmental disasters, new lifestyles and fashion have pushed public relations up in importance over advertising and marketing strategies. Strategic communication has never been more important to a company and the knowledge of social media within the up and coming generation of college students is becoming a vital part of communicating messages to the public.

Because of consumers being more concerned with the truth behind the brands they are buying, public relations takes center stage as being able to effectively communicate those messages and continue to educate buyers about the quality of the brand. Consumers are more interested in hearing stories about these brands and delving deeper into the people behind the product than just a sales pitch.

The rise of social media and the Internet have played a huge role in this shift to favor public relations. Since the web is so easily accessible, it is even easier to spread a message or share testimonials straight from the consumer to a large audience in seconds. While marketing and advertising can send a message to consumers, the key is their communication approach and how they craft their message. If there aren’t public relations professionals within an organization, the message will be communicated, but there’s always the chance it will be done the wrong way, thus losing credibility and belief that your brand is valuable to the consumer.

Marketplaces and consumer trends are always changing, but the time is now for companies to take advantage of public relations and the relationships practitioners are able to make with effective communication tactics.

This guest blog was written by Prowl Public Relations staff member Emily Ascani.

Disclose!

The Federal Trade Commission has been cracking down on companies that are not forthcoming about paying for their endorsements. In 2009, the FTC adopted guidelines "making clear that many of the rules that apply to advertising and testimonials in the print world are still going to carry weight in the sometimes confusing and chaotic world of blogs and other new media," Joe Mullin explains in an article for paidcontent.org.

Recently, Legacy Learning Systems was fined $250,000 for commissioning positive reviews of its educational DVD designed to teach audiences how to play the guitar. The company and its affiliate marketers failed, however, to disclose that the company had sponsored the praise for its product.

This situation raises an important point for PR practitioners: we are in a unique position--and have a personal responsibility--to make sure our companies and clients are disclosing information properly.

Says PRSA board member Marisa Vallbona in an article on prdaily.com:

"'Tell--don't ask--the blogger to disclose the fact [that the review is sponsored] in his or her review. Otherwise you're asking the review to be considered fake and putting your and your client's reputation at stake.'"

Become a Better Spokesperson with 9 Tips

In my full-time job after graduation I am looking forward to joining a national financial services company (my ideal starting place to capitalize on the information I have also learned in business school!) as a coordinator for company-wide communications. One responsibility of my department is to prepare executives for speaking to the public - whether through investor meetings, conferences, interviews, etc. Although I most likely will not be the lead person for these tasks immediately, I have been trying to read articles that I think will pertain to my job and help me assist my supervisor as best as possible.

In an article by Brad Phillips on his blog MrMediaTraining.com, I learned "Nine Things New Spokespersons Need to Know" - and they're really good!

1. Develop a message - Know what you want to communicate and prepare your three most important phrases or sentences.
2. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. - Articulate at least one of your messages in every answer (not verbatim though).
3. Transition - Bridge from the reporter's question to your message with phrases such as "The most important thing to remember is..." or "Well, what we're seeing here is..."
4. Don't make a new friend - The moment you get comfortable and start thinking the reporter is your friend, you're going to venture away from your message and make a mistake. They may be nice, but they're not your friend.
5. Speak everyday English - Don't use big, jargon-filled words, especially when speaking with general audiences.
6. Don't bury your lead - Give the most interesting part of your answer, aka your "lead," first. If you have additional time, you can go back and provide more context.
7. Be your most engaging self - Gesture, convey warmth, and smile when appropriate.
8. Speak 10 percent louder than usual - This will help you sound less monotone and helps animate your body language.
9. Watch your tone - If you feel defensive, you will look defensive. Don't greet tough questions with panic, welcome them as opportunities to correct the record.

A Deeper Look into Diversity

Since February is Black History month, it is important to examine how diversity is intertwined with public relations. While our industry has made great strides in attaining a more diverse employee population, African Americans and women are still underrepresented. The Calvert Study, released this past fall, stated that women hold less than 1 in 10 top paid executive positions. Women only make up 18% of director positions within the top 100 S&P 500 companies, whereas 92 out of 100 CEO’s for these same companies are white males. Additionally, within the public relations field, there are low hire rates for African Americans, both male and female.

