Inside PR #127 – Wednesday, September 3, 2008

• • Comments, Ethics, Inside PR, Media relations, News, PR, Show Notes, social media, Uncategorized

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Comments? Send us an email at [email protected], call us on the comment line on 206-337-0727, visit the Inside PR Blubrry site, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

This week on Inside PR, Terry, David, Martin and Julie discuss five best practises when it comes to setting up a corporate blog.

Show Notes

00:31 Dave opens the show.

01:22 Martin introduces the week’s topic: Best practises when it comes to setting up a corporate blog. (ref: Joel Postman and Mitch Joel).

02:23 Terry introduces the first best practise: Honesty.

04:39 Terry mentions corporate examples of organizations that have failed to practise honesty. He references Walmarting Across America Blog and Sony PSP Blog.

12:38 Martin introduces the second best practise: Conversation.

15:30 Terry introduces the third best practise: Timeliness.  He gives an example of a corporate blog that did not practise timeliness: McDonald’s Corporate Social Responsibility Blog.

19:53 Julie asks the other’s opinions on anonymous posts

20:41 Martin talks about the president of Whole Foods slagging his competition anonymously.

21:44 Dave introduces the fourth best practise: Measurement.

28:27 Julie introduces the fifth best practise: Commitment.

31:38 Dave talks to commitment.

34:21 Dave refers to Joe Jaffe as the go-to guy for commitment.

35:00 Terry summarizes the five best practises: Honesty, Conversation, Timeliness, Measurement and Commitment.

35:39 Terry Closes the show.

Our theme music is Streetwalker by Cjacks and is courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Janna Guberman.

Inside PR #122 – Wednesday, July 30, 2008

• • Inside PR, PR, Uncategorized

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Comments? Send us an email at [email protected], call us on the comment line on 206-337-0727, visit the Inside PR Blubrry site, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

This week on Inside PR Terry Fallis and Martin Waxman talk about the importance of writing in PR and give the listeners tips to become better writers. They welcome comments from Josh Turner and Rick Weiss.

Show Notes

00:26 Terry opens the show.

01:47 Terry mentions Shel Holtz’s visit to Toronto.

03:29 Josh Turner leaves a comment about last weeks Inside PR on fit and personality.

07:08 Rick Weiss asks about “too good to be true” hires and whether a company should hire someone so that the “other guy” can’t get them.

09:32 Martin introduces the main topic: Tips to becoming the better writer.

10:30 Tip #1: Read and read a lot. Try to read as eclectically as possible.

13:20 Tip #2: Be Clear. Clarity is absolutely essential in thought and writing.

15:00 Martin talks about the issue of Jargon (or Gobbledygook).

16:22 Tip #3: Writing it small. Learn to pair it down. Be concise and brief. (Martin cites Pontoon by Garrison Keillor as an example)

19:36 Word of Advice: Want to practice good writing? Get on Twitter!

20:26 Tip #4: Re-write and polish! Take the time to make it magnificent before sending it off to edit.

23:25 Tip #5: Watch that style and Grammar! Ensure your style is up to par and your grammar flawless.

We Recommend:

26:55 Tip #6: You can always be a better writer.

We recommend:

  • Volunteering to write articles for your community paper.
  • Write in a journal every day.
  • Take a writing workshop.

30:46 SUPPLEMENT: How to write a news release.

Martin:

  1. Writes the headline.
  2. Brainstorms his points.
  3. Polishes the piece through 2nd and third drafts

Terry:

  1. Writes the headline.
  2. Writes a sub-header.
  3. Writes the lead through to the end.
  4. Moves the paragraphs around.
  5. Edits through to the end.

34:14 Tip #7: Develop and work through your own personal style.

35:03 Terry wraps up the show.

Our theme music is Streetwalker by Cjacks and is courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

This week’s episode was produced by Samantha Lovelace.

Inside PR #111 – Tuesday, May 13, 2008

• • Agency Life, Comments, Inside PR, measurement, Media relations, New Business Development, Political communications, PR, Show Notes, social media, Uncategorized

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Comments? Send us an email at [email protected], call us on the comment line on 206-600-4741, visit the Inside PR Blubrry site, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

This week on Inside PR, Terry, Keith and Martin welcome comments from Rick Weiss and Guy Skipworth, define roles in PR firms and discuss promoting employees.

Show Notes

00:30 Terry introduces the show.

02:45 Keith talks about Interactive Marketing Conference that he is attending on May 15th with Dave Jones. Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief at Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail, is the keynote speaker.

04:09 Terry discusses his talk at a communications event for Government of Ontario employees.