Public Relations is a global industry that demands diverse perspectives. In the PRSay article, “Diverging into Diversity: A Communications Strategy,” Larry Jones explains that companies are reluctant to move from the familiar to more diverse populations. Jones describes the importance of this idea by saying, “Diversity in communications also can mean building bridges to new audiences or tapping into new perspectives and ideas.” This statement is a central idea that can permeate through any realm of public relations. As public relations professionals, it is important to provide creative opportunities for our clients. With the help of people from different backgrounds with different experiences, we can provide the most innovative and comprehensive strategy for our clients.

Diversity in public relations is something that can always be improved upon. As young professionals, it is in our best interest to be continuously aware of the inequalities that all minorities may face in our industry. We must focus on changing these aspects to ensure the most inclusive community of public relations professionals. This will ultimately allow companies to provide a more complete plan for their clients.

Do you feel diversity is a problem within the public relations world? What steps can young professionals take to change these issues?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Alex Crispino.

My Opinion - You Need Brain Balance for PR

I was reading my PR Daily News Feed yesterday (2-10-11) and couldn't resist taking the Right Brain versus Left Brain Creativity Test from the Art Institute of Vancouver that was posted. Typically, creative people use the right side of their brain more than the left side, and vice versa for more logical people. I consider myself a fairly creative person, but am also very diligent and focused. I am actually surprised at my results! Due to my love of "to-do" lists, classical music, research and numbers I would have assumed I would be overwhelming left-brained, but alas I am only left-brained by a slight majority. It turns out that I am 58 percent left-brained and 42 percent right-brained.

Although I came out as more logical than creative, I am confident that I am entering the right field in public relations due to my dominant left brain characteristic: verbal processing. Verbal processing is a method used by the left hemisphere to process our thoughts and ideas with words.

What brain are you? Also, do you feel like most successful PR people are right-brained? I personally think that those in PR need a good balance of both (maybe I'm biased...). Although I think creativity is an essential aspect of finding attractive angles for the right audiences, I also think that organization, logic and diligence are extremely important for managing heavy workloads and strict deadlines, and advocating for your projects to upper-level management, who often may only want to hear about the logic and numbers behind your idea, rather than its genius creativity.

Thoughts? Take the test here!

Will the News Release Rest in Peace?

With the recent speculations about whether the press release will become obsolete, a Forbes article confirms my feelings that the boom of social media use is causing the traditional press release to become useless in many situations.

As I’ve learned in my public relations courses, reporters can get up to hundreds of press releases a day, including many by email, which can be deleted as soon as the boring subject line is read. To avoid these downfalls, many services have been created online in order to facilitate the company’s needs without wasting the time, money and inbox space.

Companies such as H&R Block and Budweiser are able to serve their customers directly with websites such as PitchDirectly.com founded by Jason Kintzler, a former reporter. They send out a two-sentence pitch to major outlets such as USA Today, The Wall Street Journal and Rolling Stone. Using this approach allows them to craft a message specific to their audience instead of trying to communicate to the CEO of their client.

It seems social media is doing for public relations practitioners now what the news release did a couple of decades ago. Do you think this will be a new era for the public relations industry?

This guest blog was written by PRowl Public Relations staff member Emily Ascani.

Consider the weather!

"TV viewership increases when families are cooped up in their homes during storms," reported the Huffington Post's David Bauder in a recent article. "Nowhere was this more evident than during the January 10-13 storm that dumped snow across a wide swath of the country, including areas of the south that seldom see it."

In fact, according to the article, Nielsen Co. reported "that storm had a bigger effect on television ratings than any other in recent history." So much so that TV viewership exceeded that of last year
at the time by 8 percent. Furthermore, TV networks that adjusted their programming to accommodate the change in viewership saw ratings increase by as much as 60 percent.

These facts have important implications for those of us in the PR industry:

1. This situation really drives home the point of the importance of knowing your audience. Case in point: with more school-age children home during the day, Nickelodeon "cut short its preschool programming block by two hours, replacing it with programming geared toward older children," the article reported. The network realized ratings 43 percent over last year as a result.
2. The situation also reminds us of the importance of considering external factors when writing and sending pitches. Considering something as simple as the weather and the impact of weather on viewership can give a PR pro's pitch an edge in terms of timing and content. It can also help the PR practitioner get more mileage out of a good placement.
   