05:06 Terry introduces the comment from Rick Weiss ( a regular listener and student at Centennial College)

05:24 Rick Weiss asks if it’s possible to salvage the image of a company in distress with an excellent PR campaign

09:05 Terry introduces the comment from Guy Skipworth of Mediaco

09:28 Guy Skipworth opens the conversation on titles in agencies

10:10 Terry, Martin and Keith define the titles in agencies and outline some of the tasks that they find to be most important

23:40 Terry starts of the conversation about when to promote an employee. The panel discusses:

Promoting from within
Skills development
Breaking down title boundaries
Setting objectives
Succession planning
Career Planning
Retaining Employees
Culture
Training
Reviews

    33:13 Terry closes up the show.

    Our theme music is Streetwalker by Cjacks and is courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

    This week’s episode was produced by Kyra Aylsworth and published by Samantha Lovelace.

    Inside PR #104 – Tuesday March 25, 2008.

    • • Comments, Elizabeth Hirst, Inside PR, Media relations, PR, Show Notes, social media, Uncategorized

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    Comments? Send us an email to [email protected], call us on the comment line at 206-600-4741, visit the Inside PR Blueberry site, or leave us a comment on the Inside PR show blog.

    This week on Inside PR, Terry Fallis, David Jones and Martin Waxman discuss what happens if you are a PR practitioner and happen to be at the wrong end of a popular media story. How does one respond and get their story across in an accessible and accurate way?

    Show Notes

    00:30 Terry introduces himself, the panel and the show.
    01:05 Terry welcomes Martin Waxman to the panel.
    2:05 Terry announces that Inside PR #106 will be recorded live at the Third Tuesday Social Media Meet Up in Toronto on April 2, 2008. Location TBA.
    3:50 Comment from Paul Jenkins in response to last weeks’ topic, Ethics & PR.
    6:44 Comment from Elizabeth Hirst on the PR & Ethics debate.
    12:33 Martin introduces today’s topic – What happens if you are a PR practitioner and happen to be at the wrong end of a popular media story. How does one respond and get their client’s story across in an accessible and accurate way?
    23:53 Panel weighs in on topic and suggests PR practitioners employ creative and non traditional approaches to to both communicate their client’s story and respond to traditional media.
    31:05 Terry thanks the panel and signs off.

    Producer’s Note: The change in this podcast sound quality is due to the shift in form for Inside PR. Our theme music is Streetwalker by the CJacks and is from the Podsafe Music Network. Roger Dey is our announcer. This week’s episode was produced by Karen Nussbaum.

    More audio comments for IPR 11

    • • Uncategorized

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    Mitch Joel and his thoughts on educating PR students on social media

    Tac Anderson on our challenges with the comment line and his feelings that all PR pros should be blogging

    David Phillips on the evolution of the Web and its impact on communications
    (Select which comment you want to play from the links below by hitting “Play Now” and then hit play on the flash player.)

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    Audio comments: IPR 11

    • • Comments, Inside PR, New Business Development, PR, Uncategorized

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    Thought I’d do a little forward-thinking test using the podPress plug-in on our WordPress blog. I figured there is no good reason that we should hold on to our audio comments that come in via Waxmail or through our comment line for the podcast. Why not post them as they come in?

    So here’s one from Joe Thornley received following IPR 11:
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    The question then becomes do we still include them as part of the show for our listener community, or do we just point people to the blog to hear the comments they feel like listening to?

    I’m trying to force myself to think about podcasts differently from weekly radio programs. Is it a show? Is it a program? Are Terry and I co-hosts with listeners, or are we co-facilitators to a community (a fantastic Holzism)? Does the date matter? Should we even discuss time-bound news given that the podcast lives forever and the story has already been told in real time in the blogosphere?

    What do you, the listeners, er…, community think?

    iTunes problem with IPR #9 (Now resolved)

    • • Uncategorized

    Update:  The lastest podcast is now being seen in iTunes.  I performed the equivalent of hitting it with a wrench and it now seems to be available on iTunes.  I can’t tell you which button I hit that made the difference, but suffice to say it’s now working. 

    Sorry folks but we seem to have had a slight problem uploading IPR #9 to iTunes. You can listen to the show here but it isn’t yet appearing on iTunes for some unknown reason. We’re trying to figure out what’s happened and we’ll fix it up as soon as we’re able. Sorry about the inconvenience.