Cryptic Clues about UCLA's Internet Celebration

Did you know that the first Internet message was sent by professor Leonard Kleinrock of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA 40 years ago? Many people think the Internet was created at MIT, but it was the communications team’s job at UCLA to inform you otherwise. In order to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Internet and talk about the real-world impact that some of the discoveries and research work from UCLA have, the university proposed a $100,000 budget for advertising and promotion. Instead, they got $9,500 total.

Although the creation of the Internet is obviously impressive, it is also noteworthy that the team at UCLA was able to craft and execute such a creative campaign in two months and with a budget that was slashed by 90 percent.

Below are some of the components of the campaign:

• A countdown clock was posted on the main page of the university’s website with no description of what it was counting down to. When visitors clicked on the clock, cryptic clues would appear hinting at what was going on. When the clock hit zero, the website page began to flicker and appeared to crash to the ground with a balloon featuring the letters “LO” floating upwards, a simulation of the crash that occurred when Dr. Kleinrock attempted to type “LOGIN” in his first Internet message. A link then sent readers to an article about the anniversary.
  
• Cryptic clues about the anniversary were also disseminated on Facebook with a #ucla40 tag that led people to guess what could possibly be going on. Social media was also used to promote videos of Dr. Kleinrock explaining the process of sending the first information over the Internet to UCLA’s 55,000 Facebook fans, 5,500 Twitter followers and 6,500 YouTube subscribers.
  
• Traditional media was also used as a component to the plan. The UCLA team bought an ad in the school newspaper, pitched an online story in the university magazine, and bought online banner ads in the New York Times and Los Angeles Times, which led to approximately 160,000 impressions on the event website.
  
• The eight-hour main event was live streamed on UCLA’s website, Ustream and Facebook accounts. More than 50,000 viewers tuned in and communicators encouraged speakers at the conference to ask their Twitter followers to send in questions to be answered live.
  

What would you have done with $9,500 and the task of promoting the 40th anniversary of the first Internet message? Click here to read the full article by Matt Wilson at Ragan.com.

Defining PR

Public Relations is a subject that interests me vastly, an industry to which I am a dedicated student, a field in which I one day hope to work.

It's also a topic that's difficult to put into words. In fact, whenever I meet someone who asks me to explain the PR industry, I find myself challenged to describe the industry concisely. PRSA has provided a simple definition of PR on its website, but even this major professional organization devotes an entire page to fully defining PR.

Ronnie Manning from the blog "Fresh As..." recently published a post sharing his peers' definitions of PR using 140 characters or less. Check out the post and see the definitions that were submitted. I really liked Jason Mudd's: "telling your story and sharing your news with internal and external audiences to build trust and ties." Laura Crovo's was also very tight.

This blog post inspired me to work on my own definition of PR. How do you define public relations?

Intangible Skills of the Successful PR Pro

We spend a lot of time in our classes learning about the tangible skills we will need as professionals. However, there are some important skills we may not learn in the classroom. An article on e-releases discusses five intangible PR skills needed by PR professionals. The five are as follows:

1. Curiosity: PR pros who think outside the box and try new things often find great results.
2. Storytelling Ability: PR pros must be able to identify worthy stories and captivate their audiences with them.
3. The Gift of Gab: PR pros should be confident and precise in their speech.
   
4. Personal Networking: PR pros interact with many people, and should always be professional and positive in doing so. Showing an interest in meeting and helping others will encourage others to do the same for you.
5. Business Sense: PR pros need to understand what is best for their company or client and act on it.

Do you agree that these intangible skills are important to PR professionals? Are there any others that should have made the list?

2010's Biggest PR Disasters

Now that it's officially 2011, we can all look back on the best and worst of 2010. This week the Wall Street Journal published an article "Public Relations Learned the Hard Way," in which it looked at some of the biggest PR disasters of last year.

Can you name them? It is not surprising to see the BP oil spill and the Toyota automobile crisis on the list, but you may find some unexpected names on the list as well. Be sure to check it out!

What PR crises would you add to the list of 2010's PR disasters? Were you surprised to see some of the companies that made the list? What companies would you commend for their PR practices in 2010?