    Inside PR #8 – Tuesday, May 23, 2006

    • • Agency Life, New Business Development, PR, Uncategorized

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    Monday was Victoria Day in Canada and a statutory holiday so we’re a day later than usual with our regular weekly episode of IPR. In this week’s show, we read and discuss listener comments, recap the MESH conference, and talk at some length about the importance of chemistry and personal fit in securing and sustaining client relationships. The show closes with the second installment of “PR words to banish.”

    You can listen to the show with the player above or download or subscribe with the links in the sidebar.

    Show Notes

    00:28 David opens the show noting that we’re again recording via Skype.

    1:13 David and Terry discuss an e-mail comment from Francis Wooby in Iqaluit, our northernmost IPR listener.

    5:43 Terry introduces comments from Sheldon Rose about the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms, and Dan Brien on the notion of video podcasting.

    (Somehow we forget to highlight a couple of comments left on the Inside PR blog page by Robert French and C.C. Chapman.  Our mistake.  We’ll cover them off in IPR #9.)

    10:10 David and Terry close the loop on the MESH conference held last week in Toronto. David mentions that the slides he used in his presentation on blogging are available at PRWorks.

    12:57 David notes that Joe Thornley is blogging from the Counselors Academy Spring Conference in Savannah, Georgia.

    13:35 Terry and David discuss the show’s major topic, the role of chemistry and personal fit in securing and sustaining long term client relationships. Listeners may wish to check out the following blogs/podcasts for more on the importance of relationships: David Maister, Manager Tools, and Todd Defren.

    28:14 Terry and Dave briefly discuss the second entry in a new IPR segment called “PR words to banish.”

    30:01 Terry thanks the listeners and closes out the show with a reminder that comments are encouraged and can be left on the blog at www.insidepr.ca or e-mailed to [email protected].

    Intro/extro music: Our theme music is Streetwalker by Cjacks and is from the Podsafe Music Network; Roger Dey is our announcer.

    Inside PR Special Edition – Discussion with Patrick Gossage – Thursday, May 18, 2006

    • • Agency Life, Media relations, Political communications, Uncategorized

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    Show Notes

    In this IPR Special Edition, Terry and Pat Gossage, the founder and President of Media Profile and former media advisor to Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau, meet to discuss political communications among other things.

    00:16 Terry introduces Pat Gossage

    00:52 Terry asks Pat about his career in politics and how it led to public relations

    05:41 Pat talks about what it was like working with Trudeau

    07:40 Pat discusses the lessons clients can learn from Trudeau’s approach to the media

    08:15 Terry asks Pat about the current Conservative government of Stephen Harper and its approach to the media

    12:42 Terry and Pat talk about transparency and revisit politicians’ dependence on key messages

    17:05 Terry and Pat talk about the value (or lack thereof) of Q&A documents

    18:24 Patrick offers some advice to young people interested in public relations

    20:51 Terry thanks Pat Gossage and closes the show

    Background on Patrick Gossage:

    Patrick is one of Canada’s most highly respected public relations practitioners. Drawing on his 35 years of experience in broadcasting, politics and communications, including serving as the prime minister’s press secretary, he established Media Profile in 1986 and provides strategic communications advice and media training to numerous private and public sector clients.

    Opening and closing music by Alamantra on the Podsafe Music Network. As always, Roger Dey is our voice-over guru.

    Inside PR Special Edition – Discussion with Trevor Campbell – Thursday, April 27, 2006

    • • Agency Life, PR, Show Notes, Uncategorized

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    Show Notes: 

    In this special edition of Inside PR, Terry continues his series of discussions with fellow PR agency presidents.  This week he spends just over 20 minutes in conversation with Trevor Campbell, President of Porter Novelli Canada, the Canadian arm of the large multinational agency.  Terry and Trevor tackle a variety of questions commonly posed by PR students or those looking to break into public relations.  The discussion unfolded as follows:

     1:00    The Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms
     2:40    Trevor’s background and how he found himself in PR
     4:40    Going client-side or agency
     9:45    Generalist versus specialist
    11:15   What agencies are looking for when hiring
    15:00   Advice on approaching agencies
    20:13   Big agency versus small agency
    22:47   Wrap-up

    Background on Trevor Campbell

    As president of Porter Novelli Canada, Trevor is responsible for directing and leading the agency and managing its growth. His public relations success includes working in the financial services, technology, consumer, entertainment, and not-for-profit sectors where he has built corporate brands and managed reputations for ATI, Celestica and CIBC. Trevor has also delivered integrated marketing programs for Bell Canada and Hewlett-Packard, and boasts expertise in corporate communications and marketing communications via direct-to-business and direct-to-consumer events and programs.

    Opening and closing music by Alamantra on the Podsafe Music Network. As always, Roger Dey is our voice-over guru.